# Presentation: 469110

## Slide 1

## Why is this issue important?

- In recent years, SSA’s representative payment program has received attention from:
*Congress*
*the Federal Courts*
*the media*
*advocacy groups*

##  Reference Materials

**Social Security Program:**
- _Understanding the Benefits _Pub  No. 05-10024
- _Retirement__ Benefits            _Pub No. 05-10035
- _Disability Benefits              _Pub No. 05-10029
- _Survivors Benefits               _Pub No. 05-10084

- _Working While Disabled...How We Can Help_
- 	Pub No. 05-10095
- _Basic Facts_
-      Pub No. 5-10080

## Reference Materials

**	****Representative Payment Program:**
- _A Guide for Representative Payees_  Pub No. 05-10076
- _What You Should Know When A Payee Manages Your Money_                  Pub No. 05-10097
- _Guide for Organizational Payees_                           Pub No. 17-013

**Supplemental Security Income Program:**
- _A Guide to SSI for Groups and Organizations_                      Pub No. 05-11015
- _What You Need to Know When You Get SSI_             Pub No. 05-11011
- _Understanding Supplemental Security Income_                               Pub No. 17-008

## Unit 1

## Two major benefit programs

**1.Retirement, Survivors & Disability Insurance (RSDI)**
- Social insurance program
- Protects workers & their families from loss of earnings due to: retirement, death, or disability

- Unit 1

## Two major benefit programs:

**2.Supplemental Security Income**
- Federal income maintenance program
- Provides cash assistance for: aged, blind, or disabled people with little or no income or resources

- Unit 1

## Unit 2

## The representative payment program

**	****Assists most vulnerable members of society who are:**
***young, or***
***elderly, or***
***disabled, and/or ***
***not capable of managing or directing someone else to manage their finances******.***

- Unit 2

## What is a representative payee?

- Person,
- Agency,
- Organization, or
- Institution selected to receive and manage benefits on behalf of an incapable or legally incompetent beneficiary.

- Unit 2

## Who needs a representative payee?

**Children under age 18**
**Beneficiaries determined legally incompetent**
**Beneficiaries determined by SSA to be incapable **
**	****of handling their money**

- Unit 2

## Power-of-Attorney

- Being a Social Security representative payee does not entitle an individual to manage any funds that aren’t Social Security or SSI payments.

**Power-of-Attorney**

- Unit 2

**Notes:**
“Power of Attorney” is a common arrangement that enables families to take care of a person’s bills and other legal matters.  But Social Security doesn’t recognize power of attorney procedures because they don’t include provisions for the responsibility and accountability that Social Security requires of its representative payees.

Having power of attorney or a joint bank account with the beneficiary is not the same thing as being a representative payee.

## Unit 3

## Applying to be a representative payee

- Contact your local Social Security office
- Face-to-face interview
- Documented proof of identity
- Current mailing & location address
- Bank account information (for direct deposit)

- Unit 3

## How SSA selects a payee

**Conduct a face-to-face interview to:**
- Determine relationship to the beneficiary,
- Discuss qualifications,
- Discuss ability to carry out responsibilities of a rep payee,
- Explain rep payee duties,
- Explain reporting responsibilities, and
- Explain liability for not reporting changes.

- Unit 3

## Requests for a change of payee

**Social Security will:**
- Contact the current payee for his or her views
- Investigate allegations raised about the current payee’s suitability to serve
- Send a notice to the current payee explaining the change

- Unit 3

## Unit 4

## Duties of an organizational representative payee

- Use the payments for the beneficiary’s current needs & save the remainder.
- File accounting report.
- Notify Social Security when the
- 	beneficiary is no longer your responsibility

- Unit 4

## Duties of  an organizational representative payee 

- Report all required events
- File an annual report of earnings
- Notify SSA when you can no longer serve as payee
- Return any conserved funds if you stop being payee

