Initial determinations are the determinations we make that are subject to administrative and judicial review. We will base our initial determination on the preponderance of the evidence. We will state the important facts and give the reasons for our conclusions in the initial determination. Initial determinations regarding supplemental security income benefits include, but are not limited to, determinations about -
(a) Your eligibility for, or the amount of, your supplemental security income benefits or your special SSI cash benefits under § 416.262, except actions solely involving transitions to eligibility between these types of benefits (see §§ 416.1403 (a)(13) and (a)(14)).
(b) Suspension, reduction, or termination of your SSI benefits or special SSI cash benefits (see §§ 416.261 and 416.262) or suspension or termination of your special SSI eligibility status (see §§ 416.264 through 416.269);
(c) Whether an overpayment of benefits must be repaid to us;
(d) Whether the payment of your benefits will be made, on your behalf, to a representative payee;
(e) Who will act as your payee if we determine that representative payment will be made;
(f) Imposing penalties for failing to report important information;
(g) Your drug addiction or alcoholism;
(h) Whether you are eligible for special SSI eligibility status under § 416.265;
(i) Your disability;
(j) Whether your completion of, or continuation for a specified period of time in, an appropriate program of vocational rehabilitation services, employment services, or other support services will increase the likelihood that you will not have to return to the disability or blindness benefit rolls, and thus, whether your benefits may be continued even though you are not disabled or blind;
(k) Whether or not you have a disabling impairment as defined in § 416.911;
(l) How much and to whom benefits due a deceased individual will be paid;
(m) A claim for benefits under § 416.351 based on alleged misinformation;
(n) Our calculation of the amount of change in your federally administered State supplementary payment amount (i.e., a reduction, suspension, or termination) which results from a mass change, as defined in § 416.1401; and
(o) Whether we were negligent in investigating or monitoring or failing to investigate or monitor your representative payee, which resulted in the misuse of benefits by your representative payee.
[45 FR 52096, Aug. 5, 1980, as amended at 47 FR 15325, Apr. 9, 1982; 49 FR 22275, May 29, 1984; 58 FR 52913, Oct. 13, 1993; 59 FR 41405, Aug. 12, 1994; 59 FR 43039, Aug. 22, 1994; 59 FR 44928, Aug. 31, 1994; 60 FR 8153, Feb. 10, 1995; 60 FR 14215, Mar. 15, 1995; 69 FR 60240, Oct. 7, 2004; 70 FR 36509, June 24, 2005; 73 FR 76944, Dec. 18, 2008]