[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 86 (Tuesday, May 6, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19241-19242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-07813]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2025-0013]


Maximum Dollar Limit in the Fee Agreement Process; Partial 
Rescission

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 19242]]

SUMMARY: SSA is retaining in part and rescinding in part the Federal 
Register Notice (FRN) that we published on May 10, 2024. With the 
publication of this Notice the $9,200 fee cap will remain in effect, 
and we will only publish a notice in the Federal Register when 
increasing the fee cap, as the Social Security Act (Act) requires.

DATES: This Notice will be applicable on May 6, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Pecora, Office of Vocational, 
Evaluation, and Process Policy in the Office of Disability Policy, 
Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 
21235-6401. Phone (410) 597-1724, email: [email protected].
    For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call the SSA 
national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or 
visit SSA's internet site, Social Security Online at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 206(a)(2) \1\ of the 
Act, the Commissioner of SSA establishes the maximum fee that a 
representative may charge and collect from claimants for successful 
representation in cases before SSA under the fee agreement process. The 
Act limits the maximum fee to the lesser of 25 percent of the past-due 
benefits or a fixed dollar amount (fee cap). The Act allows the 
Commissioner to periodically increase the fee cap, and it requires the 
Commissioner to publish a notice announcing any increase in the fee cap 
in the Federal Register.\2\
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 406(a)(2)(A).
    \2\ Id.
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    On May 10, 2024, SSA published an FRN (89 FR 40523) announcing an 
increase in the representative fee cap to $9,200, effective November 
30, 2024. Additionally, the May 10, 2024, FRN announced that starting 
January 2026, SSA would annually publish an FRN addressing the maximum 
dollar amount for fee agreements and providing a rationale for either 
increasing or maintaining the maximum dollar amount based upon the COLA 
for the prior year.
    Pursuant to this Notice, we will maintain the increased fee cap of 
$9,200, which was effective November 30, 2024. However, SSA has 
determined that, consistent with the Act, we will not publish an FRN 
each year providing a rationale for either increasing or not increasing 
the fee cap, but will only publish a notice in the Federal Register 
when increasing the fee cap. We have determined that publishing an FRN 
each year regardless of whether we increase the fee cap would impose 
unnecessary administrative burdens and resource expenditures that the 
Act does not mandate. This decision aligns SSA's policies with 
Administration priorities to most efficiently allocate agency 
resources.

Leeland Dudek,
Acting Commissioner, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-07813 Filed 5-5-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P