20 C.F.R. § 404.988 : Employees' Benefits — SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION — FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- ) — DETERMINATIONS, ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW PROCESS, AND REOPENING OF DETERMINATIONS AND DECISIONS —REOPENING AND REVISING DETERMINATIONS AND DECISIONS — Conditions for reopening

A determination, revised determination, decision, or revised decision may be reopened-

(a) Within 12 months of the date of the notice of the initial determination, for any reason;

(b) Within four years of the date of the notice of the initial determination if we find good cause, as defined in §404.989, to reopen the case; or

(c) At any time if-

(1) It was obtained by fraud or similar fault (see §416.1488(c) of this chapter for factors which we take into account in determining fraud or similar fault);

(2) Another person files a claim on the same earnings record and allowance of the claim adversely affects your claim;

(3) A person previously determined to be dead, and on whose earnings record your entitlement is based, is later found to be alive;

(4) Your claim was denied because you did not prove that a person died, and the death is later established-

(i) By a presumption of death under §404.721(b); or

(ii) By location or identification of his or her body;

(5) The Railroad Retirement Board has awarded duplicate benefits on the same earnings record;

(6) It either-

(i) Denies the person on whose earnings record your claim is based gratuitous wage credits for military or naval service because another Federal agency (other than the Veterans Administration) has erroneously certified that it has awarded benefits based on the service; or

(ii) Credits the earnings record of the person on which your claim is based with gratuitous wage credits and another Federal agency (other than the Veterans Administration) certifies that it has awarded a benefit based on the period of service for which the wage credits were granted;

(7) It finds that the claimant did not have insured status, but earnings were later credited to his or her earnings record to correct errors apparent on the face of the earnings record (section 205(c)(5)(C) of the Act), to enter items transferred by the Railroad Retirement Board, which were credited under the Railroad Retirement Act when they should have been credited to the claimant's Social Security earnings record (section 205(c)(5)(D) of the Act), or to correct errors made in the allocation of wages or self-employment income to individuals or periods (section 205(c)(5)(G) of the Act), which would have given him or her insured status at the time of the determination or decision if the earnings had been credited to his or her earnings record at that time, and the evidence of these earnings was in our possession or the possession of the Railroad Retirement Board at the time of the determination or decision;

(8) It is fully or partially unfavorable to a party, but only to correct clerical error or an error that appears on the face of the evidence that was considered when the determination or decision was made;

(9) It finds that you are entitled to monthly benefits or to a lump sum death payment based on the earnings of a deceased person, and it is later established that:

(i) You were convicted of a felony or an act in the nature of a felony for intentionally causing that person's death; or

(ii) If you were subject to the juvenile justice system, you were found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have intentionally caused that person's death by committing an act which, if committed by an adult, would have been considered a felony or an act in the nature of a felony;

(10) It either-

(i) Denies the person on whose earnings record your claim is based deemed wages for internment during World War II because of an erroneous finding that a benefit based upon the internment has been determined by an agency of the United States to be payable under another Federal law or under a system established by that agency; or

(ii) Awards the person on whose earnings record your claim is based deemed wages for internment during World War II and a benefit based upon the internment is determined by an agency of the United States to be payable under another Federal law or under a system established by that agency; or

(11) It is incorrect because-

(i) You were convicted of a crime that affected your right to receive benefits or your entitlement to a period of disability; or

(ii) Your conviction of a crime that affected your right to receive benefits or your entitlement to a period of disability is overturned.

20 C.F.R. §404.988

45 FR 52081, 8/5/1980, as amended at 49 FR 46369, 11/26/1984; 51 FR 18313, 5/19/1986; 59 FR 1635, 1/12/1994; 60 FR 19165, 4/17/1995; 75 FR 33168, 6/11/2010