Social Security Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing to amend our regulations to include rules to carry out section 221(m) of the Social Security Act (the Act). Section 221(m) affects our rules for when we will conduct a continuing disability review if you work and receive benefits under title II of the Act based on disability. (We interpret this section to include you if you receive both title II disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments based on disability.) It also affects our rules on how we evaluate work activity when we decide if you have engaged in substantial gainful activity for purposes of determining whether your disability has ended. In addition, section 221(m) of the Act affects certain other standards we use when we determine whether your disability continues or ends. We are also proposing to make certain other revisions to our regulations for how we determine whether your disability continues or ends. These other proposed revisions would codify our existing operating instructions for how we consider certain work at the last two steps of our continuing disability review process. In addition, we are proposing to incorporate into our disability regulations some rules which are contained in another part of our regulations and which apply if you are using a ticket under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (the Ticket to Work program). Finally, we are proposing to amend our regulations to eliminate the secondary substantial gainful activity amount that we currently use to evaluate work you did as an employee before January 2001.

We are proposing to revise our regulations for the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket to Work program), authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. The Ticket to Work program provides beneficiaries with disabilities expanded options for access to employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, and other support services. We are proposing to make revisions to the current rules to improve the overall effectiveness of the program in assisting beneficiaries to maximize their economic self-sufficiency through work opportunities. These revisions are based on our vision of the future direction of the Ticket to Work program, our experience using the current rules, and recommendations made by a number of commenters on the program.

We are announcing the extension of tests involving modifications to our disability determination procedures that we are conducting under the authority of current rules codified at 20 CFR 404.906 and 416.1406. These rules provide authority to test several modifications to the disability determination procedures that we normally follow in adjudicating claims for disability insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (the Act) and for supplemental security income payments based on disability under title XVI of the Act. On July 27, 2005, we published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that described an approach to improve the disability determination process. We have decided to extend the testing of two redesign features of the disability prototype for 12 months to ensure a smooth transition while these changes to the disability determination process are being finalized and implemented.

We are planning to update and revise the rules we use to evaluate growth impairments of individuals under age 18 who apply for, or receive, disability benefits under title II and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments based on disability under title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The rules we plan on revising are in section 100.00 in the Listing of Impairments in appendix 1 to subpart P of part 404 of our regulations (the listings). We invite you to send us comments and suggestions for updating and revising these rules. After we have considered your comments and suggestions, as well as information about advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating growth impairments, along with our program experience, we intend to publish for public comment a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will propose specific revisions to the rules.

We propose to revise our regulations on how we determine an individual's income and resources under the SSI program based on the SSPA of 2004, enacted on March 2, 2004. Some of the provisions of the SSPA make a number of changes in the way we determine income and resources including: how we calculate infrequent and irregular income; what interest and dividend income we exclude; how we count cash military compensation; and when we exclude gifts for tuition or educational expenses from income or resources. We are also proposing to apply the exclusions required by the SSPA when determining the countable income and resources of an ineligible spouse or ineligible parent.

In accordance with the provisions of the Privacy Act, as amended, this notice announces the renewal of an existing computer matching program that SSA is currently conducting with OPM.

In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)), we are issuing public notice of our intent to make housekeeping changes to the system of records entitled, Recovery of Overpayments, Accounting and Reporting (ROAR) SSA/OTSO, 60-0094, to more accurately describe the records maintained in this system of records. The housekeeping changes make the Privacy Act notice of the ROAR system of records accurate and up to date. We invite public comment on this proposal.

The Social Security Administration is committed to providing the type of service the American people expect and deserve. In light of the significant growth in disability claims, the increased complexity of those claims, and the younger age of beneficiaries in recent years, the need to make substantial changes in our disability determination process has become urgent. We propose to amend our administrative review process for benefit claims you file under title II of the Social Security Act (Act) based on disability, and for applications you file for supplemental security income (SSI) payments based on disability or blindness under title XVI of the Act. We expect that the changes we are proposing will improve the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of decision making throughout the disability determination process.

We are issuing these final rules to reflect in our regulations four self-implementing provisions in the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (SSPA). One provision adds two States (Kentucky and Louisiana) to a list of States that are permitted to divide public employee retirement systems based on whether the State and/or local employees in positions under the systems want Social Security and/or Medicare coverage or not. The other three provisions make technical corrections to the Social Security Act (the Act) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) regarding various Social Security coverage issues.

We are amending our SSI regulations by making technical revisions to our rules on income and resources based on the Social Security Protection Act (SSPA) of 2004 and several other statutory changes. These technical revisions update lists of exclusions from income and resources under the SSI program and make additional technical corrections.

