The guidance for determining the 40 qualifying quarters is added to IMNL Section 1105.098.00 Appendix B.  The SSA earnings chart contained in Appendix B is revised to reflect earnings for the years 1999 and 2000.
An immigrant may have his/her own quarters and quarters may be deemed from a parent or spouse, if needed (see IMNL Section 1105.010.015.10 for guidelines on deeming quarters).  Before 
requesting 40 qualifying quarters history for a living parent or spouse, the parent/spouse must sign a Consent for Release of Information Form, SSA-3288.  If a living parent or spouse cannot be contacted or refuses to sign the consent release information, use form SSA-513 to request 40 qualifying quarters information. 

SSA form 512 must be used to resolve questionable quarters of coverage with the Social Security Administration.  The SSA-512, SSA-3288, and SSA-513 forms and instructions are attached.  A supply of the SSA-3288, SSA-512, and SSA-513 is being printed and will be available in the warehouse shortly.  Until supplies of the forms are available, copy the forms as needed.  File attached copies of SSA forms in the Forms Manual after the SAVE instructions.

To obtain information through IIVE, an individual must have a DCN.  If a query is needed for a parent or spouse who is not applying for assistance, assign a DCN.  Assign a DCN even if the parent or spouse is deceased. 

IIVE is revised to request 40 quarters history by entering a "Y" in the "40 QUARTERS?" field on the second page of IIVE.  The 40 Qualifying Quarters Response is page 6 of IIVE.  IIVE instructions are revised to reflect this change and include explanation of the qualifying 40 quarters response.

Note: IIVE instructions are revised to include Prisoner Record Data Definitions from the national prisoner match discussed in Memorandum IM-#145 dated October 1, 1999.

Attached with this memorandum is a guide for interpreting the response and determining 40 qualifying quarters.  The information in the guide was provided by the Social Security Administration.  In some instances it will be necessary to contact the Social Security Administration to resolve conflicting information.  The guide contains instructions on when and how to resolve conflicting information.  Please follow these instructions. 

Discuss this memorandum with all appropriate staff.

 

Obtain consent for release of information forms from all individuals for whom information is being requested through IIVE.

 

Access 40 qualifying quarters information for immigrants through IIVE.

 

Follow instructions in the guide to determine 40 qualifying quarters for immigrants.

 

Copy forms SSA-3288, SSA-512, and SSA-513 as needed until an initial supply is received.

INTRODUCTION:

PURPOSE:  Some immigrants must have 40 qualifying quarters of coverage under Title II of the Social Security Act or be credited with such quarters to be eligible for assistance.  Use this guide to determine if an immigrant has the required 40 qualifying quarters.  These guidelines were provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA). 

DEFINITION OF TERMS USED IN THIS GUIDE:

Applicant: This is the individual applying for public assistance benefits.

Covered Earnings: These are wages or self-employment income requiring payment of FICA/SECA (Social Security) taxes.

LAG Quarters: Current year Quarters and the year preceding it that may not appear in the qualifying quarter (QQ) history pattern because the employer report or self-employment tax return has not been processed. This could be up to seven (7) quarters depending when a request for QQ history is processed.

Noncovered earnings: These are wages or self-employment income that does not require payment of FICA/SECA (Social Security) taxes.

Number Holder: An individual who has a Social Security number assigned to him/her.

Qualifying Quarter (QQ): Credit for a required amount of covered earnings or noncovered earnings assigned to a calendar quarter for years beginning 1937.

Quarter: A period of three calendar months ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31.

Quarter of Coverage (QC): Credit for covered earnings assigned to a calendar quarter.

QQ History: A display of qualifying quarters by quarter and year.
 

1105.098.05     Overview
IM-#118 August 2, 2000

Before requesting quarters of coverage information: 

1. Determine whose quarters to request. Countable quarters of coverage can include quarters earned by the immigrant, the immigrant's parents, and the immigrant's spouse. Refer to the IMNL Sections 1105.010.15.05 and 1105.010.15.10 for the rules on deeming quarters of coverage.

 
2. Always determine quarters based on the immigrant's own earnings first.  This simplifies verification because many immigrants have sufficient quarters on their own record, thus eliminating the need for a QQ history for the parent(s)/spouse of the immigrant.

 
3. Establish parent/spouse relationship if quarters are being deemed.

 
4. Obtain a Consent for Release of Information from each individual (other than the individual signing the application) from whom the quarters are being requested.  The immigrant's parent/spouse completes Form SSA-3288, Consent for Release of Information, if the immigrant does not have sufficient QQ history.  A copy of Form SSA-3288 and an example of how the form must be completed is illustrated beginning with page 1105.63 of the hard copy Food Stamp Manual.  See Section 1105.098.10 for further information.

