You can’t collect a fee for services from the beneficiary, unless Social Security allows it, or you are the legal guardian authorized by a court to charge a guardian fee. For specific information about your situation, you should talk with a worker at your local Social Security office or your attorney. Most of the time, with some exceptions, a payee may not collect a fee for this service. Also, if you have a Social Security hearing and are awarded benefits, it is possible for the judge to order you to have a representative payee.Ī representative payee receives your monthly benefit payments and has the authority to use them on your behalf. That is when the SSA will step in an appoint a rep payee. Additionally, in some cases, the person getting the benefits has a mental condition that prevents them from handling the money themselves. Some people chose to have a representative payee, because they know they need help managing their benefits. More than eight million people, who get monthly SSDI and SSI payments, need help handling their money. Your SSDI or SSI attorney can provide guidance.Cannon Disability Law > DISABILITY LAW BLOG > representative payee > REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE & YOUR BENEFITS REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE & YOUR BENEFITS WHAT IS A REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE?Ī representative payee is a friend, relative, or other interested party that the SSA appoints to protect the interests of the person who is being paid Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. This is an overview of the rep payee role, which is more complicated when the beneficiary is a child receiving SSI or the beneficiary receives a large lump-sum payment of past-due benefits. Payees have responsibility After paying for necessary and appropriate expenses, the representative payee should save the extra money in an interest-bearing account or instrument.Įxcept for reimbursement for “reasonable, actual out-of-pocket expenses” spent to assist the beneficiary (mileage for transporting them to an appointment, for example), payees may not use benefits to pay themselves fees, with narrow exception. Expenditures often include rent or room and board, food, clothing, medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance or public benefits, and recreation and leisure. The payee must remain active in the beneficiary’s life to understand their financial and personal needs. The payee must keep records of expenditures for annual reporting (with some exception) and in case they are selected for an “educational visit and payee review.” Rep payee responsibilitiesĪn appointed payee must open a bank account solely for the SSDI or SSI benefits that is titled appropriately to show that the payee holds the funds for the benefit of the beneficiary-owner. If no one in the person’s life is available, the agency will consider a qualified organization as payee like an agency that provides services or supports. The agency first looks to family or close friends of the beneficiary. To protect the money benefits of such a person, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will seek to appoint a “representative payee” to manage the payments on behalf of the beneficiary and in their best interests.Įxamples of SSDI or SSI beneficiaries who may need representative payees can include those with cognitive disabilities, dementia, advanced physical impairments, certain mental illnesses, substance addictions or other similar problems.Īccording to the SSA, the “law requires most minor children and all legally incompetent adults to have payees.” A potential rep payee must submit an application to the SSA. Money management issuesīut problems could arise if a recipient who has trouble managing money or who is vulnerable to financial exploitation received their cash benefits directly. These benefits are monthly payments that are often spent on important personal expenses like rent, food, clothing and more. Anyone eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) meets the federal definition of disability – meaning that they have a severe physical or mental medical impairment or combination of impairments expected to last at least a year or result in death and that prevents them from working.
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