After determining that the recipient is without fault use the following steps to make a waiver determination. For more information on waiver determinations, see SI 02260.015.
| STEP | ACTION |
|---|---|
| 1 | Determine if you can waive the entire overpayment using Rule 1 in SI 02260.035D.1. in this section. If you can waive the overpayment in full, stop here. If not, continue with Step 2. |
| 2 | Determine the total countable resources at the first moment of each month of the overpayment period. For more information on determining the overpayment period, see SI 02201.005B.3. After determining the countable resources, go to Step 3. |
| 3 | Subtract the applicable resource limit from the countable resources to determine the amount of the excess resources for each month of the overpayment period. Go to Step 4. |
| 4 | For any month in which the amount of excess resources is $50.00 or less, waive the overpayment for that month using Rule 2 in SI 02260.035D.2. in this section. If the recipient never exceeded the resource limit by more than $50.00 during all months of the overpayment period, waive the entire overpayment and stop here. Otherwise, proceed to Step 5. |
| 5 | For the remaining months in which the amount of the excess resources is more than $50.00, determine which single month in the overpayment period had the largest difference between the countable resources and the monthly resource limit. Go to Step 6. |
| 6 | After determining the single month in the overpayment period from Step 5, subtract the amount from the remaining overpayment balance and waive the difference. Repayment of the difference is determined to be against equity and good conscience. The overpaid recipient is without fault and does not have to repay more than the maximum amount by which their resources exceeded the limit. Stop here, Rule 3 applies, see SI 02260.035D.3. in this section. If Rule 3 does not apply, go to Step 7. |
| 7 | If the total overpayment balance in Step 6 is less than the result from Step 5, waiver under Rule 3 does not apply. Deny the request for waiver. |
Example of applying the excess resource rules:
Mr. Smith sells an excluded automobile on September 10, 2013. The proceeds of the sale caused Mr. Smith's resources to exceed the resource limit beginning October 1, 2013. During a redetermination in February 2014, you determined that we overpaid Mr. Smith during the 5-month period, October 2013 through February 2014. Beginning March 2014, you suspended Mr. Smith for excess resources. The following chart shows Mr. Smith's monthly SSI payments and countable resources during the overpayment period.
| Month | SSI Payment | Resources | Resource Limit | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2013 | $710.00 | $3,000.00 | $2,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
| November 2013 | $710.00 | $3,100.00 | $2,000.00 | $1,100.00 |
| December 2013 | $710.00 | $2,900.00 | $2,000.00 | $ 900.00 |
| January 2014 | $500.00 | $2,045.00 | $2,000.00 | $ 45.00 |
| February 2014 | $500.00 | $2,040.00 | $2,000.00 | $ 40.00 |
Mr. Smith received an automated overpayment notice explaining Mr. Smith was overpaid $3,130 for the period October 2013 through February 2014. Mr. Smith requested a waiver of an overpayment. You determined that Mr. Smith was without fault in causing the overpayment. Mr. Smith also has the ability to repay the money. Mr. Smith did not relinquish a valuable right or change Mr. Smith's financial position for the worse. As a result, you may not waive the entire overpayment using Rule 1 in SI 02260.035D.1. in this section.
You can waive the $1000.00 that Mr. Smith was overpaid for the months of January 2014 and February 2014 using the under $50.00 waiver provision in SI 02260.035A.1. in this section and Rule 2 in SI 02260.035D.2. in this section.
Compare the remaining overpayment balance of $2,130.00 paid in October 2013 through December 2013, to the single month in the overpayment period that has the biggest difference between countable resources and the resource limit ($1,100 in November 2013). Since the total overpayment balance is greater than the month with the maximum amount of excess resources, you can waive $1,030.00 of the total remaining $2,130.00 overpayment that occurred from October 2013 through December 2013 and recover $1,100.00 from Mr. Smith, see Rule 3 in SI 02260.035D.3. in this section.
NOTE: Any waiver approval decision on an overpayment of more than $2,000.00 requires supervisory approval. See SI 02220.005C for more information about management review requirements for non-collect overpayment decisions.
