68 Fed. Reg. 55323 (Sep. 25, 2003)

Representative Payment Under Titles II, VIII and XVI of the Social Security Act

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Federal RegisterSep 25, 2003

68 Fed. Reg. 55323 (Sep. 25, 2003)

AGENCY:

Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION:

Proposed rules.

SUMMARY:

We propose to revise our regulations explaining the procedures we follow in determining the need for a representative payee, the procedures we follow in selecting a representative payee, the responsibilities of a representative payee, and restitution of benefits where SSA is negligent under titles II, VIII and XVI of the Social Security Act (the Act). This regulation codifies SSA's long-standing enacted representative payee policy based on statutory changes made since 1990. This regulation sets forth our rules applicable to claims for special veteran's benefits (SVB) under title VIII of the Act. We began making payments under the SVB program in May 2000. We propose to add new rules on Representative Payment for the SVB program.

The proposed changes to the representative payee provisions of the regulations will reflect several statutory changes that provide protection for beneficiaries who need representative payees. These proposed changes include representative payment procedures for investigating payee applicants, identifying unsuitable applicants, making direct payment in some circumstances, providing advance notice of our determination to make representative payment, and providing affected beneficiaries with the opportunity to appeal our determinations. Also included are procedures for making restitution of benefits where a payee has misused a beneficiary's payments and SSA was negligent in investigating or monitoring the payee, and representative payee policies and procedures for the title VIII program.

DATES:

To consider your comments, we must receive them no later than November 24, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

You may give us your comments by: using our Internet site facility (i.e., Social Security Online) at http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawRegs;; e-mail to regulations@ssa.gov; telefax to (410) 965-2830; or letter to the Commissioner of Social Security, P.O. Box 17703, Baltimore, MD 21235-7703. You may also deliver them to the Office of Regulations, Social Security Administration, 100 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on regular business days. Comments are posted on our Internet site for your review, or you may inspect them physically on regular business days by making arrangements with the contact person shown in this preamble.

Electronic Version

The electronic file of this document is available on the date of publication in the Federal Register on the Internet site for the Government Printing Office, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. It is also available on the Internet site for SSA (i.e., Social Security Online) at http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawRegs.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regarding this Federal Register document—Robert Augustine, Social Insurance Specialist, Office of Regulations, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 965-0020 or TTY (410) 966-5609; regarding eligibility or filing for benefits—our national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778 or visit our internet web site, Social Security Online at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

We are withdrawing the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) we published in the Federal Register on March 15, 1994 (59 FR 11949). This notice, which includes proposed changes that reflect legislation affecting representative payment policies enacted since 1990, replaces it.

Subpart U of part 404 and subpart F of part 416 of our regulations explain the principles and procedures that we follow in determining whether to make representative payment and in selecting a representative payee under the title II and title XVI programs. These subparts also describe the responsibilities of a representative payee regarding the use of funds the payee receives on behalf of the beneficiary. Under the authority provided in sections 205(j) and 1631(a)(2) of the Act and these regulations, we select a representative payee for a person receiving Social Security benefits under title II or supplemental security income (SSI) benefits under title XVI of the Act if we believe that representative payment rather than direct payment of benefits is in the interest of that person.

In selecting a representative payee, we choose the person, agency, or organization that we believe will best serve the interest of a beneficiary. Any person or organization chosen as a representative payee must use benefits and accept all payee responsibilities as required under the Act and our regulations.

A. Changes Required by Public Law 101-508

Section 5105(a)(1) and (2), and (c) of Public Law (Pub. L.) 101-508, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA 90) enacted November 5, 1990, amended sections 205(j) and 1631(a)(2) of the Act. These sections of OBRA 90 made numerous modifications and additions to the representative payee provisions of the Act and were intended to provide additional safeguards and protection for beneficiaries who need representative payees. These modifications and additions include:

Investigating representative payee applicants;
Identifying unsuitable representative payee applicants;
Making direct payment to some beneficiaries while we try to find a representative payee;
Allowing a delay or suspension of direct payment for one month (or longer under certain exceptions) when searching for a representative payee where direct payment would cause substantial harm to the beneficiary;
Providing advance notice to the beneficiary of determinations to make representative payment and selections of representative payees;
Providing beneficiaries with the opportunity to appeal our determination to make representative payment or to select a particular representative payee;
Making restitution (in some instances) to beneficiaries of benefits misused by representative payees; and
Making a good faith effort in those instances to obtain restitution from terminated representative payees who have misused benefits.

The restitution provision of section 5105(c) of OBRA 90 contained in these proposed regulations was effective November 5, 1990—the date OBRA 90 was enacted. The other OBRA 90 representative payee provisions addressed by these proposed rules were effective with respect to determinations regarding payment of benefits to representative payees made on or after July 1, 1991.

B. Changes Required by Public Law 103-296

Section 201 of Public Law 103-296, the Social Security Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994 (SSIPIA 94), enacted August 15, 1994:

Extends the authority for qualified organizations to collect fees for representative payee services beyond the July 1, 1994 sunset date;
Included state or local government agencies as qualified organizations for purposes of collecting fees; and
Required an annual adjustment (beginning with December 1996) to the limit on the fee collected by qualified organizations for providing payee services.

C. Changes Required by Public Law 104-121

Section 105 of Public Law 104-121, the Contract With America Advancement Act of 1996, enacted March 29, 1996, eliminated disability benefits based on drug addiction and/or alcoholism (DAA). However, individuals are considered to have a DAA condition when there is medical evidence of DAA, but the DAA is not material to the disability determination. Under Public Law 104-121, individuals with a DAA condition (as determined by the Commissioner), who are eligible for Social Security or SSI benefits based on a disability other than DAA and who are also found to be incapable of managing their own benefits, must have a representative payee if the Commissioner determines that representative payment would serve the interests of the individual. The statute also provided an exception to the one-month limit on suspension of benefit payment while we are looking for a representative payee for an individual with a DAA condition. Appointment of organizational representative payees for incapable individuals with a DAA condition is preferred; however, in certain cases we can select a family member.

D. Changes Required By Public Law 105-33 and Public Law 106-170

Section 5525(b) of Public Law 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, enacted August 5, 1997, provided technical amendments to the title XVI portions of Public Law 104-121 relating to the effective date of provisions concerning representative payees. Effective July 1, 1996 or later, certain individuals with a DAA condition who were found to be incapable of managing their benefits would be paid through a representative payee. In addition, section 401 of Public Law 106-170, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, provided technical amendments to Public Law 104-121 to change the effective date of the title II representative payee and referral provisions applicable to individuals with a DAA condition.

E. Changes Required by Public Law 106-169

Section 251 of Public Law 106-169, the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999, enacted on December 14, 1999, added a new title VIII program to the Act—Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans. Title VIII requires SSA to pay SVB to certain World War II Veterans. Section 807 of the Act authorizes SSA to pay SVB to a representative payee when we determine that would be in the beneficiary's interest. We propose to add a new subpart F—Representative Payment to part 408 of our regulations to set forth the representative payment rules applicable to the SVB program.

