Chapter 5-5 Social Security Representative Payee

• Jurisdiction: United States

5-5 Social Security Representative Payee

A Social Security Representative Payee is a person or organization that receives Social Security benefits on behalf of another person.²³³ This representative payee controls the funds. The payee's main duties are to use the Social Security benefits to pay for the current and future needs of the beneficiary, and to properly save any benefits not needed to meet current needs. While performing this delicate balance, the payee must also keep meticulous records of expenses. Whenever the Social Security Administration requests an accounting, the payee must provide one to the Administration showing how he or she either saved this amount of money or used it for the person's benefit. This being the case, the designation "Representative Payee" carries tremendous responsibility, a breach of which could have dire consequences.²³⁴

It is important to note that being an authorized representative, having power of attorney, or having a joint bank account with the Social Security beneficiary is not the same as being a representative payee. While these arrangements give the designee much power, they do not give him or her legal authority to negotiate and manage a beneficiary's Social Security and/or SSI benefits. To become a representative payee, one must apply for the position and be appointed by the Social Security Administration.

5-5:1 Becoming a Representative Payee

In the context of Elder Law, someone may become a representative payee for an elderly Social Security beneficiary if the relevant Social Security office in his or her district determines that it would be in the elder's best interest to pay the benefits to the representative payee to use or save for the beneficiary's benefit.²³⁵ A person who senses the need to become a representative payee for a beneficiary should contact the nearest Social Security office to apply for such appointment. The applicant must complete Form SSA-11 (Request to be Selected as Payee) and provide the Administration with documents proving his or her identity.

Upon receiving the application, the Social Security office conducts an investigation of the applicant to determine his or her qualification to become a representative payee.²³⁶ To the extent possible, the investigation should include a face-to-face meeting between the applicant and a Social Security staffer.²³⁷ If the investigation reveals that the applicant has in the past been involved in any type of Social Security fraud, the statute...