When a recipient have received an overpayment of PA benefits, the repayment process is called a recoupment. A recipient's ongoing PA benefits are reduced (recouped) by a rate of no less than five percent (5%) and no more than ten percent (10%) of the recipient household's "Standard of Need."
PA overpayments can occur because of unreported income or resources, local agency error, duplicate payments such as rent or utility advance allowances, or aid-continuing PA benefits received during the pendency of a Fair Hearing that the recipient loses. All of these overpayments can be recouped from a current recipient's ongoing PA benefits.
Each PA recoupment is automatically assigned a Recoupment Identification number (RTI #) by WMS. These nine-digit RTI #s consist of eight numbers, followed by a letter (e.g., 01234567Z). Recoupments are also coded by type of overpayment.
WMS can produce a variety of reports on current PA recoupments as well as recoupments that have been completed in the past or that will be initiated in the future. These WMS reports include:
PA Recoupment - Case Summary (NQCS9P), which lists the following case level data:
- Total number of PA recoupments for each case suffix [Note: if two or more PA recipients are related and reside in the same household, a separate suffix for each recipient is assigned to a common case number]
- Total amount of PA overpayments for each suffix
- Total recoupment balance for each suffix (i.e., the amount remaining to be collected)
- Grand Totals for each of the above categories for all suffixes combined.
PA Recoupment - Suffix Summary (NQCS9B), which includes such suffix level data as:
- each RTI #
- each "offense date" (i.e., the date the recoupment determination was made)
- each recoupment type (e.g., rent or utility advance, agency error), and "offense" type and sub-type,
- the status of each recoupment (e.g., active, suspended, deleted, completed)
- the total amount and remaining balance of each recoupment
Suffix Recoupment Detail (NQCS9C), which provides a wealth of data for a particular RTI #.
Recoupment History (NQCS9F), which lists the payment activity for a particular RTI # (i.e., to which RTI # was the PA benefits recovered for a specific payment cycle assigned)
Recoupment Adjustment Ledger (NQCS9D), which documents the "reassignment" from one RTI # to another of the amount of PA benefits recovered (e.g., if a Fair Hearing Decision reverses a recoupment, the PA benefits already recovered may be assigned to another outstanding recoupment).
Archive Retrieval Recoupment History and Recoupment Ledger (WINR0713), which contains all archived recoupment data stored on computer tapes.
Sample copies of these WMS PA recoupment reports, with explanations, are available at: http://onlineresources.wnylc.net/FairHearingResources/docs/wms_pa_recoupment_reports.pdf.
Example
You think you may be able to mount a late challenge to a series of old PA recoupments due to certain defects in the recoupment notices. You need precise information on the date of each recoupment notice, the amount of each alleged overpayment to be recouped, the reason for each recoupment, and the status of each recoupment.
Your PPPL request to OTDA might seek:
All data in your agency's possession pertaining to all alleged overpayments of Public Assistance (PA) benefits received by [recipient's name], including but not limited to all information on all efforts to recover the alleged overpayments through recoupment of PA benefits.
I believe that such data is stored on New York State's Welfare Management System (WMS) and is available in the following report formats, or their equivalents:
• "PA Recoupment - Case Summary" Report (NQCS9P),
• "PA Recoupment - Suffix Summary" Report (NQCS9B),
• "Suffix Recoupment Detail" Report (NQCS9C) for each recoupment identification number (RTI #),
• "Recoupment History" Report (NQCS9F) for each RTI #,
• "Recoupment Adjustment Ledger" Report (NQCS9D), and/or
• "Archive Retrieval Recoupment History and Recoupment Ledger" Report (WINR0713).
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