On April 13, President Trump signed the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018. The law directs state Protection & Advocacy (P&A) system organizations to conduct all periodic onsite reviews along with additional discretionary reviews. In addition, the P&As will conduct educational visits and conduct reviews based on allegations they receive of payee misconduct. The new law allows the Commissioner to exempt custodial parents of minor children and disabled individuals, as well as spouses, from annual payee accounting.
Representative Payees can complete a Representative Payee Report form online to account for the Social Security or SSI benefits received or P&As may select a representative payee for review.
The P&A review includes:
- an interview with the individual or organizational representative payee;
- a review of the representative payee’s financial records for the requested beneficiary or sample of beneficiaries served;
- a home visit and interview for each beneficiary included in the review; and
- an interview with legal guardians and third parties, when applicable.
Financial Records Representative Payees Should Have Available for Review
When the P&A schedules the review, the reviewer will request the records needed for each beneficiary. Some common financial documents that representative payees may be asked to provide are:
- a beneficiary budget;
- a beneficiary ledger;
- individual bank statements;
- Collective account bank statements;
- receipts of income;
- account balances;
- bank reconciliation records;
- cancelled checks;
- expense documentation including receipts, bills, and rental agreements;
- how the payee keeps conserved benefits (e.g., checking, savings, etc.); and
- any other financial documents that pertain to a beneficiary’s Social Security and/or SSI benefits.
