SSA and its affiliated State disability determination services use Form SSA-827, "Authorization to Disclose Information to the Social Security Administration (SSA)" to obtain medical and other information needed to determine whether or not a claimant is disabled.

An SSA-1099 is a tax form we mail each year in January to people who receive Social Security benefits. It shows the total amount of benefits you received from us in the previous year so you know how much Social Security income to report to the Internal Revenue Service on your tax return.

File Form SSA-1693 only if you are submitting or have submitted a notice of appointment (i.e., SSA-1696 or equivalent writing) on an active claim or issue pending decision with us. In this document, “you” means the claimant, beneficiary, auxiliary beneficiary or spouse. Requesting a fee for representational services.

In the two-tiered fee agreement situation described above, the representative agreed to represent the claimant on a contingency basis if the claim went beyond the first ALJ level, with the fee premised on a percentage of past-due benefits, if successful, and nothing if unsuccessful.

Being an authorized representative, having power of attorney, or a joint bank account with the beneficiary is not the same as being a payee. These arrangements do not give legal authority to negotiate and manage a beneficiary's Social Security and/or SSI benefits.

1. “Fee agreement” as used throughout the opinion is the generic term for the various types of written contracts between lawyers and clients detailing the terms of representation, also referred to as engagement letters and retention, representation, or retainer agreements.