Understanding Supplemental Security Income
Representative Payee Program2008 Edition

  WHAT  IS  A  REPRESENTATIVE  PAYEE?  

A representative payee is a person, agency, organization or institution we select to manage your funds when we determine that you are unable to do so yourself.

Before appointing a representative payee, we must evaluate medical or other types of evidence about your capability to manage your SSI benefits. We use a list of qualifications to evaluate prospective representative payees.

  WHO  MUST  HAVE  A  REPRESENTATIVE  PAYEE?  

	most children under the age of 18;
	legally incompetent adults; and
	anyone we determine to be incapable of managing or directing the management of his or her funds.

  WHO  MAY  SERVE  AS  YOUR  REPRESENTATIVE  PAYEE?  

	someone (other than a convicted felon) who is concerned with your welfare, usually a parent, spouse, close relative, guardian, or friend;
	an institution, such as a nursing home or health care provider;
	a public or nonprofit agency or financial organization; or
	providers or administrative officers at homeless shelters.

  WHAT  ARE  YOUR  REPRESENTATIVE  PAYEE'S  DUTIES?  

The most important duty of a payee is to know the needs of the beneficiary and to use the benefits in the best interests of the beneficiary. Your representative payee must first use your SSI benefits for your current basic needs for food, clothing, and housing.

Each year, we will ask your representative payee to complete a simple accounting report showing how they spent the money.

The representative payee should respond on your behalf to any of our requests for action or information. Common requests are the annual representative payee accounting, the SSI redetermination of eligibility or request for a continuing disability review.

Your representative payee's authority is limited to matters between you and us. A representative payee is not the same as a power of attorney. A representative payee has no authority to enter into any binding contracts on your behalf.

Your representative payee is responsible for reporting to us any changes in your circumstances that could affect your eligibility to benefits (e.g., income, resources, change of address, living arrangements, return to work, etc.).

You or your representative payee may, at any time, request that we change or terminate the payee arrangement. Following such a request, we will investigate the situation and make a determination.

If you are a representative payee for a child under age 18, please see our chapter on SSI FOR CHILDREN, the SSI Spotlight on Dedicated Accounts for Children, and our chapter on CONTINUING DISABILITY REVIEWS (CDRs) for how CDRs work for children.

IMPORTANT:Social Security needs volunteers to serve as representative payees. If you would like more information, please visit our special website or call your local Social Security office. Also, please see the booklets, A Guide for Representative Payees. and Guide for Organizational Representative Payees.