The Representative Payee Team works to ensure that people who have a representative payee to manage their Social Security benefits are appropriately supported and are not being financially exploited.
What is a beneficiary?
A beneficiary is someone who benefits from something. When the Representative Payee Team talks about beneficiaries, they mean someone who receives Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
What is a representative payee?
A representative payee is a person or organization that receives and manages one or more beneficiary’s SSDI or SSI benefits because the beneficiary needs help. Representative payees are appointed by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
What is the role of a representative payee?
A representative payee decides how the beneficiary’s money is spent and must ensure that the SSDI or SSI funds are primarily used to create or maintain a stable living environment for the beneficiary. Representative payees make sure the beneficiary has adequate food, shelter, clothing, and medical care. Once the beneficiary’s basic needs are met, remaining SSDI or SSI funds must be maintained by the representative payee for the beneficiary’s future use.
What does IDR’s Representative Payee Team do?
This 3-minute video shares more information about the Representative Payee Program.
IDR’s Representative Payee Team has the authority to:
- Conduct initial onsite assessments of fee-for-service organizations identified by SSA
- Conduct periodic onsite and additional discretionary reviews requested by SSA
- Develop corrective action plans for SSA approval
- Submit review reports to SSA
IDR’s Representative Payee Reviewers
- Amy Jarrett - Supervisor
- Heidi Blevins
- David McCray
- Andrea Whigum
- Pennie Williams
I need IDR’s help. What do I do?
If you believe a SSDI or SSI beneficiary’s needs are not being met by their representative payee, or if you believe a representative payee is financially exploiting a beneficiary, contact IDR. You can fill out our Help Form or call our Intake Team at 1-800-622-4845.
I don’t think I need IDR’s help yet. Are there resources available to help me self-advocate?
| Resources | English | English, Large Print | Spanish | Spanish, Large Print |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection & Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) Fact Sheet | English | English, Large Print |
View more resources below or visit IDR’s Resources webpage.
Resources
- SSA’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Representative Payees
- SSA’s (FAQs) for Beneficiaries
- SSA’s Webpage about Representative Payee Reviews
- SSA’s Guide for Organizational Representative Payees
- SSA’s Guide for Individual Representative Payees
- SSA’s Best Practices for Maintaining an Effective Representative Payee Accounting System
- SSA’s Training Video for Organizational Payees
Social Security funded creation of this document under a grant. Although Social Security reviewed this document for accuracy, it does not constitute an official Social Security communication.
This communication is printed, published, or produced and disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.