Social Security

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Why is this issue important?

• In recent years, SSAs representative payment
  program has received attention from
• Congress
• the Federal Courts
• the media
• advocacy groups

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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 DisabledHow We Can Help
• Pub No. 05-10095
• Basic Facts
• Pub No. 5-10080

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Reference Materials

• 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
  

• 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

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Unit 1
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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

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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

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Unit 2
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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.

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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.

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Who needs a representative payee?

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

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Power-of-Attorney

• For Social Security, having power-of-attorney or
  a joint bank accounting with the beneficiary is
  NOT the same thing as being a representative
  payee.
• Being a Social Security representative payee does
  not entitle an individual to manage any funds
  that arent Social Security or SSI payments.

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Unit 3
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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)

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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.

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Requests for a change of payee

• Social Security will
• Contact the current payee for his or her views
• Investigate allegations raised about the current
  payees suitability to serve
• Send a notice to the current payee explaining the
  change

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Unit 4
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Duties of an organizational representative payee

• Use the payments for the beneficiarys current
  needs save the remainder.
• File accounting report.
• Notify Social Security when the
• beneficiary is no longer your responsibility

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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

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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

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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

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Unit 5
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• 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

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• Receives workers compensation
• Discharged from the hospital
• Household changes
• Leaves the United States
• Admitted to a hospital
• Income changes
• Resources change

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For children receiving SSI...

• You may be required to obtain treatment for the
  childs disabling condition when medically
  necessary.

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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

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

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Unit 6
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How to spend a beneficiarys 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

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Beneficiaries in nursing homes or institutions

• Nursing Homes
• Set aside at least 30 a month
• for the beneficiarys 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 beneficiarys
  dependent spouse, child, and/or parent.

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Outstanding debts

• If current foreseeable needs are met, you may
  use the beneficiarys 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)

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Spending large sums of money

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

• Your first priority is to meet the beneficiarys
  current needs for
• Food
• Housing
• Medical Care
• Other items for personal comfort

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Handling large sums of money

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

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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.

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2,000 resource limit for SSI

• Example of resourcesare
• 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.

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Unit 7
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Improper use of benefits

• An unwise expenditure of benefits in a manner
  that isnt in the best interest of the
  beneficiary.
• Example A payee takes the beneficiary to the
  circus instead of buying him/her needed clothes.

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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.

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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.

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Unit 8
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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
• (Beneficiarys name) by (your name),
  representative payee,
• or
• (Your name), representative payee for
  (beneficiarys name).
• The beneficiary retains ownership but not direct
  access to the funds.

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Unit 9
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Special rules for collective accounts

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

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Special rules for collective accounts (contd)

• 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

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Titles for collective accounts

• Examples of recommended titles for a collective
  account
• Sunnydale Nursing Home, representative payee for
  Social Security beneficiaries
• or
• Sunnydale Patients Fund for Social Security
  beneficiaries

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Unit 10
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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

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Unit 11
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• What records should an organization keep?
• Bank statements,
• Invoices,
• Receipts,
• Leases

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

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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.

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Unit 12
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Monitoring organizational payees

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

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Unit 13
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Fee-for-Service

• Organizations authorized to collect a fee from a
  beneficiarys Social Security or SSI payment.
• Fee is intended to cover expenses for providing
  payee services.

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Current fee amounts

• Effective December 2013, the authorized fee is
  the lesser of
• 10 of the monthly benefit amount or 40
• 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 77

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Monitoring fee-for-service payees

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

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Monitoring fee-for-service payees

• Review triennially via
• Face-to-face meeting
• Examination of a sample of beneficiary records
• Review organizations record keeping

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Monitoring fee-for-service payees

• Verify expenses with the beneficiarys service
  providers
• Speak with the beneficiaries

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Unit 14
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Direct deposit

• Safe
• Reliable
• Economical
• Convenient

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Need more information?

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