Editing Supplemental Security Income (section)

==Payee assignment==
Generally, the person qualifying for benefits is determined to be capable of managing their own financial affairs, and the benefits may be disbursed directly to them. In the case of persons who have a diagnosed mental impairment which interferes with their ability to manage their own finances, the Social Security Administration may require that the person assign someone to be their [[representative payee]]. This person will receive the benefits on behalf of the disabled individual, and disburse them directly to payors such as landlords, or to the disabled person, while providing money management assistance (help with purchasing items, limiting spending money, etc.). The representative payee generally does not charge a fee for this service, especially if the payee is a friend or relative. Social service agencies who are assigned as payee are prohibited from charging a fee, though some private payee agencies do provide the service for a small fee. Some states and counties have representative payee agencies (also called substitute payee programs) which receive the benefits on behalf of the disabled person's social worker, and disburse the benefits per the social worker's instructions.

Almost all children eligible for SSI have representative payees (typically a parent or other family member). Among disabled adults receiving SSI, about 34 percent have representative payees. Disabled adults with mental disorders, such as autistic disorders, developmental disorders, and intellectual disabilities, commonly have representative payees. About 10 percent of SSI recipients 65 or older have representative payees.<ref>SSA. "SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2019", Tables 7 and 37</ref>

The Social Security Advisory Board commissioned a study of the Social Security Administration's representative payee program and held a policy forum in 2020 on the topic. The study noted the difficulty SSA field staff face in determining the need for representative payees and finding suitable payees particularly when family members are not available.<ref>Pamela B. Teaser, Erica F. Wood, Laura P. Sands. 2020. "Selection Processes for Social Security Administration Representative Payees of Adults." https://www.ssab.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-RTB-Teaster-Wood-Sands-Representative-Payee-Selection-1.pdf</ref> In addition, the large size of the payee program (6 million payees for Social Security and SSI beneficiaries) combined with limited agency resources makes selection and monitoring of payees challenging for SSA. Among its recommendations, the authors of the study concluded SSA needed additional staff to effectively run the payee program. The authors also suggested SSA pilot a program where some field staff specialized in representative payee workloads.