New GAO report on SS Disability represeantives–payment from benefits recovered

The Social Security Protection Act of 2004 temporarily expanded the practice of paying representatives’ fees directly out of a claimant’s benefits. This practice, known as fee withholding, was previously available only to attorneys in Disability Insurance (DI) cases. It has been extended to attorneys in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cases, and to nonattorneys—who meet eligibility criteria—in both DI and SSI cases. The act also mandated that GAO examine (1) the professional experience of disability representatives, (2) how judges and claimants view representatives’ performance, (3) how the implementation of fee withholding for nonattorneys has been viewed, and (4) the impact of fee withholding in the SSI program. GAO surveyed representatives and judges, and interviewed claimants and Social Security Administration (SSA), state, and other officials.

What GAO Recommends

We are recommending that SSA monitor and if necessary adjust the nonattorney eligibility criteria, assess the extent of overpayments to representatives and if necessary implement solutions, and continue to explore options to address benefit payment delays. In its comments on a draft of this report, SSA agreed with our findings and recommendations, and noted actions it plans to take to address our recommendations.

Full report: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d085.pdf?source=ra