According to the Social Security Administration (SSA) there can be several reasons why Social Security decides someone needs a payee. Generally it is because SSA has information that indicated a claimant needs help in managing money and meeting current needs. Your payee receives your payments on your behalf and must use the money to pay for your current needs, which include: housing and utilities; food; medical and dental expenses; personal care items; and clothing. After these expenses are paid, the payee can delegate the rest of the money to pay any past-due bills a person may have, support dependents, or provide entertainment for an individual. The payee must keep accurate records of payments and how they are spent and regularly report that information to Social Security. If a person receiving disability payments lives in an institution, such as a nursing home or a hospital, the payee should pay the cost of the care and provide money for personal necessities. In addition, SSA recommends a person receiving the benefits to report to the payee if you: get a job or stop working; move; get married; get money from another source; take a trip outside the United States; go to jail or prison; are admitted to a hospital; save any money; apply for help from a welfare department or other government agency; and are no longer disabled.
Selection of payee: SSA tries to delegate the responsibilities to someone who knows you and wants to help you. The main goal is to find someone who can see you often and who knows what your needs are. For that reason, if you’re living with someone who helps you, they can select that person to be your payee. However, in most cases someone who knows the beneficiary asks us if he or she can be the beneficiary’s payee. It may be a family member, a friend, or a legal guardian. However, sometimes social service agencies, such as nursing homes or other organizations offer to serve as payees. If there’s someone you would like to have as your payee, you can certainly tell an SSA representative and they will consider the request. Last but not least it is important that you and your payee talk about how the money is going to be spent. Your payee should show you how much money you get from Social Security and how much he or she spends on your needs. Then you should talk with your payee about how you want to use your money.
