42 U.S.C. § 1320a–6a (THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE)
§ 1320a–6a. Interagency coordination to improve program administration
(a) Coordination agreement
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 407 of this title, the Commissioner of Social Security (referred to in this section as “the Commissioner”) and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (referred to in this section as “the Director”) shall enter into an agreement under which a system is established to carry out the following procedure:
(1) The Director shall notify the Commissioner when any individual is determined to be entitled to a monthly disability annuity payment pursuant to subchapter V of chapter 84 of subpart G of part III of title 5 and shall certify that such individual has provided the authorization described in subsection (f).
(2) If the Commissioner determines that an individual described in paragraph (1) is also entitled to past-due benefits under section 423 of this title, the Commissioner shall notify the Director of such fact.
(3) Not later than 30 days after receiving a notification described in paragraph (2) with respect to an individual, the Director shall provide the Commissioner with the total amount of any disability annuity overpayments made to such individual, as well as any other information (in such form and manner as the Commissioner shall require) that the Commissioner determines is necessary to carry out this section.
(4) If the Director provides the Commissioner with the information described in paragraph (3) in a timely manner, the Commissioner may withhold past-due benefits under section 423 of this title to which such individual is entitled and may pay the amount described in paragraph (3) to the Office of Personnel Management for any disability annuity overpayments made to such individual.
(5) The Director shall credit any amount received under paragraph (4) with respect to an individual toward any disability annuity overpayment owed by such individual.
(b) Limitations
(1) Priority of other reductions
Benefits shall only be withheld under this section after any other reduction applicable under this chapter, including sections 406(a)(4), 424a, and 1320a–6(a) of this title.
(2) Timely notification required
The Commissioner may not withhold benefits under this section if the Director does not provide the notice described in subsection (a)(3) within the time period described in such subsection.
(c) Delayed payment of past-due benefits
If the Commissioner is required to make a notification described in subsection (a)(2) with respect to an individual, the Commissioner shall not make any payment of past-due benefits under section 423 of this title to such individual until after the period described in subsection (a)(3).
(d) Review
Notwithstanding section 405 of this title or any other provision of law, any determination regarding the withholding of past-due benefits under this section shall only be subject to adjudication and review by the Director under section 8461 of title 5.
(e) Disability annuity overpayment defined
For purposes of this section, the term “disability annuity overpayment” means the amount of the reduction under section 8452(a)(2) of title 5 applicable to a monthly annuity payment made to an individual pursuant to subchapter V of chapter 84 of subpart G of part III of such title due to the individual’s concurrent entitlement to a disability insurance benefit under section 423 of this title during such month.
(f) Authorization to withhold benefits
The authorization described in this subsection, with respect to an individual, is written authorization provided by the individual to the Director which authorizes the Commissioner to withhold past-due benefits under section 423 of this title to which such individual is entitled in order to pay the amount withheld to the Office of Personnel Management for any disability overpayments made to such individual.
(g) Expenses
The Director shall pay to the Social Security Administration an amount equal to the amount estimated by the Commissioner as the total cost incurred by the Social Security Administration in carrying out this section for each calendar quarter.
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title XI, § 1127A, as added Pub. L. 114–74, title VIII, § 841(a), Nov. 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 615.)
heading: Effective Date
text: Pub. L. 114–74, title VIII, § 841(b), Nov. 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 617, provided that: “The amendment made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply to past-due disability insurance benefits payable on or after the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section [Nov. 2, 2015].”