We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving genitourinary impairments. We apply these criteria when you claim benefits based on disability under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The revisions reflect advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating genitourinary impairments.

We are publishing final rules that amend the rules for the continuation of disability benefit payments under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act) to certain individuals who recover medically while participating in an appropriate vocational rehabilitation (VR) program with a State vocational rehabilitation agency. We are amending these rules to conform with statutory amendments that extend eligibility for these continued benefit payments to certain individuals who recover medically while participating in an appropriate program of services. These include individuals participating in the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program or another program of vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, or other support services approved by the Commissioner of Social Security. We are also extending eligibility for these continued benefit payments to students age 18 through 21 who recover medically, or whose disability is determined to have ended as a result of an age- 18 redetermination, while participating in an individualized education program developed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act with an appropriate provider of services. Providers of services we may approve include a public or private organization with expertise in the delivery or coordination of vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, or other support services; or a public, private or parochial school that provides or coordinates a program of vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, or other support services carried out under an individualized program or plan.

The Social Security Administration published a document in the Federal Register on June 14, 2005, establishing a new system of records, the National Docketing Management Information System. The document contained an error in the system number.

We propose to revise our regulations that pertain to the processing of claims for disability benefits under title II and title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The proposed revisions would make the language in the rules we use under title II of the Act for making findings about medical equivalence consistent with the language in the rules that we use under title XVI of the Act. The proposed revisions would also clarify our rules about the evidence we use when we make findings about medical equivalence for adults and children. We also propose to update and clarify our rules that explain the Listing of Impairments (the listings) and how your impairment(s) can meet a listing.

In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11)), we are issuing public notice of our intent to establish a new system of records entitled, the National Docketing Management Information System (NDMIS) and routine uses applicable to this system of records. Hereinafter, we will refer to the proposed system of records as the NDMIS. We invite public comments on this proposal.

In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11)), we are issuing public notice of our intent to establish a new system of records entitled Representative Payee/Misuse Restitution Control System (RP/MRCS), 60-0318, and routine uses applicable to this system of records. Hereinafter, we will refer to the proposed system of records as the RP/MRCS. We invite public comments on this proposal.

In accordance with 20 CFR 402.35(b)(1), the Commissioner of Social Security gives notice of Social Security Ruling, SSR 05-03p. This Ruling explains our policies for determining continuing disability at step 2 of the medical improvement review standard for children under 20 CFR 416.994a(b)(2).

We are planning to update and revise the rules we use to evaluate respiratory disorders of adults and children who apply for, or receive, disability benefits under title II and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments based on disability under title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). The rules we plan on revising are sections 3.00 and 103.00 in the Listing of Impairments in appendix 1 to subpart P of part 404 of our regulations (the listings). We invite you to send us comments and suggestions for updating and revising these rules. After we have considered your comments and suggestions, as well as information about advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating respiratory disorders, and our program experience, we intend to publish for public comment a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will propose specific revisions to the rules. As part of our long-term planning for the disability programs, we are also interested in your ideas for how we may be able to improve our programs for people who have respiratory disorders, especially those who would like to work.

We are considering whether to propose new rules for evaluating language and speech disorders. The new rules would apply to adults and children who apply for, or receive, disability benefits under title II and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments based on disability under title XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). Specifically, we are considering whether to add a new body system in the Listing of Impairments in appendix 1 to subpart P of part 404 of our regulations (the listings) for these disorders. We invite you to send us comments about whether we should establish these new rules, as well as suggestions about what the proposed rules should include. We will consider your comments and suggestions, as well as information about advances in medical knowledge, treatment, and methods of evaluating language and speech disorders, along with our program experience. If we decide to propose new listings for language and speech disorders, we will publish them as proposed rules for public comment in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). As part of our long-term planning for the disability programs, we are also interested in your ideas for how we may improve our programs for people with disabilities, including people who have disabilities based on language and speech disorders, and especially those who would like to work.

We propose to revise our regulations to identify additional bases upon which we may bring charges to disqualify an individual from acting as a representative before the Social Security Administration (SSA), and to set forth the conditions under which we will reinstate an individual whom we have disqualified as a representative because the individual collected or received, and retains, a fee in excess of the amount we authorized. These proposed rules revise our regulations on the representation of parties to implement section 205 of the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (SSPA) and to make additional changes in these regulations that relate to the changes required by this legislation. The rules also propose three technical changes in our regulations on the representation of parties. DATES: To be sure that we consider your comments, we must receive them by June 13, 2005.