RETAIN THIS CONSENT FORM IN THE CASE RECORD.  SSA WILL REQUEST TO SEE THESE FORMS AS PART OF QUALITY CONTROL OR IF A QUESTION IS RAISED.

5.  Determine if any of the individuals whose quarters will be used in the 40 QQ determination received a Federal means-tested public benefit in January 1997 or any month thereafter.  SSI is an example of a means-tested public benefit.  SSI payment information is part of the IIVE query.  Use this information when reviewing the output to determine whether quarters in years after 1996 can be included.

The Social Security Administration requires consent for release of information from each individual (other than the individual signing the application) for whom quarters are being requested before IIVE can be accessed requesting the parent's/spouse's qualifying quarters history.  This consent is required even if the parent/spouse is in the same household as the immigrant for whom quarters of coverage is being established.

IMPORTANT: If someone refuses to cooperate and will not complete the consent form, you cannot use IIVE to obtain the qualifying quarters history. 

When someone refuses or cannot be located (after reasonable efforts are made to contact) to authorize release of information for QQ history, use Form SSA-513 REQUEST FOR QUARTERS OF COVERAGE (QC) HISTORY BASED ON RELATIONSHIP to request this information from the Social Security Administration.  In these instances only the pertinent quarters (quarters that might be used) can be disclosed to you.  The form and instructions for completion are located at the end of these instructions and can be duplicated as needed if supplies are not available in your office.
 

1105.098.15     MAKING THE DETERMINATION
IM-#118 August 2, 2000

REMEMBER: YOU CANNOT COUNT ANY QQ AFTER 12/31/96 IF THE IMMIGRANT, PARENT, OR SPOUSE RECEIVED A FEDERAL MEANS-TESTED PUBLIC BENEFIT DURING THE QUARTER.

STEP 1: Review the 40 qualifying quarter response for the individual for whom quarters are being established.  Do the codes that represent QQs add up to 40 or more?

If YES, the immigrant meets the 40 quarters requirement.

If NO, are there current or prior year earnings (LAG earnings) that are not shown in the QQ pattern? 

If YES, use the chart in Section 1105.098.20.00 (#1) to determine the qualifying quarters.

If the total now equals 40 or more quarters, the applicant meets the 40 quarters requirement.

If NO, go to step 2.

If YES, the immigrant meets the 40 quarters requirement.

If NO, develop LAG earnings as in Step 1 if applicable.

Does the total when these are added equal 40 or more?

If YES, the immigrant meets the 40 quarters requirement.

If NO go to step 3.

Review the field MINIMUM NUMBER QCs 1937-1950.

If these can be used, add them to the total.  Does the total equal 40 or more?

If YES, the immigrant meets the 40 quarters requirement.

If NO, continue.

Review the field MAXIMUM NUMBER OF QCs 1937-1950 and look at the QC pattern for codes # and Z.

If the maximum number and/or the codes # and Z will equal 40 or more when added to the total, refer the case to SSA as described in Section 1105.098.20.00.

If the total still does not equal at least 40, continue.

Review the QQ pattern with the immigrant.  If the immigrant believes that quarters are missing, develop the issue as described in Section 1105.098.20.00.

If the immigrant believes that the records are correct, he/she cannot meet the 40 quarters requirement.

  A - Agricultural QC
  C - Wage QC ( This is the most common quarter code)
  D - Military QC
  F - Medicare qualified government employment wages QC
  G - Gift QC
  J - Japanese Internment QC
  M - Military QC
  R - Railroad QC
  S - Self employment QC
  U - Noncovered Credit QC
  W - Noncovered Credit derived from the sum of covered and noncovered earnings QC
  * - A covered QC

Example 1:

An immigrant and spouse applied for food stamps. The immigrant entered the United States in 1986.  The immigrant's spouse entered prior to that time.  They married in June 1991.  It is determined that a QQ history for both SSNs is needed for the applicant to meet the 40 QQ requirement.  Obtain a Consent for Release of Information from the spouse and access IIVE.  Following is a display of QQ history for the applicant and the applicant's spouse.  Each individual's quarters display with the first quarter for the year on the left and the fourth quarter of the year end on the right.
 

	Applicant	Applicant's Spouse
1986	NNNN	CCCC
1987	NAAC	CCCC
1988	NNNN	CCCC
1989	NNAA	ZZCC
1990	AAAA	CCCC
1991	AAAA	CCCC
1992	AANN	CCCC
1993	CCCC	CCCC
1994	CCCC	CCNN
1995	CCCC	CCCC
1996	NNNN	NNNN
1997	NNNN	NNNN

In this example, the immigrant has a combination of wage and agricultural quarters totaling 27.  It appears that the immigrant's spouse has enough quarters, which when added to the immigrant's quarters will equal 40.  However, only the spouse's quarters earned during the marriage (shown as underlined and bold) can be qualifying quarters.  The spouse has 17 quarters during the marriage.  When added to the immigrant's quarters the total exceeds the 40 quarters requirement.  Based on this example, the immigrant and spouse meet the 40 quarters requirement.