Explanation of Proposed Regulations

We are proposing the following changes in our regulations to reflect the amendments to the Act made by sections 5105(a)(1) and (2), and (c) of OBRA 90; section 201 of Public Law 103-296; section 105 of Public Law 104-121; section 5525(b) of Public Law 105-33; section 251 of Public Law 106-169 and section 401 of Public Law 106-170.

A. Restitution

We propose to amend §§ 404.902 and 416.1402 to include a determination on restitution as an initial determination subject to the administrative review process. This change reflects our view that our determination regarding a person's right to restitution is a decision covered by sections 205(b)(1) and 1631(c)(1) of the Act, and is an initial determination subject to the administrative review process.

B. Substantial Harm

We propose to add new §§ 404.2011 and 416.611 to explain that when we have determined a beneficiary needs to be paid through a representative payee and a representative payee is not immediately available:

1. We would pay monthly benefits directly to a beneficiary who we determine should have a representative payee until a suitable representative payee is selected, unless we determine that direct payment of these benefits would result in substantial harm to the beneficiary.

2. Findings of substantial harm would be made on a case-by-case basis. We would find substantial harm in cases where direct payment of benefits is expected to result in physical or mental injury to the beneficiary (such as instances when the beneficiary cannot deal with the stress associated with handling his or her own financial affairs). We also would find substantial harm to exist when the beneficiary is legally incompetent, under age 15, or is receiving disability payments and we have determined that he or she has a DAA condition. However, we would allow these individuals to provide evidence that direct payment would not cause substantial harm. If we find upon review of this evidence that direct payment would not result in substantial harm, then we will make direct payment to the individual.

3. Findings of substantial harm are not considered initial determinations subject to appeal rights. This is because a finding of substantial harm will not materially affect the beneficiary since delay or suspension of direct payment is temporary. Beneficiaries who have their benefits temporarily suspended can challenge the determination to make representative payment (§§ 404.902(o) and 416.1402(d)).

4. If we find that direct payment to an individual would cause substantial harm, we may delay or suspend benefits up to 1 month. If the beneficiary who needs a representative payee is legally incompetent, under age 15, or receiving disability payments and determined by us to have a DAA condition and is incapable, we may delay payments for more than 1 month.

5. Payment of any benefits which were deferred or suspended pending selection of a representative payee will be made to the beneficiary or the representative payee as a single sum, or in installments when we determine that installments are in the best interest of the beneficiary.

C. Unsuitable Representative Payees

We propose to add new §§ 404.2022 and 416.622 to explain that:

1. A representative payee applicant convicted of a violation under section 208, 811 or 1632 of the Act may never serve as a representative payee. This prohibition was in sections 208 and 1632 of the Act prior to enactment of section 5105(a)(2) of OBRA 90 but was never included in our regulations. We added section 811 violations because of the enactment of the new SVB program (section 807 of the Act).

2. A representative payee applicant receiving Social Security, SVB or SSI benefits through a representative payee may not serve as a representative payee. These individuals have already been determined to be incapable of managing their own benefits.

3. A representative payee applicant whose prior certification or appointment as representative payee was revoked or terminated for misusing title II, VIII or XVI benefits generally may not be appointed as a representative payee. We may make an exception to this prohibition on a case-by-case basis if:

Direct payment is not possible,
No suitable alternative payee is available,
Payment to the payee applicant would serve the best interest of the beneficiary,
The information we have indicates the applicant is now suitable to serve as payee and
The applicant has repaid the misused benefits or has a plan to repay them.

If such an applicant is appointed, evaluation(s) of the applicant's performance as representative payee will be conducted periodically at intervals not to exceed 3 months until we are satisfied that the payee poses no risk to the beneficiary and is likely to perform in the beneficiary's best interest.

4. Payment will not be certified to a representative payee applicant who is a creditor of the beneficiary, i.e., someone who provides the beneficiary with goods or services for monetary consideration, unless the creditor is:

A relative of the beneficiary living in the same household as the beneficiary;
A legal guardian or legal representative of the beneficiary;
A facility that is licensed or certified as a care facility under State or local law, or an administrator, owner, or employee of such a facility and the selection of the facility or such person is made only after we have attempted to locate an alternative representative payee who would better serve the interests of the beneficiary;
An individual we determine to be acceptable to serve as a representative payee because we have determined that the individual poses no risk to the beneficiary, the financial relationship of the applicant to the beneficiary poses no substantial conflict of interest, and a more suitable representative payee cannot be found; or
A qualified organization authorized to collect a monthly fee from the beneficiary for expenses incurred by the organization in providing services performed as the individual's representative payee.

D. Investigation of Representative Payee Applicants

We propose to add new §§ 404.2024 and 416.624 to explain that before certifying payment to a representative payee applicant, we will conduct an investigation of the payee applicant to determine the applicant's suitability. A face-to-face interview will be included as part of the investigation unless it is impracticable to do so. A face-to-face interview may be considered impracticable if it would cause the representative payee applicant undue hardship. Undue hardship exists when the applicant cannot reasonably make arrangements to visit the Social Security field office. During the investigation, we will:

Require the payee applicant to submit documented proof of identity, unless such information has been submitted with an application for titles II, VIII or XVI benefits;
Verify the payee applicant's Social Security account number or employer identification number;
Determine whether the payee applicant has been convicted of a violation under section 208, 811, or 1632 of the Act;
Determine whether the payee applicant previously served as a representative payee and had his or her certification revoked or terminated because of misuse of title II, VIII or XVI benefits.

E. Notice of Appointment of Representative Payee

We propose to amend existing §§ 404.2030 and 416.630 to explain that whenever we intend to make representative payment or to appoint a particular representative payee, we will provide written notice to the beneficiary (or the legal guardian or the legal representative of the beneficiary) in advance of actually appointing the payee and certifying payment. This will allow the beneficiary the opportunity to appeal the proposed representative payee appointment. The advance notice will:

Be clearly written in language that is easily understandable to the reader;
Identify the person to be designated as representative payee;
Explain the right of the beneficiary (or the legal guardian or legal representative of the beneficiary) to appeal our determination that a representative payee is necessary;
Explain the right to appeal the designation of a particular person to serve as the representative payee of the beneficiary; and
Explain the right to review the evidence upon which the payee designation is based, and to submit additional evidence.

If the beneficiary, or his or her legal guardian or legal representative, appeals and the appeal is received before the appointment of the representative payee is effective, the appointment will not be processed until the appeal has been resolved in accordance with subpart J of part 404 or subpart N of part 416. We will pay current monthly benefits directly to the beneficiary, where appropriate, in accordance with proposed §§ 404.2011 and 416.611, until we select a payee.

F. Organizational Representative Payees

We propose to amend existing §§ 404.2040a and 416.640a to remove the requirement that the organization must have been in existence prior to October 1, 1988. We propose to include State or local government agencies as qualified organizations for purposes of collecting fees. We also propose to revise paragraph (g), Limitation on fees, to reflect that the limit on fees collected by such organizations increases annually by the same percentage as the cost of living adjustment.

