Feb 04, 2009 · The Fee Agreement Process. A fee agreement is a written statement signed by the claimant and the claimants appointed representative (s) who expect to charge and collect for services before us (the Social Security Administration). This written statement details the fee arrangement between the parties. The appointed representative must submit the ...
Your representative must file your fee agreement before we decide your case. If you or your representative submit the fee agreement after our decision, we will disapprove your fee agreement. When to file a fee agreement. Under the terms of a fee agreement, you will pay an amount up to 25 percent of your total past-due benefits or an amount set by
Jul 12, 2018 · 3. Meet the statutory fee limits. The fee requested in the fee agreement cannot exceed the lesser of 25 percent of the past-due benefits or the fee limit set by the Commissioner under the authority provided by section of the Act 206 (a) …
STANDARD FEE AGREEMENT. SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY/SSI. ATTORNEY’S FEE: I employ, Amy G. Bellhorn, to represent me before the Social Security Administration in my Social Security Disability case, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) case or both. If I win, I agree that my attorney’s fee will be the lesser of 25% of all past-due benefits ...
The claimant or representative must submit the fee agreement to us before the date of the first favorable decision that the representative worked toward achieving, as explained in GN 03940.001B.
The claimant, the claimant's legal guardian, or the parent of a child under the age of 18 and the appointed representative must submit a fee agreement in writing. To validate the agreement, we also require that all parties sign the same agreement:
In a multiple representative situation, the fee authorizer must disapprove the fee agreement when the claimant discharges a representative or a representative withdraws from the case before we favorably decide the claim. We do not contact the representative after termination of services.
To approve a fee agreement, the claim or action must result in a fully or partially favorable decision. This can be an initial favorable decision or a post-entitlement decision that leads to new past due benefits.
Call our toll free number, 1-800-772-1213 (except in the situations described below) if you have questions about the status of your fee agreement, fee petition, or the payment of a fee authorized for services provided in a proceeding before us.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our toll free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on business days. Contact the Attorney Fee Branch in the Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight if:
The SSA regulates the payment of SSD attorney’s fees. Before accepting your case, the attorney will have you sign an SSD fee agreement, which covers how the attorney’s fees will be paid, and how much that payment will be. The SSA must approve the fee agreement.
Federal law limits attorney’s fees in SSD cases. The maximum amount of attorney’s fees that can be collected in an SSD case is 25% of any back pay awarded, up to a maximum fee of $6,000 (there are a few exceptions which allow an attorney to receive an increased fee, as discussed below).
A claimant and his or her representative may submit a fee agreement that includes a provision limiting the agreement's application to services through a specific level of the administrative appeals process. Such an agreement would provide, in essence, for a two-tiered fee structure. The decision maker will be able to readily ascertain, at the time of the favorable decision, which tier of the fee structure applies, and will either approve or disapprove the fee agreement based on the current level of appeal.
If the AC grants the request for review or reviews a decision on its own motion, vacates the hearing decision, and reverses the ALJ's partially favorable decision by issuing a wholly unfavorable decision, the ALJ's approval of the fee agreement is no longer in effect. This is because one of the criteria for fee agreement approval (i.e., a favorable decision) is not met. Because the representative, who is eligible for direct payment, is representing the claimant on a contingency basis, with the fee premised on a percentage of past-due benefits if successful and nothing if unsuccessful, the representative is not entitled to a fee and must return any previously paid amount to SSA if the unfavorable decision becomes the final decision of the Commissioner.
If the AC vacates the ALJ's favorable decision and remands the case, the ALJ's approval of the fee agreement and any authorization of fees under the agreement are vacated as well because there is no favorable decision.
When SSA issues a partially favorable decision and approves a two-tiered fee agreement that applies only to services through the level at which the claim was favorably adjudicated, SSA authorizes the representative's fee in effectuating the partially favorable decision. Generally, if the representative is eligible for direct payment ...
The date SSA makes a favorable decision is the date shown on the notice of favorable decision. It is not the date of adjudication or effectuation (see GN 03920.030D., Policy – Month of Effectuation).
A fee agreement is a written statement signed by the claimant and his/her appointed representative specifying the fee the representative expects to charge and collect and the claimant expects to pay for services the representative provides in pursuing the claimant's benefit rights in proceedings before SSA. ( GN 03920.005C.
The decision maker's determination on a fee agreement is limited to whether the agreement meets the statutory conditions of the Act and is not otherwise excepted.
If a decision maker approves a fee agreement that does not meet the statutory requirements of the Act, or is otherwise excepted, SSA cannot authorize a fee under the fee agreement process. See GN 03940.020G. and GN 03940.025B.5. for instructions on handling claims involving fee agreements that are approved incorrectly.