This month Social Security issued a report conducted by three scholars on the process for choosing a representative payee for people who have been awarded Social Security disability benefits. Representative payees are chosen to manage the disability benefits of people who the agency believes are unable to manage the benefits on their own. Most times a close relative is chosen to manage these benefits, but there are strict rules on how those benefits can be managed and too many times the benefits are mismanaged or spent improperly. Through new procedures the agency hopes to limit the mismanagement of funds for beneficiaries who have representative payees.
No matter the steps the Social Security Administration takes to improve the representative payee program, there are going to be problems that continue to exist. Unfortunately Social Security does not have appropriate staffing levels in place to properly oversee the representative payee program. Another problem with the program is in choosing a representative payee to be responsible to manage the benefits. Many times a person who is determined to be unable to manage their own benefits doesn’t have anyone close to them to be a reliable payee. When this is the case Social Security will choose an outside agency to manage these funds and this costs money, but funds the agency does not have. To view the complete report click here. Below is a set of conclusions as issued in the report.
The goal of the study was to describe current methods and policies in selecting representative payees and to identify aspects of administrative structures, policies, guidelines, resources, and training that support or deter the selection of efficient and effective representative payees. Our report is the first to describe Social Security field office practices on the selection of representative payees for adults.
The study team gathered data using a two-phase process of in-depth, in-person interviews, and a national survey of field office managers. Data revealed challenges and implementable solutions for determining capability, increasing quality, handling a growing workload, designating guardians as payees, and selecting a range of organizational payees. Study findings revealed inconsistencies in the practice of determining capability and selecting payees.
Our 35 recommendations address many aspects of payee appointment and selection in the current SSA program, including specific changes in policy, POMS guidance, administration, communications, forms, technology, training, and research, as set out in the table below.
As we conducted our research, the new process for beneficiaries to designate potential payees in advance, as required by the 2018 Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act, was in the early stages of development. Regulations had not yet been promulgated, and most staff we interviewed were unaware of the new provision. At the time of data collection, it was unclear whether this provision would result in substantial changes in the selection process. In the months since our site visits, all employees have been trained on advance designation of payees; our report provides a context for implementation of the new provision.