G. Liability for Misused Benefits

We propose to amend §§ 404.2041 and 416.641 to explain that:

The representative payee is liable for misuse of the beneficiary's benefits and is responsible for paying back misused benefits to us. We will always make every reasonable effort to obtain restitution of misused benefits;
We will be liable for repayment of misused benefits if such misuse by a representative payee results from our negligent failure to investigate or monitor the representative payee. The term “negligent failure” as used in the proposed regulation means that we failed to investigate or monitor a representative payee or that we did investigate or monitor a representative payee but were negligent in that effort;
For title XVI purposes, when we find that our negligent failure to investigate or monitor a representative payee results in misuse of SSI benefits which involve federally administered State supplementary payments, our repayment of misused funds will include any portion of misused SSI benefits which are State supplementary payments.
If we determine that repayment of misused benefits is appropriate, we will certify for payment to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's new representative payee an amount equal to such misused benefits.

H. When a New Representative Payee Will Be Selected

We propose to amend §§ 404.2050 and 416.650 to reflect changes made by section 5105(a)(1) of OBRA 90 requiring that we will promptly stop payment to a representative payee and make payment directly to the beneficiary or to a new payee if we, or a court of competent jurisdiction, determine that the representative payee has misused the beneficiary's benefits. We may make exceptions to this rule on a case-by-case basis if the requirements discussed in C.3. above are met.

I. Annual Accounting of Benefits

We propose to amend §§ 404.2065 and 416.665 to show that an annual accounting of benefits is required from all representative payees except for certain State institutions, and to clarify the types of questions included in the accounting report. We also clarify that payees must keep records and make them available to us upon request.

J. Other Changes

We propose to amend existing §§ 404.2025 and 416.625 to change the title of the sections to “What information must a representative payee report to us?”, move existing paragraph (a) of these sections with minor revisions to new §§ 404.2024 and 416.624 as new paragraph (a)(8) and keep existing paragraph (b) as an undesignated paragraph under §§ 404.2025 and 416.625.

We also propose to amend §§ 404.902 and 416.1402, paragraphs (o) and (d), respectively, to remove the reference to DAA being a contributing factor material to the disability determination. We included a new paragraph (x) and (o), respectively, to include misuse of benefits by a representative payee when we were negligent in failing to investigate or monitor the payee as an initial determination subject to judicial review.

K. Representative Payment of SVB

Section 807 of the Act authorizes SSA to pay your SVB benefits to a representative payee when we determine that would be in your interest. The title VIII provisions on representative payment closely parallel the representative payment provisions in titles II and XVI of the Act (although not all title II/XVI provisions apply to the title VIII program). We are therefore proposing a new subpart F to part 408 which includes an introductory section on representative payment in the title VIII program followed by sections (with the exception of § 408.630) that refer users to the sections in part 404 that deal with the appropriate topics. Proposed subpart F would consist of the following sections:

Section 408.601 introduces subpart F.
Section 408.610 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2010(a), which explains the circumstances under which we will make representative payment.
Section 408.611 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2011, which explains what happens to your monthly benefits while we are finding a suitable representative payee.
Section 408.615 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2015, which explains the kinds of information we consider in determining whether to make representative payment.
Section 408.620 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2020, which explains the information we consider in determining an appropriate representative payee for you.
Section 408.621 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2021(a), which provides a list of the payees that we prefer to serve your interests.
Section 408.622 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2022, which contains a list of individuals whom we generally will not select as your representative payee.
Section 408.624 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2024, which explains how we investigate whether an individual is suitable to serve as a representative payee, including the requirement that we conduct a face-to-face interview with the payee applicant unless it is impracticable to do so.
Section 408.625 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2025, which explains the information a representative payee or payee applicant must give us.
Section 408.630 explains how we will notify you when we decide you need a representative payee.
Section 408.635 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2035, which explains the responsibilities of a representative payee.
Section 408.640 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2040, which explains how a representative payee may use the SVB payments he or she receives on your behalf.
Section 408.641 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2041, which explains who is liable when a representative payee misuses the benefits he or she receives on your behalf.
Section 408.645 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2045, which explains the rules your representative payee must follow to conserve or invest excess benefits, contains a list of preferred investments, and explains that any interest and dividends that result from an investment is your property, not the property of your payee.
Section 408.650 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2050, which explains when we will select a new representative payee for you.
Section 408.655 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2055, which explains when we will stop representative payment and begin making payment directly to you.
Section 408.660 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2060, which explains what happens to accumulated funds when your representative payee changes.
Section 408.665 provides a cross-reference to § 404.2065, which explains how we require your representative payee to verify that he or she used your benefits on your behalf.

Clarity of These Regulations

Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 13258, requires each agency to write all rules in plain language. In addition to comments you may have on the substance of these proposed rules, we also invite your comments on how to make these rules easier to understand. For example:

Have we organized the material to suit your needs?
Are the requirements in the rules clearly stated?
Do the rules contain technical language or jargon that is not clear?
Would a different format (grouping and order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing) make the rules easier to understand?
Would more (but shorter) sections be better?
Could we improve clarity by adding tables, lists, or diagrams?
What else could we do to make the rules easier to understand?

Regulatory Procedures

Executive Order 12866

We have consulted with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and determined that these proposed rules meet the criteria for a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 13258. Thus, they were reviewed by OMB. However, the estimated amounts of the savings or costs involved do not cross the threshold for an economically significant regulation as defined in Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 13258.

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

We have reviewed the proposed rules for compliance with Executive Order 13132 and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA of 1995). We have determined that the proposed rules are not significant within the meaning of the UMRA of 1995 nor will they have any substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government within the meaning of Executive Order 13132.

The provision regarding restitution of misused benefit payments will not significantly impact the States. Even though the States would be responsible for the supplementary payments portion of the restitution, there should only be a small number of cases involved. There is a very small number of representative payees who are found to misuse benefit payments and of that number, misuse involving SSI payments is even smaller. The number of cases where “negligent failure” might potentially be involved would be much smaller still. In addition, SSA will seek restitution of misused funds from the terminated representative payee and, if the restitution is obtained, the State will be reimbursed for any State supplementary payment involved.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that these proposed regulations will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis as provided in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended, is not required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

These proposed rules contain reporting requirements as shown in the table below. Where the public reporting burden is accounted for in Information Collection Requests for the various forms that the public uses to submit the information to SSA, a 1-hour placeholder burden is being assigned to the specific reporting requirement(s) contained in these rules; we are seeking clearance of these burdens because they were not considered during the clearance of the forms.

CFR section	Number of respondents	Frequency of response	Average burden per response	Estimated annual burden hours
404.2011(a)(1) 416.611(a)(1)	250	1	15 Minutes	62.5
404.2024(a)(2) 408.624 416.624(a)(2)		1	1 Hour	1
404.2024(a)(8) 408.624 416.624(a)(8)		1	1 Hour	1
404.2025 408.625 416.625	3,000	1	6 Minutes	300
404.2040a(a)-(d) 416.640a(a)-(d)	60	1	15 Minutes	15
404.2040a(e) 416.640a(e)	8	1	1 Hour	8
404.2065 408.665 416.665		1	1 Hour	1

An Information Collection Request has been submitted to OMB for clearance. We are soliciting comments on the burden estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to enhance its quality, utility and clarity; and on ways to minimize the burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments should be submitted and/or faxed to OMB and the Social Security Administration at the following addresses/numbers:

Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, New Executive Office Building, Room 10230, 725 17th St., NW., Washington, DC 20530, Fax Number: 202-395-6974.