In this case, you do not need to reconcile the "Z" quarters (1989) with SSA because they are outside of the marriage period.  You also do not need to develop the LAG quarters because they are not needed to reach the 40 quarters requirement. 
 

1105.098.20.00        RECONCILIATION-COVERED EARNINGS
IM-#118 August 2, 2000

1. 1. LAG QUARTERS

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

SSA will NOT develop LAG earnings for DFS because they will appear on SSA records when they are processed.  Because these quarters represent recent work activity, the immigrant should have acceptable evidence of earnings readily available.

When the individual needs LAG quarters from the previous or current year, accept forms such as W-2 and/or W-2c, employer prepared wage statements or an IRS copy of the individual's tax return. Credit qualified quarters to the applicant using the covered employment chart in Section 1105.098.20.10  Assume the earnings are covered employment if the proof submitted indicates FICA taxes were withheld.

2.  NON-LAG QUARTERS

Whenever the applicant or other individual whose QQs are being credited to the immigrant does not agree with the QQ pattern provided by the IIVE query, it will be necessary to reconcile the discrepancy. 

When the individual believes that the work he/she performed was in covered employment, or Medicare-only government wages, and the earnings do not fall within the LAG period, SSA is responsible for investigating the discrepancy and correcting the record.

Refer all covered employment or Medicare-only Federal, State, or local wage cases to SSA as follows: 

If the individual indicates that he/she used more than one SSN or allowed others to use his/her SSN, the individual will need to contact his/her local Social Security office to resolve the issue or call 1-800-772-1213 to set up an appointment.  Be sure to tell the individual to take a copy of the QC pattern, identifying information, and any proof of earnings they may have to the SSA office with them. 

If you need to develop a Z indicator for year(s) 1977 or earlier or a # sign indicator from the QC pattern, refer the case to SSA Office of Central Records Operations (OCRO) for investigation using Form SSA-512.  This form is located at the end of these guidelines and should be duplicated as needed.  Complete the SSA-512 including the following information:

  o  Name,
  o  Social Security Number,
  o  Date of Birth,
  o  Year or Years in Question,
  o  Return Address, and
  o  Copy of the Output From the Query.

A separate development request is needed for each SSN to be investigated.

Mail the request along with the copy of the IIVE response to:

  SSA, OCRO
  P.O. Box 17750
  Baltimore, MD  21235-0001

If you need to follow up on the status of your request, 45 days after your original request, request another QQ history query.  If the entry has been updated, the # or Z will be overlaid with N or C.  If the QQ pattern has not been updated after 60 days, call 1-800-775-7802 (SSA-OCRO, Earnings Discrepancy). 

If the individual indicates there are missing quarters or code "Z" is 1978 or later, have the immigrant, if he or she is the number holder of the SSN, complete an SSA-7008 Request for Correction of Earnings. (This form can be obtained from your local Social Security Office). Proof of earnings such as W-2s, pay slip/stub, tax return or statement from the employer should be attached.  On top of the SSA-7008 write "Welfare Reform."

  or

If the immigrant is not the number holder, tell the immigrant that the number holder must complete the SSA-7008 and provide proof of earnings as shown above.

All SSA-7008s along with the documentation should be mailed to:

  SSA, OCRO
  P.O. Box 17752
  Baltimore, MD  21235-0001 

If the applicant has no documentation, he/she should contact his/her local Social Security Office or call 1-800-772-1213 to arrange an appointment.

NOTE:  Occasionally SSA will not be able to verify and credit covered wages and self-employment.  This is because SSA's development requirements are designed to support strict insured status rules and Title II entitlement determinations.  If SSA cannot verify and credit covered wages and self-employment and you believe sufficient evidence exists to credit the wages or self-employment, use your best judgement whether to credit the wages or self-employment as noncovered qualifying quarters. 

1105.098.20.10     Noncovered Employment
IM-#118 August 2, 2000

When an applicant cannot meet the 40 qualifying quarters requirement using covered earnings or Medicare-only Federal, State, or local wages but alleges that he/she had additional work that is not documented by the IIVE query, follow the outline below to establish the existence of the earnings and convert them to qualifying quarters.
 

STEP 1: Review the IIVE response with the immigrant to determine whether qualifying quarters are missing from the record.

If QQs are not missing from the response, make the determination based on the information already obtained.

If QQs are missing from the response, obtain sufficient information from the individual to use the chart following this step to determine whether the alleged earnings are covered or noncovered.  Some examples of questions you might ask are:

    o Name and address of employer,
    o Dates of employment,
    o Amount of earnings, 
    o Type of business or self-employment,
    o Rate of pay, and
    o Work Performed.

