Representative Payees for Supplemental Security Income Beneficiaries

When a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiary is unable to manage his SSI funds, the Social Security Administration (SSA) appoints a representative payee to do so on behalf of the beneficiary. A representative payee can be an individual, organization, agency, or institution. Generally, an SSI beneficiary in need of a representative payee includes a child under age eighteen, a legally incompetent adult, and any other person who the SSA determines to be incapable of managing his funds.

Representative payees are charged with the responsibility of acting in the beneficiary's best interests. Fulfilling this responsibility requires that the representative payee know the beneficiary's needs and act accordingly. The representative payee must use the SSI benefits to provide for the food, clothing, and shelter of the beneficiary. Each year, an accounting of how the funds were spent must be submitted to the beneficiary as well as the SSA. Further, it is the representative payee's responsibility to respond to inquiries by the SSA as well as to contact the SSA when the beneficiary's status changes such that his benefits eligibility may be affected. A change of status for an SSI beneficiary includes a change of residence to or from a hospital or nursing home, a separation from the beneficiary's spouse, an increase or decrease in the number of people living in the beneficiary's household, and a change in the beneficiary's income or resources.

Both the beneficiary and the representative payee may request that the relationship be terminated. The SSA will investigate the situation leading to the request and thereafter issue a determination. Should the representative payee be relieved of his duties, any funds and interest on hand must be immediately returned to the SSA for distribution to the new representative payee.

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