Guide for Organizational Representative Payees

Developing a representative payee accounting system

Your organization must establish some form of a payee accounting system that will track for each beneficiary:

• how much money was received;

• how much money was spent;

• how it was spent; and

• the balance saved for each beneficiary.

All income and expenses should be posted timely.

In addition, all documentation (a paper trail of all disbursements) must be retained. You must have internal controls in place to ensure the integrity of your financial records.

We do not tell you how to set up your system. However, you may wish to use a computer program that will:

• alert you when a SSI beneficiary's conserved funds balance is approaching the $2,000 resource limit;

• prorate interest earned based on each beneficiary's portion of a collective account balance; and

• provide understandable and up-to-date reports so SSA and the beneficiary know how the money was spent.

Save your records (e.g., bank statements, cancelled checks, receipts for rent and utilities, etc.) for at least two calendar years and make them available to SSA upon request.

You will be required to file annual reports with SSA. In addition, SSA may contact you about conducting a site review of your organization that will include a review of the records you keep to account for how you receive, spend and conserve beneficiary funds. SSA can change the month that payee accountings are sent to you so that all accountings can be completed in the same month instead of staggered throughout the year. Request this change by contacting your local SSA office.