- Unit 4

## Other ways to help the beneficiary

- Meet regularly with him/her
- Establish a budget & discuss it with him/her
- Involve him/her in financial decisions
- Explain Social Security and SSI payments
- Explain expenses
- Make him/her aware of large retroactive payments

- Unit 4

## Other ways to help the beneficiary

- Help him/her find needed services
- Help him/her fill out applications for needed services
- Help him/her get medical treatment, as needed
- Negotiate with landlords & others for best deals
- Help him/her file income tax returns
- Recommend new payee if you cannot continue to serve

- Unit 4

## Unit 5

## 	Any changes in the life of a beneficiary that could change his or her benefit.  For example:

- Death
- Marriage, divorce or annulment
- Change in school attendance
- Change of address/moves
- No longer has a child in care
- Convicted of a crime
- Medical condition improves
- Starts working

- Unit 5

## Receives worker’s compensation

- Discharged from the hospital
- Household changes
- Leaves the United States
- Admitted to a hospital
- Income changes
- Resources change

- Unit 5

**Notes:**
Example for bullet 4 (change in beneficiary’s income/resources);  i.e., a child’s SSI benefit check may change if there are any changes in the family income or resources.

Unit 6 of the lesson plan and Pages 5 and 7 of Form SSA-11 provide a comprehensive list of reporting responsibilities.

## For children receiving SSI...

- You may be required to obtain treatment for the child’s disabling condition when medically necessary.

- Unit 5

## The death of a beneficiary 

**Social Security Benefits:**
- No check is payable for the month of death, even if death occurs on the last day of the month
- Checks received for month of death or later must be returned
**Supplemental Security Income:**
- Check is payable for month of death
- Checks that arrive after month of death must be returned

- Unit 5

## An overpayment is any amount of money received for any period that exceeds the total amount of money that should have been paid.

- Unit 5

## Unit 6

## How to spend a beneficiary’s money

- As a representative payee, you have the responsibility to use benefits received only for
- 	the use & benefit of the beneficiary.
- Current maintenance needs include:
- Food
- Clothing
- Medical Care
- Housing
- Personal comfort items
- Reasonably foreseeable needs

- Unit 6

## Beneficiaries in nursing homes or institutions 

**Nursing Homes**
**	**Set aside at least $30 a month
- 	for the beneficiary’s personal
- 	needs or for savings on
- 	his or her behalf**.**
**Institutions**
**	**For Social Security (not SSI), part of the funds can be used for the support of the beneficiary’s dependent spouse, child, and/or parent.

- Unit 6

## Outstanding debts

**If current & foreseeable needs are met, you may use the beneficiary’s funds to satisfy past debts.**
**You are not required to pay past debts unless it involves:**
- Repayment of Social Security or SSI overpayment
- An IRS levy for income tax purposes
- Garnishment (child support & alimony)

- Unit 6

## Spending large sums of money

- Your first priority is to meet the beneficiary’s current needs for:
- Food
- Housing
- Medical Care
- Other items for personal comfort

- Large sums of money must be used in the best interest of the beneficiary.

- Unit 6

## Handling large sums of money

- 	If there’s money left over after basic needs are met, money may be spent on:
**Things that improve the beneficiary’s living conditions**
**Providing better medical care**
**Training to help beneficiary become **
**	****more self-sufficient**
**Major health-related expenses**
**Recreational activities**

- Unit 6

## Large purchases

- A representative payee can make some of these    special purchases for comfort of the beneficiary**:**
- Home
- Home improvements
- Furniture
- Car
***Uncertain about an expenditure?   Contact your local Social Security Office.***

- Unit 6

## $2,000 resource limit for SSI

- Example of “resources”are:
- property,
- stocks,
- bonds, or
- bank accounts
- For an** **_individual_** **receiving SSI, savings and other resources are limited to _$2__**,000**_
- For a** **_couple_ receiving SSI, the limit is_** **__$3,000_
***Note: Not all resources count toward these limits; check with your local Social Security Office for additional information.***

- Unit 6

## Unit 7

## Improper use of benefits

***An unwise expenditure of benefits in a manner that isn’t in the best interest of  the beneficiary.***
- Example:  A payee takes the beneficiary to the circus instead of buying him/her needed clothes.

