{{No footnotes, date=July 2019 A representative payee, or substitute payee, is a person who acts as the receiver of United States Social Security Disability or

Supplemental Security Income Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program that provides cash payments to disabled children, disabled adults, and individuals aged 65 or older who are citizens or nationals of the United States. SSI was created by the Social S ...

for a person who is not fully capable of managing their own benefits, i.e. cannot be their own

payee A payment is the tender of something of value, such as money or its equivalent, by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation or philanthropy desire. Th ...

. The representative payee is expected to assist the person with money management, along with providing protection from financial abuse and victimization.

Abuse

As with other examples of

disability fraud Disability fraud is the receipt of payment(s) intended for disabled people from a government agency or private insurance company by one who should not be receiving them, or the receipt of a higher amount than one is entitled to. There are variou ...

, since the disabled person has presumed poor judgement, they are at risk of choosing, or letting others choose for them, a payee who takes advantage of them by using the benefits for themselves, either partially or entirely, leaving the disabled person deprived of adequate clothing, food, or shelter. Cases of such fraud or abuse are typically referred to

Adult Protective Services In the United States, Adult Protective Services (APS) is a government agency that investigates allegations of a vulnerable adult being or having been abused, neglected, or exploited by their caregivers. APS is typically administered by local or ...

( Child Protective Services in the case of minors), in addition to law enforcement. Notable cases of this include the 2011 Philadelphia basement kidnapping.

Payee programs

Some US states and counties have set up representative, or substitute, payee programs, to allow psychiatric case workers and other professional care providers to manage their clients finances with more extensive oversight.

References

"Conservator" FAQ at the San Diego Superior Court website
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=wekuC-8x1TkC&dq=substitute+payee&pg=PA166 ''Social Security, Medicare & Government Pensions'', Joseph L. Matthews, Joseph Matthews, Dorothy Matthews Berman, Nolo Press, 2011, p. 166, (at Google Books)]
representative payee information at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website

External links

payee information at the Social Security Administration website''A Guide for Representative Payees'', Social Security Administration
Social security in the United States Social care in the United States Disability law in the United States