§ 404.2 General definitions and use of terms. ( a ) *Terms relating to the Act and regulations.* ( 1 ) *The Act* means the Social Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Chapter 7).
( 2 ) *Section* means a section of the regulations in part 404 of this chapter unless the context indicates otherwise.
( b ) *Commissioner; Appeals Council; Administrative Law Judge; Administrative Appeals Judge defined* — ( 1 ) *Commissioner* means the Commissioner of Social Security.
( 2 ) *Appeals Council* means the Appeals Council of the Office of Analytics, Review, and Oversight in the Social Security Administration or such member or members thereof as may be designated by the Chair of the Appeals Council.
( 3 ) *Administrative Law Judge* means an Administrative Law Judge in the Office of Hearings Operations in the Social Security Administration.
( 4 ) *Administrative Appeals Judge* means an Administrative Appeals Judge serving as a member of the Appeals Council.
( c ) *Miscellaneous.* ( 1 ) *Certify,* when used in connection with the duty imposed on the Commissioner by section 205(i) of the act, means that action taken by the Administration in the form of a written statement addressed to the Managing Trustee, setting forth the name and address of the person to whom payment of a benefit or lump sum, or any part thereof, is to be made, the amount to be paid, and the time at which payment should be made.
( 2 ) *Benefit* means an old-age insurance benefit, disability insurance benefit, wife's insurance benefit, husband's insurance benefit, child's insurance benefit, widow's insurance benefit, widower's insurance benefit, mother's insurance benefit, father's insurance benefit, or parent's insurance benefit under Title II of the Act. (Lump sums, which are death payments under title II of the Act, are excluded from the term benefit as defined in this part to permit greater clarity in the regulations.)
( 3 ) *Lump sum* means a lump-sum death payment under title II of the act or any person's share of such a payment.
( 4 ) *Attainment of age.* An individual attains a given age on the first moment of the day preceding the anniversary of his birth corresponding to such age.
( 5 ) *State,* unless otherwise indicated, includes: ( i ) The District of Columbia,
( ii ) The Virgin Islands,
( iii ) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico effective January 1, 1951,
( iv ) Guam and American Samoa, effective September 13, 1960, generally, and for purposes of sections 210(a) and 211 of the Act effective after 1960 with respect to service performed after 1960, and effective for taxable years beginning after 1960 with respect to crediting net earnings from self-employment and self-employment income,
( v ) The Territories of Alaska and Hawaii prior to January 3, 1959, and August 21, 1959, respectively, when those territories acquired statehood, and
( vi ) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) effective January 1, 1987; Social Security coverage for affected temporary employees of the government of the CNMI is also effective on January 1, 1987, under section 210(a)(7)(E) of the Social Security Act. In addition, Social Security coverage for affected non-temporary employees of the government of the CNMI is effective on October 1, 2012, under section 210(a)(7)(C) of the Social Security Act.
( 6 ) *United States,* when used in a geographical sense, includes, unless otherwise indicated: ( i ) The States,
( ii ) The Territories of Alaska and Hawaii prior to January 3, 1959, and August 21, 1959, respectively, when they acquired statehood,
( iii ) The District of Columbia,
( iv ) The Virgin Islands,
( v ) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico effective January 1, 1951,
( vi ) Guam and American Samoa, effective September 13, 1960, generally, and for purposes of sections 210(a) and 211 of the Act, effective after 1960 with respect to service performed after 1960, and effective for taxable years beginning after 1960 with respect to crediting net earnings from self-employment and self-employment income, and
( vii ) The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective January 1, 1987.
( 7 ) Masculine gender includes the feminine, unless otherwise indicated.
( 8 ) The terms defined in sections 209, 210, and 211 of the act shall have the meanings therein assigned to them.
[26 FR 7055, Aug. 5, 1961; 26 FR 7760, Aug. 19, 1961, as amended at 28 FR 1037, Feb. 2, 1963; 28 FR 14492, Dec. 31, 1963; 29 FR 15509, Nov. 19, 1964; 41 FR 32886, Aug. 6, 1976; 51 FR 11718, Apr. 7, 1986; 61 FR 41330, Aug. 8, 1996; 62 FR 38450, July 18, 1997; 69 FR 51555, Aug. 20, 2004; 79 FR 33684, June 12, 2014; 83 FR 21708, May 10, 2018; 85 FR 73156, Nov. 16, 2020]