- Unit 7

## Misuse of benefits

***Occurs when money is not spent on the beneficiary or saved for future needs***
- SSA decides if misuse has occurred, and makes a misuse determination.

- Unit 7

## Misuse of benefits

- If  misuse is found, SSA may:
- Appoint a new payee, or
- Make direct payment to the beneficiary, and
- Obtain restitution from the misuser, and
- Refer the case to the OIG for possible criminal prosecution
***SSA will then initiate action to recover misused funds.***

- Unit 7

## Unit 8

## Titling for checking and        savings accounts

- Checking and savings account titles must show the beneficiary as the owner and that the payee has only a fiduciary (and not personal) interest in the funds.

- Two examples of bank account titles:
***“******(Beneficiary’s name) by (your name), representative payee,” ***
***or***
***“******(Your name), representative payee for (beneficiary’s name).”***
- The beneficiary retains ownership but not direct access to     the funds.

- Unit 8

## Unit 9

## Special rules for collective accounts

- Account separate from organization’s operating account.
- If a fee-for-service payee, deduct your fees & move to your operating account
- Keep clear records showing amount
- 	of each beneficiary’s share
- If beneficiary has more than $500,
- 	funds should be placed in interest
- 	bearing account.

- Unit 9

## Special rules for collective accounts (cont’d)

- Credit each beneficiary with his/her share of interest
- Set aside $30 per person for personal needs
- Funds belonging to a beneficiary can only be used for his or her needs
- Have account records available if requested by SSA

- Unit 9

## Titles for collective accounts 

**	****Examples of recommended titles for a collective account:**
***“******Sunnydale Nursing Home, representative payee for Social Security beneficiaries”***
***or***
***“******Sunnydale Patient’s Fund for Social Security beneficiaries” ***

- Unit 9

## Unit 10

## Dedicated accounts

- The law requires representative payees to maintain a dedicated account at a financial institution for deposit of past due SSI benefits.
- Dedicated accounts affect children under 18 who:
- Receive SSI due to disability or blindness
- Have a representative payee
- Are due past monthly SSI payments

- Unit 10

## Unit 11

## These documents should be kept for a minimum of 2 years.

- What records should an organization keep?
-  Bank statements,
-  Invoices,
-  Receipts,
-  Leases

- Unit 11

## Developing an accounting system

- Must show for each beneficiary:
- how much money was received, and
- how much money was spent, and
- the balance saved for each beneficiary.

- Unit 11

## Unit 12

## Monitoring organizational payees

- Meet to discuss your practices
- Review financial records
- Speak with beneficiaries

- Unit 12

## Unit 13

## Fee-for-Service

- Organizations authorized to collect a fee from a beneficiary’s Social Security or SSI payment.
- Fee is intended to cover expenses for providing payee services.

- Unit 13

## Current fee amounts

- Effective December 2000, the authorized fee is the lesser of:
***10% of the monthly benefit amount or $29***
- For disabled individuals who have been determined by SSA as having a drug addiction or alcoholism problem, the fee is the lesser of:
***10% of the monthly benefit amount or $56***

- Unit 13

## Monitoring fee-for-service payees

- Site visits
- Accounting reports
- Annual certification
- Verification of beneficiaries

- Unit 13

## Monitoring fee-for-service payees

- Review triennially via:
- Face-to-face meeting
- Examination of a sample of beneficiary records
- Review organization’s record keeping

- Unit 13

## Monitoring fee-for-service payees

- Verify expenses with the beneficiary’s service providers
- Speak with the beneficiaries

- Unit 13

## Unit 14

## Direct deposit

- Safe
- Reliable
- Economical
- Convenient

- Unit 14

## Need more information?

- 1-800-772-1213
- http://www.ssa.gov
- http://www.ssa/gov/payee
***Thank you for working with us!***