It is important to note that 97 percent of all employment is now covered under the Social Security Act.

STEP 2: After you are satisfied that the noncovered earnings  exist use the following chart to determine the number of QQs that can be credited.  You can combine covered and noncovered earnings for a year.  The dollar amount indicates the amount needed to credit one qualifying quarter beginning with 1978. 

If you determine the earnings are from covered employment or Federal, State or local Medicare-only wages, then go to Section 1105.098.20.00 for development guidelines.

If you determine the earnings are from other noncovered employment, then you must obtain satisfactory evidence that the earnings exist before you can use the earnings to credit QQs.  Follow the agency's guidelines for developing eligibility requirements and evidentiary proof when making a decision.  However, the following list suggests a means to obtain evidence necessary to credit QQs for an immigrant.
 

The following examples of evidence which can be used to establish earnings are not all inclusive.  You may become aware of additional evidence during your contacts with the applicant.  Remember YOU must be satisfied that the evidence presented supports the existence of earnings and the amount of the earnings.

• Form W-2 (Wage and tax Statement) and W-2c (Statement of Corrected Income and Tax Amount);

 
• Employer prepared earnings statements;

 
• Statements of earnings signed by the custodian of the employer's records;

 
• IRS copy of the employee's tax return;

 
• Timely-filed tax return for a self-employed individual.  Be sure that the proof of filing, cancelled check, money order or copy of Schedule C bearing the IRS time stamp, indicates the return was filed within 3 years 3 months and 15 days after the year in which the self-employment income was derived;

 
• Other evidence of self-employment that allows you to determine the business did exist and that a profit was earned.  Comparison of bills, vouchers and receipts are examples of evidence you might use to make a determination;

 
• Pay envelopes, vouchers, and similar unsigned employer earnings statements to the employee, a State or Federal agency;

 
• Union records;

 
• Individual's copy of a Federal or State tax return;

 
• Records of State unemployment insurance agencies;

 
• Individual's personal records and statements; and

 
• Any other evidence of probative value.

Use the following chart to determine the number of qualifying quarters of earnings that can be credited toward an immigrant's 40 quarters.  The dollar amount indicates the amount of earnings needed to credit one (1) qualifying quarter beginning with 1978.

 1978..........$250     1990..........$520
 1979..........$260     1991..........$540 
 1980..........$290     1992..........$570
 1981..........$310     1993..........$590
 1982..........$340     1994..........$620
 1983..........$370     1995..........$630
 1984..........$390     1996..........$640
 1985..........$410     1997..........$670
 1986..........$440     1998..........$700
 1987..........$460     1999..........$740
 1988..........$470     2000..........$780
 1989..........$500

To determine the number of quarters earned in a specific year, divide the earnings for that year by the dollar amount shown for that year.  For the current year, count the quarter as soon as the individual has earnings in that quarter equal to the amount shown on the chart.  A quarter in which the immigrant received a Federal means-tested public benefit cannot count as a qualifying quarter.

The maximum number of quarters that can be credited in a calendar year is four quarters, regardless of earnings.  Examples of how to calculate quarters are:

 EXAMPLE 1:  An immigrant earned $2,090 in 1995.  $2,090 divided by $630 = 3 with $200 remaining.  The individual has 3 qualifying quarters from 1995.  The remainder of $200 is not enough earnings to credit a fourth quarter.

 EXAMPLE 2:  An immigrant earned $3,000 in January 1998.  $3,000 divided by $700 = 4 with $200 remaining.  As of February 1998, the individual has 4 qualifying quarters.

 EXAMPLE 3:  An immigrant earned $15,000 in 1997.  The individual has 4 qualifying quarters.  $15,000 divided by $670 = 22 with $260 remaining, but the individual can be credited with only 4 quarters for the calendar year.

 EXAMPLE 4:  An immigrant earned $1,500 during the January, February and March quarter of 1998.  The immigrant received Temporary Assistance for January and February 1998.  The immigrant has zero (0) qualifying quarters from this time period because s/he received a Federal means-tested public benefit during the quarter.

•  A credit was earned for each calendar quarter in which an individual was paid $50 or more in wages (including agricultural wages for 1951-1954);

 
•  Four credits were earned for each taxable year in which an individual's net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more; and/or

 
•  A credit was earned for each $100 (limit to a total of four for agricultural wages paid during the year for the years 1955-1977.

1105.099.00    APPENDIX C-GUIDE FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED ALIENS FOR FOOD STAMPS
IM-#142  November 6, 1998

Appendix C-Guide for Determining Eligibility of Qualified Aliens for Food Stamps is not available on-line.  Refer to the paper copy of the Food Stamp manual.