Income and eligibility verification requirements.

§ 205.51 Income and eligibility verification requirements. (a) A State plan under title I, IV-A, X, XIV or XVI (AABD) of the Social Security Act must provide that there be an Income and Eligibility Verification System in the State. Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS) means a system through which the State agency: (1) Co-ordinates data exchanges with other Federally-assisted benefit programs covered by section 1137(b) of the Act; (2) Requests and uses income and benefit information as specified in section 1137(a)(2) of the Act and §§ 205.55 and 205.56; and (3) Adheres to standardized formats and procedures in exchanging information with the other programs and agencies and in providing such information as may be useful to assist Federal, State and local agencies in the administration of the child support program and the Social Security Administration in the administration of the title II and title XVI (SSI) programs. The State agency (UC) information from the State Wage Information Collection Agency, described in paragraph (b) of this section; from the agency administering the State's unemployment compensation program (UC) under section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code; from agencies in other States cited in § 205.55(a)(5), as set forth by the Secretary; from SSA, as set forth by the Commissioner of Social Security; and from IRS, as set forth by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. (b) A State plan under title I, IV-A, X, XIV or XVI (AABD) of the Social Security Act must provide that, as part of its Income and Eligibility Verification System, there be a State Wage Information Collection Agency in the State. State Wage Information Collection Agency (SWICA) means the State agency receiving quarterly wage reports from employers in the State (which may be the agency administering the State's unemployment compensation program), or an alternative system which has been determined by the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to be as effective and timely in providing employment related income and eligibility information. (c) Wage information maintained by a SWICA which receives quarterly wage reports from employers but does not use these reports for computation of employment compensation shall: (1) Contain the social security number, first and last name and middle initial, wages earned for the period of the report, and an identifier of the employer (such as name and address) for each employee; (2) Include all employers covered by the State's UC law and require such employers to report wage information (as specified above) for each employee within 30 days from the end of each calendar quarter; (3) Accumulate earnings reported by employers for periods no longer than calendar quarters; (4) Be machine readable; i.e., maintained in a fashion that permits automated processing; and (5) Be available to other agencies in the State, to agencies in other States, and to Social Security Administration for establishing or verifying eligibility and benefit amounts under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act, pursuant to agreements as required in § 205.58. (d) A State shall obtain prior written approval from the Department, where appropriate, in accordance with 45 CFR 95.611, for any new developmental costs for automatic data processing equipment and services incurred in meeting IEVS requirements. [51 FR 7214, Feb. 28, 1986]