Social Security Administration, Attn: SSA Reports Clearance Officer, Rm. 1338 Annex Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, Fax Number: 410-965-6400.

Comments can be received for up to 60 days after publication of this notice and will be most useful if received by SSA within 30 days of publication. To receive a copy of the OMB clearance package, you may call the SSA Reports Clearance Officer on 410-965-0454.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social Security—Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social Security—Retirement Insurance; 96.004, Social Security—Survivors Insurance; 96.006, Supplemental Security Income; 96-020, Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans)

List of Subjects

20 CFR Part 404

Administrative practice and procedure
Blind
Disability benefits
Old-Age
Survivors and Disability Insurance; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
Social Security

20 CFR Part 408

Administrative practice and procedure
Aged; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
Social Security; Special Veterans benefits; Veterans

20 CFR Part 416

Administrative practice and procedure
Aged
Blind
Disability benefits
Public assistance programs
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
Supplemental security income (SSI)

Dated: June 19, 2003.

Jo Anne B. Barnhart,

Commissioner of Social Security.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, we propose to amend subparts J and U of part 404, add subpart F to part 408, and amend subparts F and N of part 416 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 404—FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950- )

1. The authority citation for subpart J continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a), (b) and (d)-(h), and (j), 221, 225, and 702(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(j), 404(f), 405(a), (b), (d)-(h), and (j), 421, 425, and 902(a)(5)); 31 U.S.C. 3720A; sec. 5, Pub. L. 97-455, 96 Stat. 2500 (42 U.S.C. 405 note); secs. 5, 6(c)-(e), and 15, Pub. L. 98-460, 98 Stat. 1802 (42 U.S.C. 421 note).

2. Amend § 404.902 by revising paragraph (o), removing the word “and” at the end of paragraph (v), revising the period at the end of paragraph (w) to read “; and” and adding paragraph (x) to read as follows:

§ 404.902

Administrative actions that are initial determinations.

(o) Whether the payment of your benefits will be made, on your behalf, to a representative payee;

(x) Whether we were negligent in failing to investigate or monitor your representative payee, which resulted in the misuse of benefits by your representative payee.

3. The authority citation for subpart U of part 404 continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 205(a), (j), and (k), and 702(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(a), (j), and (k), and 902(a)(5)).

4. Add § 404.2011 to read as follows:

§ 404.2011

What happens to your monthly benefits while we are finding a suitable representative payee for you?

(a) We may pay you directly. We will pay current monthly benefits directly to you while finding a suitable representative payee unless we determine that paying you directly would cause substantial harm to you. We determine substantial harm as follows:

(1) If you are receiving disability payments and we have determined that you have a drug addiction or alcoholism condition, or you are legally incompetent, or you are under age 15, we will presume that substantial harm exists. However, we will allow you to dispute this presumption by presenting evidence that direct payment would not cause you substantial harm.

(2) If you do not fit any of these categories, we make findings of substantial harm on a case-by-case basis. We consider all matters that may affect your ability to manage your benefits in your own best interest. We decide that substantial harm exists if both of the following conditions exist:

(i) Directly receiving benefits can be expected to cause you serious physical or mental injury.

(ii) The possible effect of the injury would outweigh the effect of having no income to meet your basic needs.

(b) We may delay or suspend your payments. If we find that direct payment will cause substantial harm to you, we may delay (in the case of initial entitlement to benefits) or suspend (in the case of existing entitlement to benefits) payments for as long as 1 month while we try to find a suitable representative payee for you. If we do not find a payee within one month, we will pay you directly. If you are receiving disability payments and we have determined that you have a drug addiction and alcoholism condition, or you are legally incompetent, or you are under age 15, we will withhold payment until a representative payee is appointed even if it takes longer than one month. We will, however, as noted in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, allow you to present evidence to dispute the presumption that direct payment would cause you substantial harm. See § 404.2001(b)(3) for our policy on suspending benefits if you are currently receiving benefits directly.

Example 1: Substantial Harm Exists. We are unable to find a representative payee for Mr. X, a 67-year-old retirement beneficiary who is an alcoholic. Based on contacts with the doctor and beneficiary, we determine that Mr. X was hospitalized recently for his drinking. Paying him directly will cause injury, so we may delay payment for as long as one month based on substantial harm while we locate a suitable representative payee.

Example 2:

Substantial Harm Does Not Exist. We approve a claim for Mr. Y, a title II claimant who suffers from a combination of mental impairments but who is not legally incompetent. We determine that Mr. Y needs assistance in managing his benefits, but we have not found a representative payee. Although we believe that Mr. Y may not use the money wisely, there is no indication that receiving funds directly would cause him substantial harm (i.e., physical or mental injury). We must pay current benefits directly to Mr. Y while we locate a suitable representative payee.

(c) How we pay delayed or suspended benefits. Payment of benefits, which were delayed or suspended pending appointment of a representative payee, can be made to you or your representative payee as a single sum or in installments when we determine that installments are in your best interest.

5. Amend § 404.2021 by revising the heading and paragraph (a) introductory text, redesignating paragraph (b) as paragraph (c) and adding new paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 404.2021

What is our order of preference in selecting a representative payee for you?

(a) For beneficiaries 18 years old or older (except those described in paragraph (b) of this section), our preference is—

(b) For individuals who are disabled and who have a drug addiction or alcoholism condition our preference is—

(1) A community-based nonprofit social service agency which is licensed by the State, or bonded;

(2) A Federal, State, or local government agency whose mission is to carry out income maintenance, social service, or health care-related activities;

(3) A State or local government agency with fiduciary responsibilities;

(4) A designee of an agency (other than a Federal agency) referred to in paragraphs (b)(1), (2), and (3) of this section, if appropriate; or

(5) A family member.

6. Add § 404.2022 to read as follows:

§ 404.2022

Who may not serve as a representative payee?

A representative payee applicant may not serve if he/she:

(a) Has been convicted of a violation under section 208, 811 or 1632 of the Social Security Act.

(b) Receives title II, VIII, or XVI benefits through a representative payee.

(c) Previously served as a representative payee and was found by us, or a court of competent jurisdiction, to have misused title II, VIII or XVI benefits. However, if we decide to make an exception to this prohibition, we must evaluate the payee's performance at least every 3 months until we are satisfied that the payee poses no risk to the beneficiary's best interest. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis if all of the following are true:

(1) Direct payment of benefits to the beneficiary is not in the beneficiary's interest.

(2) No suitable alternative payee is available.

(3) Selecting the payee applicant as representative payee would be in the best interest of the beneficiary.

(4) The information we have indicates the applicant is now suitable to serve as a representative payee.

(5) The payee applicant has repaid the misused benefits or has a plan to repay them.

(d) Is a creditor. A creditor is someone who provides you with goods or services for consideration. This restriction does not apply to the creditor who poses no risk to you and whose financial relationship with you presents no substantial conflict of interest, and who is any of the following:

(1) A relative living in the same household as you do.

