I-1-2-15.Two-tiered Fee Agreements

A claimant or their representative may submit a fee agreement that includes a provision limiting the agreement's application to services through a specific level of the administrative review process. Such an agreement would provide, in essence, for a two-tiered fee structure. Generally, the decision maker will be able to ascertain, at the time of the fully or partially favorable decision, which tier of the fee structure applies and will either approve or disapprove the fee agreement based on the current level of appeal if the agreement meets the statutory conditions for approval and none of the exceptions applies. See Hearings, Appeals and Litigation Law (HALLEX) manual I-1-2-12 for fee agreement evaluation policy.

The decision maker will disapprove the agreement if the agreement does not apply at the tier where the claim or other matter was favorably decided. Disapproval of the fee agreement notifies the claimant and the representative that the Social Security Administration will not authorize a fee based on the fee agreement and that the representative must file a fee petition to charge and collect a fee.

For a sample two-tiered fee agreement clause, see Program Operations Manual System GN 03940.005A.