[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR260.4]

[Page 495-497]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 260_REQUESTS FOR RECONSIDERATION AND APPEALS WITHIN THE BOARD
--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 260.4  Request for waiver of recovery of an overpayment and/or 
for reconsideration of an initial erroneous payment decision.

    (a) General. A beneficiary who has been determined to have received 
an erroneous payment under Sec. 260.1(a)(7) shall have the right, upon 
the filing of a timely request in accordance with the requirements of 
this section, to request waiver of recovery of the erroneous payment 
and/or reconsideration of the erroneous payment decision. The 
beneficiary shall have the right to an informal oral hearing on the 
issue of waiver of recovery and/or reconsideration of the erroneous 
payment decision, before an employee of the Board designated to conduct 
such a hearing, prior to commencement of recovery by suspension or 
reduction of a monthly benefit.
    (b) Request for waiver of recovery and/or reconsideration of an 
erroneous payment decision and for a personal conference. A request for 
reconsideration of an erroneous payment decision must be filed in 
accordance with Sec. 260.3(b) of this part. A request for waiver of 
recovery of an overpayment decision and for a personal conference under 
this section shall be in writing and addressed to the field office of 
the Board set forth in the initial decision letter or to the Debt 
Recovery Manager and shall be filed within 60 calendar days from the 
date on which notice of the overpayment decision was sent to the 
beneficiary. The beneficiary shall state in the request whether he or 
she elects to have a personal conference. If the beneficiary does not 
elect to have a personal conference with respect to his or her request 
for waiver of recovery or for reconsideration of the overpayment 
decision, he or she may, along with the

[[Page 496]]

request, submit any evidence and argument which he or she would like to 
present in support of his or her case.
    (c) Right to further review of an initial overpayment decision. The 
right to further review of an initial overpayment decision shall be 
forfeited unless a written request for reconsideration is filed within 
the time period prescribed in Sec. 260.3(b) of this part (60 days) or 
good cause, as defined in section 260.3(d) of this part, is shown by the 
beneficiary for failing to file a timely request for reconsideration. 
Nothing in this section shall be taken to mean that waiver of recovery 
will not be considered in these cases where the request for waiver is 
not filed within 60 days, but action to recover the erroneous payment 
will not be deferred if such a request is not filed within 60 days. Any 
amounts recovered prior to the date on which the request for waiver as 
permitted under the preceding sentence is filed shall not be waived 
under part 255 of this chapter.
    (d) Delay in commencement of recovery of erroneous payment. Where a 
timely request for waiver or reconsideration is filed as provided in 
this section, the Board shall not commence recovery of the erroneous 
payment by suspension or reduction of a monthly benefit payable by the 
Board until a decision with respect to such request for waiver or 
reconsideration has been made and notice thereof mailed to the claimant.
    (e) Impartial review. Upon receipt of a timely request for personal 
conference under this section, the Board shall promptly arrange for the 
selection of a Board employee to conduct a personal conference in the 
case. The employee designated to conduct the personal conference under 
this section shall not have had any prior involvement with the initial 
erroneous payment decision and shall conduct the personal conference in 
a fair and impartial manner. The employee designated to conduct the 
personal conference under this section shall promptly schedule a time 
and place for the personal conference and promptly notify the 
beneficiary of such. If the beneficiary agrees, the personal conference 
may be conducted by telephone.
    (f) Personal conference. The beneficiary shall upon request have the 
opportunity to review, prior to the personal conference, his or her 
claim folder and all documents pertinent to the issues raised. A 
personal conference conducted under this section shall be informal. At 
the personal conference the beneficiary shall be afforded the following 
rights:
    (1) To present his or her case orally and to submit evidence, 
whether through witnesses or documents;
    (2) To cross-examine adverse witnesses who appear at the personal 
conference; and
    (3) To be represented by counsel or other person.
    (g) Preparation of recommended decision. Upon completion of the 
personal conference the employee who conducts the personal conference 
shall prepare a summary of the case including a statement of the facts, 
the employee's findings of fact and law, and a recommended decision.
    (h) Timely review. The Board shall make every effort to render a 
decision with respect to the beneficiary's request for reconsideration 
of the initial erroneous payment determination and/or waiver of recovery 
and notify the beneficiary of that decision within 60 days of the date 
that the request for reconsideration and/or waiver is filed or the date 
that the summary of the case is received from the employee who conducts 
the personal conference, whichever is later.
    (i) Right to appeal adverse decision. If the Board renders a 
decision adverse to the beneficiary, he or she may appeal the decision 
to the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, as provided in Sec. 260.5 of 
this part.
    (j) Repayment is not a bar to requesting waiver and/or 
reconsideration. The fact that a beneficiary may have notified the Board 
with respect to the method by which he or she could choose to have the 
recovery made, or the fact that such beneficiary may have actually 
tendered to the Board a portion or

[[Page 497]]

all of the amount of the erroneous payment, shall in no way operate to 
prejudice his or her right to request reconsideration of the initial 
erroneous payment determination or to request waiver of recovery.

[47 FR 36809, Aug. 24, 1982, as amended at 55 FR 39146, Sept. 25, 1990; 
67 FR 77153, Dec. 17, 2002]