(2) Your legal guardian or legal representative.

(3) A facility that is licensed or certified as a care facility under the law of a State or a political subdivision of a State.

(4) A qualified organization authorized to collect a monthly fee from you for expenses incurred in providing representative payee services for you, under § 404.2040a.

(5) An administrator, owner, or employee of the facility in which you live and we are unable to locate an alternative representative payee.

(6) Any other individual we deem appropriate based on a written determination.

Example 1:

Sharon applies to be representative payee for Ron who we have determined cannot manage his benefits. Sharon has been renting a room to Ron for several years and assists Ron in handling his other financial obligations, as needed. She charges Ron a reasonable amount of rent. Ron has no other family or friends willing to help manage his benefits or to act as representative payee. Sharon has demonstrated that her interest in and concern for Ron goes beyond her desire to collect the rent each month. In this instance, we may select Sharon as Ron's representative payee because a more suitable payee is not available, she appears to pose no risk to Ron and there is minimal conflict of interest. We will document this decision.

Example 2:

In a situation similar to the one above, Ron's landlord indicates that she is applying to be payee only to ensure receipt of her rent. If there is money left after payment of the rent, she will give it directly to Ron to manage on his own. In this situation, we would not select the landlord as Ron's representative payee because of the substantial conflict of interest and lack of interest in his well being.

7. Add § 404.2024 to read as follows:

§ 404.2024

How do we investigate a representative payee applicant?

Before selecting an individual or organization to act as your representative payee, we will perform an investigation.

(a) Nature of the investigation. As part of the investigation, we do the following:

(1) Conduct a face-to-face interview with the payee applicant unless it is impracticable as explained in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Require the payee applicant to submit documented proof of identity, unless information establishing identity has recently been submitted with an application for title II, VIII or XVI benefits.

(3) Verify the payee applicant's Social Security account number or employer identification number.

(4) Determine whether the payee applicant has been convicted of a violation of section 208, 811 or 1632 of the Social Security Act.

(5) Determine whether the payee applicant has previously served as a representative payee and if they had an appointment as payee revoked or terminated for misusing title II, VIII or XVI benefits.

(6) Use our records to verify the payee applicant's employment and/or direct receipt of title II, VIII, or XVI benefits.

(7) Verify the payee applicant's concern for the beneficiary with the beneficiary's custodian or other interested person.

(8) Require the applicant to provide adequate information showing his or her relationship to the beneficiary and describe his or her responsibility for the care of the beneficiary.

(9) Determine whether the payee applicant is a creditor of the beneficiary (see § 404.2022(d)).

(b) A face-to-face interview. We may consider a face-to-face interview impracticable if it would cause the payee applicant undue hardship. For example, the payee applicant cares for children or disabled individuals in the home and no alternative caregiver is available, or is employed and cannot arrange for time off from work, or would have to travel a great distance to the field office. In this situation, we may conduct the investigation to determine the payee applicant's suitability to serve as a representative payee without a face-to-face interview. We may decide subsequent face-to-face interviews are impracticable for an organizational representative payee applicant when the organization is known by the field office as a suitable payee. We base this decision on the organization's past performance, recent contacts, and its knowledge of and compliance with reporting requirements.

8. Revise § 404.2025 to read as follows:

§ 404.2025

What information must a representative payee report to us?

Anytime after we select a representative payee for you, we may ask your payee to give us information showing a continuing relationship with you, a continuing responsibility for your care, and how he/she used the payments on your behalf. If your representative payee does not give us the requested information within a reasonable period of time, we may stop sending your benefit payment to him/her—unless we determine that he/she had a satisfactory reason for not meeting our request and we subsequently receive the requested information. If we decide to stop sending your payment to your representative payee, we will consider paying you directly (in accordance with § 404.2011) while we look for a new payee.

9. Revise § 404.2030 to read as follows:

§ 404.2030

How will we notify you when we decide you need a representative payee?

(a) We notify you in writing of our determination to make representative payment. This advance notice explains that we have determined that representative payment is in your interest, and it provides the name of the representative payee we have selected. We send this notice before we actually appoint the payee and allow you 10 days from the receipt of the notice to protest the proposed payee appointment before we certify payment to the payee. If you are under age 15, an unemancipated minor under the age of 18, or legally incompetent, our written notice goes to your legal guardian or legal representative. The advance notice:

(1) Contains language that is easily understandable to the reader.

(2) Identifies the person designated as your representative payee.

(3) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can appeal our determination that you need a representative payee.

(4) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can appeal our designation of a particular person or organization to serve as your representative payee.

(5) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can review the evidence upon which our designation of a particular representative payee is based and submit additional evidence.

(b) If you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative objects to representative payment or to the designated payee, we will handle the objection as follows:

(1) If you disagree with the decision and wish to file an appeal, we will process it under subpart J of this part.

(2) If you file the appeal before the decision takes effect, we will delay the action until we make a decision.

10. Revise § 404.2040a to read as follows:

§ 404.2040a

Compensation for qualified organizations serving as representative payees.

(a) Organizations that can request compensation. A qualified organization can request us to authorize it to collect a monthly fee from your benefit payment. A qualified organization is:

(1) Any State or local government agency with fiduciary responsibilities or whose mission is to carry out income maintenance, social service, or health care-related activities; or

(2) Any community-based nonprofit social service organization founded for religious, charitable or social welfare purposes which is licensed in the State in which it serves as representative payee or bonded.

(b) What requirements must qualified organizations meet? Organizations that are qualified under paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section must also meet the following requirements before we can authorize them to collect a monthly fee.

(1) A qualified organization must regularly provide representative payee services concurrently to at least five beneficiaries. An organization which has received our authorization to collect a fee for representative payee services, but is temporarily (not more than 6 months) not a payee for at least five beneficiaries, may request our approval to continue to collect fees for those beneficiaries it currently serves during this short period in which the qualified organization has less than 5 beneficiaries. A qualified organization may not collect a fee unless the conditions in paragraph (g)(3) of this section are met.

(2) A qualified organization must demonstrate that it is not a creditor of the beneficiary. See paragraph (c) of this section for exceptions to the requirement regarding creditors.

(c) Creditor relationship. On a case-by-case basis, we may authorize an organization to collect a fee for payee services despite the creditor relationship. (For example, the creditor is the beneficiary's landlord.) To provide this authorization, we will review all of the evidence submitted by the organization and authorize collection of a fee when:

(1) The creditor services (e.g., providing housing) provided by the organization help to meet the current needs of the beneficiary; and

(2) The amount the organization charges the beneficiary for these services is commensurate with the beneficiary's ability to pay.

(d) Authorization process. (1) An organization must request in writing and receive an authorization from us before it may collect a fee.

(2) An organization seeking authorization to collect a fee must also give us evidence to show that it is qualified, pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, to collect a fee.

(3) If the evidence provided to us by the organization shows that it meets the requirements of this section, and additional investigation by us proves it suitable to serve, we will notify the organization in writing that it is authorized to collect a fee. If we need more evidence, or if we are not able to authorize the collection of a fee, we will also notify the organization in writing that we have not authorized the collection of a fee.

