Why is this issue important? In recent years, SSA’s representative payment program has received...
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Transcript of Why is this issue important? In recent years, SSA’s representative payment program has received...
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 MaterialsSocial 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 HelpPub No. 05-10095
• Basic Facts Pub No. 5-10080
Reference MaterialsRepresentative 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 1Unit 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 1Unit 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 2Unit 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 2Unit 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 2Unit 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 2Unit 2
• 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 aren’t Social Security or SSI payments.
Power-of-Attorney
Unit 3Unit 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 3Unit 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 3Unit 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 4Unit 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 4Unit 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 4Unit 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 4Unit 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 5Unit 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 5Unit 5
•Receives worker’s
compensation
•Discharged from the hospital
•Household changes
•Leaves the United States
•Admitted to a hospital
•Income changes
•Resources change
Unit 5Unit 5
For children receiving SSI...
• You may be required to
obtain treatment for the
child’s disabling
condition when medically
necessary.
Unit 5Unit 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 5Unit 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 6Unit 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 6Unit 6
Beneficiaries in nursing homes or institutions
• Nursing HomesSet aside at least $30 a month
for the beneficiary’s personal
needs or for savings on
his or her behalf.
• InstitutionsFor 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 6Unit 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 6Unit 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 6Unit 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 6Unit 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 6Unit 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 $3,000Note: Not all resources count toward these limits; check with your local Social
Security Office for additional information.
Unit 7Unit 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 7Unit 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 7Unit 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 8Unit 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 9Unit 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 9Unit 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 9Unit 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 10Unit 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 11Unit 11
These documents should be kept for a minimum of 2 years.
•What records should an organization keep?
– Bank statements,
– Invoices,
– Receipts,
– Leases
Unit 11Unit 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 12Unit 12
Monitoring organizational payees
• Meet to discuss your practices
• Review financial records
• Speak with beneficiaries
Unit 13Unit 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 13Unit 13
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
Unit 13Unit 13
Monitoring fee-for-service payees
• Site visits
• Accounting reports
• Annual certification
• Verification of beneficiaries
Unit 13Unit 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 13Unit 13
Monitoring fee-for-service payees
• Verify expenses with the beneficiary’s service providers
• Speak with the beneficiaries