Representatives’ Fees Rules Change
November 16, 2009
Author: Catherine M. Callery (Kate)| Louise M. Tarantino
SSA announced a final rule making revisions to fee payment restrictions, exempting from its oversight fees paid by third parties (including non-profits, more or less codifying Social Security Ruling (SSR) 85-3) and fees approved by a court in a guardianship or similar situation. 74 Fed. Reg. 48381(September 23, 2009). The rule was effective 30 days from publication, October 23, 2009.
“We are revising our rules to allow representatives, in certain instances, to charge and receive a fee from third-party entities without requiring our authorization. We are also eliminating the requirement that we authorize fees for legal guardians or court appointed representatives who represent claimants before us if a court has already authorized the fees. We are revising our rules to reflect changes in representatives’ business practices and in the ways claimants obtain representation, and to improve the efficiency of our representative fee process.”
With the codification of the fee authorization revisions into regulations, SSA does not need the SSR 85-3 and has rescinded the Ruling, effective 30 days from publication. 74 Fed. Reg. 48621 (September 23, 2009).
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