(e) Revocation and cancellation of the authorization. (1) We will revoke an authorization to collect a fee if we have evidence which establishes that an organization no longer meets the requirements of this section. We will issue a written notice to the organization explaining the reason(s) for the revocation.

(2) An organization may cancel its authorization at any time upon written notice to us.

(f) Notices. The written notice we will send to an organization authorizing the collection of a fee will contain an effective date for the collection of a fee pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this section. The effective date will be no earlier than the month in which the organization asked for authorization to collect a fee. The notice will be applicable to all beneficiaries for whom the organization was payee at the time of our authorization and all beneficiaries for whom the organization becomes payee while the authorization is in effect.

(g) Limitation on fees. (1) An organization authorized to collect a fee under this section may collect from a beneficiary a monthly fee for expenses (including overhead) it has incurred in providing payee services to a beneficiary. The limit on the fee a qualified organization may collect for providing payee services increases by the same percentage as the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA). The increased fee amount (rounded to the nearest dollar) is taken beginning with the benefit for December (received in January).

(2) Any agreement providing for a fee in excess of the amount permitted shall be void and treated as misuse of your benefits by the organization under § 404.2041.

(3) A fee may be collected for any month during which the organization—

(i) Provides representative payee services;

(ii) Receives a benefit payment for the beneficiary; and

(iii) Is authorized to receive a fee for representative payee services.

(4) Fees for services may not be taken from any funds conserved for the beneficiary by a payee in accordance with § 404.2045.

(5) Generally, an organization may not collect a fee for months in which it does not receive a benefit payment. However, an organization will be allowed to collect a fee for months in which it did not receive a payment if we later issue payment for these months and the organization:

(i) Received our approval to collect a fee for the months for which payment is made;

(ii) Provided payee services in the months for which payment is made; and

(iii) Was the payee when the retroactive payment was paid by us.

(6) An authorized organization can collect a fee for providing representative payee services from another source if the total amount of the fee collected from both the beneficiary and the other source does not exceed the amount authorized by us.

11. Revise § 404.2041 to read as follows:

§ 404.2041

Who is liable if your representative payee misuses your benefits?

(a) A representative payee who misuses your benefits is responsible for paying back misused benefits. We will make every reasonable effort to obtain restitution of misused benefits so that these benefits can be repaid to you.

(b) We will repay benefits in cases when we determine that a representative payee misused benefits and we were negligent in the investigation or monitoring of that representative payee. When we make restitution, we will pay you or your alternative representative payee an amount equal to the misused benefits less any amount repaid by the misuser.

(c) The term “negligent failure” used in this subpart means that we failed to investigate or monitor a representative payee or that we did investigate or monitor a representative payee but did not follow established procedures in our investigation or monitoring. Examples of our negligent failure include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) We did not follow our established procedures in this subpart when investigating, appointing, or monitoring a representative payee;

(2) We did not timely investigate a reported allegation of misuse; or

(3) We did not take the necessary steps to prevent the issuance of payments to the representative payee after it was determined that the payee misused benefits.

(d) Our repayment of misused benefits under these provisions does not alter the representative payee's liability and responsibility as described in paragraph (a) of this section.

12. Revise § 404.2050 to read as follows:

§ 404.2050

When will we select a new representative payee for you?

When we learn that your interest is not served by sending your benefit payment to your present representative payee or that your present payee is no longer able or willing to carry out payee responsibilities, we will promptly stop sending your payment to the payee. We will then send your benefit payment to an alternative payee or directly to you, until we find a suitable payee. We may suspend payment as explained in § 404.2011(c) if we find that paying you directly would cause substantial harm and we cannot find a suitable alternative representative payee before your next payment is due. We will terminate payment of benefits to your representative payee and find a new payee or pay you directly if the present payee:

(a) Has been found by us or a court of competent jurisdiction to have misused your benefits;

(b) Has not used the benefit payments on your behalf in accordance with the guidelines in this subpart;

(d) Dies;

(e) No longer wishes to be your payee;

(f) Is unable to manage your benefit payments; or

(g) Fails to cooperate, within a reasonable time, in providing evidence, accounting, or other information we request.

13. Revise § 404.2065 to read as follows:

§ 404.2065

How does your representative payee account for the use of benefits?

A representative payee must account for the use of benefits. We require written reports from your representative payee no less than annually (except for certain State institutions which participate in a separate onsite review program). We may verify how your representative payee used the funds. Your representative payee should keep records of how benefits were used in order to make accounting reports and make those records available upon our request. We may ask your representative payee to give us the following information:

(a) Where you lived during the accounting period;

(b) Who made the decisions on how your benefits were spent or saved;

(d) How much of your benefit payments were saved and how the savings were invested.

PART 408—SPECIAL BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN WORLD WAR II VETERANS (SVB)

14. Add new subpart F to part 408 to read as follows:

408.601: What is this subpart about?
408.610: When will we send your SVB payments to a representative payee?
408.611: What happens to your monthly benefits while we are finding a suitable representative payee for you?
408.615: What information do we consider in determining whether we will pay your benefits to a representative payee?
408.620: What information do we consider in selecting the proper representative payee for you?
408.621: What is our order of preference in selecting a representative payee for you?
408.622: Who may not serve as a representative payee?
408.624: How do we investigate a representative payee applicant?
408.625: What information must a representative payee report to us?
408.630: How will we notify you when we decide you need a representative payee?
408.635: What are the responsibilities of your representative payee?
408.640: How must your representative payee use your benefits?
408.641: Who is liable if your representative payee misuses your benefits?
408.645: What must your representative payee do with unused benefits?
408.650: When will we select a new representative payee for you?
408.655: When will we stop making your payments to a representative payee?
408.660: What happens to your accumulated funds when your representative payee changes?
408.665: How does your representative payee account for the use of your SVB payments?

Subpart F—Representative Payment

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 807, and 810 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5), 1007, and 1010).

§ 408.601

What is this subpart about?

(a) Explanation of representative payment. This subpart explains the policies and procedures we follow to determine whether to pay your benefits to a representative payee and to select a representative payee for you. It also explains the responsibilities your representative payee has for using the funds he or she receives on your behalf. A representative payee may be either an individual or an organization. We will select a representative payee to receive your benefits if we believe your interests will be better served by paying a representative payee than by paying you directly. Generally, we appoint a representative payee if we determine you are unable to manage or direct the management of your own benefit payments. Because the representative payment policies and procedures we use for the title VIII program closely parallel our title II policies and procedures, we provide cross-references to the appropriate material in our title II representative payment rules in subpart U of part 404 of this chapter.

(b) Policy we use to determine whether to make representative payment. For an explanation of the policy we use to determine whether to pay your SVB to a representative payee, see § 404.2001(b) of this chapter.

§ 408.610

When will we send your SVB payments to a representative payee?

In determining when we will pay your benefits to a representative payee, we follow the rules in § 404.2010(a) of this chapter.

§ 408.611

What happens to your monthly benefits while we are finding a suitable representative payee for you?

