Quarterly Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Reminder

The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides routine reminders to Employment Networks (EN) regarding Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in accordance with your Ticket Program Agreement, Part III, Section 8.E.

SSA’s policy regarding an EN’s transmission of PII to SSA and the Ticket Program Manager (TPM) states:

• ENs are prohibited from sending PII by email to SSA and TPM, even if it is encrypted. The only exception is when ENs submit encrypted documentation to the Center for Suitability and Personnel Security as part of the Suitability process.
• ENs are prohibited from sending any portion of a Social Security number by email.

SSA will enforce the following consequences against ENs that transmit PII through email to the agency or to TPM:

First Violation

• The Signatory Authority or Suitability Contact must send a statement to SSA describing how your EN will mitigate the PII security issue within five days of receiving the violation notification.
• SSA will remove the EN from ePay for three months or one ePay file, whichever comes first.
• SSA requires the EN to complete a virtual classroom refresher training on Properly Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information. Please note that while SSA requires that the PII violator and all main points of contact complete the training within 30 days of violation notice, SSA recommends that all EN staff complete the training.

Second Violation

• The Signatory Authority or Suitability Contact must submit a PII quality control plan to ensure no further violations occur within five days of receiving the violation notification.
• SSA will require that the EN participate in a call involving EN Leadership and SSA to discuss the quality control plan and consequences of a further violation.
• SSA may remove the EN from ePay for one year.

Third Violation

• SSA may terminate the EN due to noncompliance with the requirement to protect PII.

If an EN needs to submit PII to SSA or TPM, the EN must use any of the methods noted below:

• Email: work case (WC) number to ENPaymentsHelp@yourtickettowork.ssa.gov
• Fax: 1-703-893-4020
• Mail: P.O. Box 1433, Alexandria, VA 22313
• Call the Payments Help Desk: 1-866-949-3687 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET)
• Government-to-Government Services Online (GSO): for Services and Supports ONLY

TPM will route all faxes and mail to the correct department. Please allow extra time for processing.

Best practices for faxing or mailing PII to TPM:

• Always use a cover sheet.
• Include the EN name, Provider Identification (PID) and state where you are located.
• Include the subject and area of interest, for example, “Services and Supports Review.”
• Organize documents so that all pertaining to one Social Security number are grouped together.
• If faxing, always print a confirmation sheet in case there are transmission issues.

Please contact ENservice@ssa.gov with any questions concerning the use of electronic systems for transmitting PII.