[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 2074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-313]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA 2006-0096]


Social Security Ruling (SSR) 94-4p.; Rescission of SSR 94-4p, 
Policy Interpretation Ruling; Title II of the Social Security Act and 
Title IV of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977: Waiver of 
Recovery of Overpayments--Notice of Appeal and Waiver Rights--Right to 
a Pre-Recoupment Oral Hearing Before Waiver Can Be Denied

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Rescission of SSR.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with 20 CFR 402.35(b)(1), the Commissioner of 
Social Security gives notice of the rescission of SSR 94-4p.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 11, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin Strauss, Social Insurance 
Specialist, Social Security Administration, Office of Income Security 
Programs, 252 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 
21235-6401, (410) 965-7944 for information about this notice. For 
information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call our national 
toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or visit our 
Internet site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SSRs make available to the public 
precedential decisions relating to the Federal old-age, survivors, 
disability and supplemental security income programs. SSRs may be based 
on case decisions made at all administrative levels of adjudication, 
Federal court decisions, Commissioner's decisions, opinions of the 
Office of the General Counsel, and other policy interpretations of the 
law and regulations.
    On July 11, 1994, we issued SSR 94-4p which implemented the 
decisions in Buffington, et al. v. Schweiker and Califano v. Yamasaki, 
and provided that prior to the denial of waiver of recovery of an 
overpayment, SSA will conduct a face-to-face pre-recoupment hearing. 
SSR 94-4p stated our policy of:
     Giving adequate written notice of a determination of 
overpayment and the right to contest such determination and request 
waiver of recovery of the overpayment; and
     Providing the person from whom we are seeking recovery of 
an overpayment with the opportunity for a face-to-face oral hearing 
before we deny a request for waiver of recovery of the overpayment.
    In 1996, 20 CFR 404.502a incorporated the provision of giving 
adequate written notice of a determination of overpayment and the right 
to contest such determination and request waiver of recovery of the 
overpayment. The provision of giving the opportunity for a hearing 
before we deny a request for waiver of recovery of the overpayment was 
incorporated into 20 CFR 404.506(e)(1), which states that the 
individual is given the opportunity to ``appear personally'' at the 
personal conference. Current regulations do not further specify the 
method in which this appearance may be made. Although our policy has 
been to provide a face-to-face appearance at the field office, this is 
not always convenient for the beneficiary. Often, if a beneficiary is 
not able to come to the face-to-face conference, field office personnel 
will go to the person to hold the conference. Offering additional 
appearance options for the conference would improve service to the 
beneficiaries and reduce costly home visits by field personnel.
    In order to fulfill our stewardship responsibilities to the Social 
Security trust fund, we must employ methods that will simplify our 
personal conference procedures and use our resources most efficiently. 
We should be using all available technology when we conduct personal 
conferences. Therefore, elsewhere in this Federal Register, we 
published the final rule ``Methods for Conducting Personal Conferences 
When Waiver of Recovery of a Title II or Title XVI Overpayment Cannot 
Be Approved'' which revised the regulations to allow for personal 
conferences to be conducted face-to-face at a place we designate 
(usually in the field office), by telephone, or by video 
teleconference. Consequently, SSR 94-4p is obsolete and rescinded as of 
February 11, 2008.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social 
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social Security--Retirement 
Insurance; 96.004, Social Security--Survivors Insurance; 17.307, 
Coal Mine Workers' Compensation)

    Dated: November 30, 2007.
Michael J. Astrue,
Commissioner of Social Security.
[FR Doc. E8-313 Filed 1-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P