For an explanation of the policy we use to determine what happens to your monthly benefits while we are finding a suitable representative payee for you, see § 404.2011 of this chapter.

§ 408.615

What information do we consider in determining whether we will pay your benefits to a representative payee?

We determine whether to pay your benefits to a representative payee after considering the information listed in § 404.2015 of this chapter.

§ 408.620

What information do we consider in selecting the proper representative payee for you?

To select a proper representative payee for you, we consider the information listed in § 404.2020 of this chapter.

§ 408.621

What is our order of preference in selecting a representative payee for you?

We use the preference list in § 404.2021(a) of this chapter as a guide in selecting the proper representative payee for you.

§ 408.622

Who may not serve as a representative payee?

For a list of individuals who may not serve as a representative payee, see § 404.2022 of this chapter.

§ 408.624

How do we investigate a representative payee applicant?

Before selecting an individual or organization as your representative payee, we investigate him or her following the rules in § 404.2024 of this chapter.

§ 408.625

What information must a representative payee report to us?

Your representative payee must report to us information as described in § 404.2025 of this chapter.

§ 408.630

How will we notify you when we decide you need a representative payee?

(a) We notify you in writing of our determination to make representative payment. The notice explains that we have determined that representative payment is in your interest, and it provides the name of the representative payee we have selected. The notice:

(1) Contains language that is easily understandable to the reader.

(2) Identifies the person designated as your representative payee.

(3) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can appeal our determination that you need a representative payee.

(4) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can appeal our designation of a particular person to serve as representative payee.

(b) If you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative objects to representative payment or to the designated payee, you can file a formal appeal.

§ 408.635

What are the responsibilities of your representative payee?

For a list of your representative payee's responsibilities, see § 404.2035 of this chapter.

§ 408.640

How must your representative payee use your benefits?

Your representative payee must use your benefits in accordance with the rules in § 404.2040 of this chapter.

§ 408.641

Who is liable if your representative payee misuses your benefits?

For the rules we follow to determine who is liable for repayment of misused benefits, see § 404.2041 of this chapter.

§ 408.645

What must your representative payee do with unused benefits?

If your representative payee has accumulated benefits for you, he or she must conserve or invest them as provided in § 404.2045 of this chapter.

§ 408.650

When will we select a new representative payee for you?

We follow the rules in § 404.2050 of this chapter to determine when we will select a new representative payee for you.

§ 408.655

When will we stop making your payments to a representative payee?

To determine when we will stop representative payment for you, we follow the rules in § 404.2055 of this chapter.

§ 408.660

What happens to your accumulated funds when your representative payee changes?

For a description of what happens to your accumulated funds (including the interest earned on the funds) when we change your representative payee or when you begin receiving benefits directly, see § 404.2060 of this chapter.

§ 408.665

How does your representative payee account for the use of your SVB payments?

Your representative payee must account for the use of your benefits as specified in § 404.2065 of this chapter.

PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND AND DISABLED

15. The authority citation for subpart F continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631(a)(2) and (d)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5) and 1383(a)(2) and (d)(1)).

16. Add § 416.611 to read as follows:

§ 416.611

What happens to your monthly benefits while we are finding a suitable representative payee for you?

(i) Directly receiving benefits can be expected to cause you serious physical or mental injury.

(ii) The possible effect of the injury would outweigh the effect of having no income to meet your basic needs.

(b) We may delay or suspend your payments. If we find that direct payment will cause substantial harm to you, we may delay (in the case of initial eligibility for benefits) or suspend (in the case of existing eligibility for benefits) payments for as long as 1 month while we try to find a suitable representative payee. If we do not find a payee within one month, we will pay you directly. If you are receiving disability payments and we have determined that you have a drug addiction or alcoholism condition, or you are legally incompetent, or you are under age 15, we will withhold payment until a representative payee is appointed even if it takes longer than one month. We will, however, as noted in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, allow you to present evidence to dispute the presumption that direct payment would cause you substantial harm. See § 416.601(b)(3) for our policy on suspending the benefits if you are currently receiving benefits directly.

Example 1: Substantial Harm Exists.

We are unable to find a representative payee for Mr. X, a 67 year old retirement beneficiary who is an alcoholic. Based on contacts with the doctor and beneficiary, we determine that Mr. X was hospitalized recently for his drinking. Paying him directly will cause injury, so we may delay payment for as long as one month based on substantial harm while we locate a suitable representative payee.

Example 2: Substantial Harm Does Not Exist.

We approve a claim for Mr. Y, a title XVI claimant who suffers from a combination of mental impairments but who is not legally incompetent. We determine that Mr. Y needs assistance in managing benefits, but we have not found a representative payee. Although we believe that Mr. Y may not use the money wisely, there is no indication that receiving funds directly would cause him substantial harm (i.e., physical or mental injury). We must pay current benefits directly to Mr. Y while we locate a suitable representative payee.

17. Amend § 416.621 by revising the heading and paragraph (a) introductory text, redesignating paragraph (b) as paragraph (c) and adding new paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 416.621

What is our order of preference in selecting a representative payee for you?

(a) For beneficiaries 18 years old or older (except those described in paragraph (b) of this section), our preference is—

(b) For individuals who are disabled and who have a drug addiction or alcoholism condition our preference is—

(1) A community-based nonprofit social service agency licensed by the State, or bonded;

(2) A Federal, State or local government agency whose mission is to carry out income maintenance, social service, or health care-related activities;

(3) A State or local government agency with fiduciary responsibilities;

(4) A designee of an agency (other than a Federal agency) referred to in paragraphs (b)(1), (2), and (3) of this section, if appropriate; or

(5) A family member.

18. Add § 416.622 to read as follows:

§ 416.622

Who may not serve as a representative payee?

A representative payee applicant may not serve if he/she:

(a) Has been convicted of a violation under section 208, 811 or 1632 of the Social Security Act.

(b) Receives title II, VIII, or XVI benefits through a representative payee.

(c) Previously served as a representative payee and was found by us, or a court of competent jurisdiction, to have misused title II, VIII or XVI benefits. However, if we decide to make an exception to the prohibition, we must evaluate the payee's performance at least every 3 months until we are satisfied that the payee poses no risk to the beneficiary's best interest. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis if all of the following are true.

(1) Direct payment of benefits to the beneficiary is not in the beneficiary's interest.

(2) No suitable alternative payee is available.

(3) Selecting the payee applicant as representative payee would be in the best interest of the beneficiary.

(4) The information we have indicates the applicant is now suitable to serve as a representative payee.

(5) The payee applicant has repaid the misused benefits or has a plan to repay them.

(d) Applicant is a creditor. A creditor is someone who provides you with goods or services for consideration. This restriction does not apply to the creditor who poses no risk to you and whose financial relationship with you presents no substantial conflict of interest, and is any of the following:

(1) A relative living in the same household as you do.

(2) Your legal guardian or legal representative.

(3) A facility that is licensed or certified as a care facility under the law of a State or a political subdivision of a State.

(4) A qualified organization authorized to collect a monthly fee from you for expenses incurred in providing representative payee services for you, under § 416.640a.

