As of April 1, 2009, the Social Security Administration (SSA) changed its policy and will no longer suspend or deny benefits solely on the basis of an outstanding felony warrant.  Most class members are eligible for significant retroactive payments as well as waiver of any overpayments being charged.  In January, 2010, SSA stopped collecting on overpayments and began distributing back benefits to recipients who had their benefits wrongfully terminated.  It expects these payments to be completed by June, 2010.  There are over 200,000 people who stand to benefit from this settlement.

The same law also prohibits payment of benefits to those violating a condition of probation or parole. SSA’s policy automatically suspends or denies benefits when there is a warrant out for violation of probation or parole.  The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) filed a separate lawsuit challenging that policy, Clark v. Astrue, now pending with Second Circuit.  If the warrant is for probation or parole violation, the client is not part of the Martinez settlement.