(5) An administrator, owner, or employee of the facility in which you live and we are unable to locate an alternative representative payee.

(6) Any other individual we deem appropriate based on a written determination.

Example 1:

Sharon applies to be representative payee for Ron who we have determined needs assistance in managing his benefits. Sharon has been renting a room to Ron for several years and assists Ron in handling his other financial obligations, as needed. She charges Ron a reasonable amount of rent. Ron has no other family or friends willing to help manage his benefits or to act as representative payee. Sharon has demonstrated that her interest in and concern for Ron goes beyond her desire to collect the rent each month. In this instance, we may select Sharon as Ron's representative payee because a more suitable payee is not available, she appears to pose no risk to Ron and there is minimal conflict of interest. We will document this decision.

Example 2:

19. Add § 416.624 to read as follows:

§ 416.624

How do we investigate a representative payee applicant?

Before selecting an individual or organization to act as your representative payee, we will perform an investigation.

(a) Nature of the investigation. As part of the investigation, we do the following:

(1) Conduct a face-to-face interview with the payee applicant unless it is impracticable as explained in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Require the payee applicant to submit documented proof of identity, unless information establishing identity has recently been submitted with an application for title II, VIII or XVI benefits.

(3) Verify the payee applicant's Social Security account number or employer identification number.

(4) Determine whether the payee applicant has been convicted of a violation of section 208, 811 or 1632 of the Social Security Act.

(5) Determine whether the payee applicant has previously served as a representative payee and if they had an appointment as payee revoked or terminated for misusing title II, VIII or XVI benefits.

(6) Use our records to verify the payee applicant's employment and/or direct receipt of title II, VIII, or XVI benefits.

(7) Verify the payee applicant's concern for the beneficiary with the beneficiary's custodian or other interested person.

(8) Require the applicant to provide adequate information showing his or her relationship to the beneficiary and describe his or her responsibility for the care of the beneficiary.

(9) Determine whether the payee applicant is a creditor of the beneficiary (see § 416.622(d)).

20. Revise § 416.625 to read as follows:

§ 416.625

What information must a representative payee report to us?

Anytime after we select a representative payee for you, we may ask your payee to give us information showing a continuing relationship with you, a continuing responsibility for your care, and how he/she used the payments on your behalf. If your representative payee does not give us the requested information within a reasonable period of time, we may stop sending your benefit payment to him/her—unless we determine that he/she had a satisfactory reason for not meeting our request and we subsequently receive the requested information. If we decide to stop sending your benefit payment to your representative payee, we will consider paying you directly (in accordance with § 416.611) while we look for a new payee.

21. Revise § 416.630 to read as follows:

§ 416.630

How will we notify you when we decide you need a representative payee?

(1) Contains language that is easily understandable to the reader.

(2) Identifies the person designated as your representative payee.

(3) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can appeal our determination that you need a representative payee.

(4) Explains that you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative can appeal our designation of a particular person to serve as your representative payee.

(b) If you, your legal guardian, or your legal representative objects to representative payment or to the designated payee, we will handle the objection as follows:

(1) If you disagree with the decision and wish to file an appeal, we will process it under subpart N of this part.

(2) If you file the appeal before the decision takes effect, we will delay the action until we make a decision.

22. Revise § 416.640a to read as follows:

§ 416.640a

Compensation for qualified organizations serving as representative payees.

(a) Organizations that can request compensation. A qualified organization can request us to authorize it to collect a monthly fee from your benefit payment. A qualified organization is:

(1) Any State or local government agency with fiduciary responsibilities or whose mission is to carry out income maintenance, social service, or health care-related activities; or

(2) A qualified organization must demonstrate that it is not a creditor of the beneficiary. See paragraph (c) of this section for exceptions to the requirement regarding creditors.

(1) The creditor services (e.g., providing housing) provided by the organization help to meet the current needs of the beneficiary; and

(2) The amount the organization charges the beneficiary for these services is commensurate with the beneficiary's ability to pay.

(d) Authorization process. (1) An organization must request in writing and receive an authorization from us before it may collect a fee.

(2) An organization seeking authorization to collect a fee must also give us evidence to show that it is qualified, pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, to collect a fee.

(2) An organization may cancel its authorization at any time upon written notice to us.

(2) Any agreement providing for a fee in excess of the amount permitted shall be void and treated as misuse of your benefits by the organization under § 416.641.

(3) A fee may be collected for any month during which the organization—

(i) Provides representative payee services;

(ii) Receives a benefit payment for the beneficiary; and

(iii) Is authorized to receive a fee for representative payee services.

(4) Fees for services may not be taken from any funds conserved for the beneficiary by a payee in accordance with § 416.645.

(i) Received our approval to collect a fee for the months for which payment is made;

(ii) Provided payee services in the months for which payment is made; and

(iii) Was the payee when the retroactive payment was paid by us.

23. Revise § 416.641 to read as follows:

§ 416.641

Who is liable if your representative payee misuses your benefits?

(1) We did not follow our established procedures in this subpart when investigating, appointing, or monitoring a representative payee;

(2) We did not investigate timely a reported allegation of misuse; or

(3) We did not take the steps necessary to prevent the issuance of payments to the representative payee after it was determined that the payee misused benefits.

(d) Our repayment of misused benefits under these provisions does not alter the representative payee's liability and responsibility as described in paragraph (a) of this section.

24. Revise § 416.650 to read as follows:

§ 416.650

When will we select a new representative payee for you?

When we learn that your interest is not served by sending your benefit payment to your present representative payee or that your present payee is no longer able or willing to carry out payee responsibilities, we will promptly stop sending your payment to the payee. We will then send your benefit payment to an alternative payee or directly to you, until we find a suitable payee. We may suspend payment as explained in § 416.611(c) if we find that paying you directly would cause substantial harm and we cannot find a suitable alternative representative payee before your next payment is due. We will terminate payment of benefits to your representative payee and find a new payee or pay you directly if the present payee:

(a) Has been found by us or a court of competent jurisdiction to have misused your benefits;

(b) Has not used the benefit payments on your behalf in accordance with the guidelines in this subpart;

(d) Dies;

(e) No longer wishes to be your payee;

(f) Is unable to manage your benefit payments; or

(g) Fails to cooperate, within a reasonable time, in providing evidence, accounting, or other information we request.

25. Revise § 416.665 to read as follows:

§ 416.665

How does your representative payee account for the use of benefits?

(a) Where you lived during the accounting period;

(b) Who made the decisions on how your benefits were spent or saved;

(d) How much of your benefit payments were saved and how the savings were invested.

26. The authority citation for subpart N continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383(b)); 31 U.S.C. 3720A.

27. Amend § 416.1402 by revising paragraph (d), removing the word “and” at the end of paragraph (m), replacing the period at the end of paragraph (n) with “; and,” and adding paragraph (o) to read as follows:

§ 416.1402

Administrative actions that are initial determinations.

(d) Whether the payment of your benefits will be made, on your behalf, to a representative payee;

(o) Whether we were negligent in failing to investigate or monitor your representative payee, which resulted in the misuse of benefits by your representative payee.

[FR Doc. 03-24017 Filed 9-24-03; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4191-02-P