WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID A REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE (RP)

 

When a claimant has a physical or mental impairment that might prevent them from handling their own benefits, Social Security may require a "Representative Payee" or RP for short. This is a third party who will receive the claimant's Social Security payments, then dole the money out to the claimant, using their own judgment. So, the benefits do not go directly to the claimant, but to the representative payee. The PR can give the claimant as much, or as little, of his own money as the PR wishes.

The representative payee may be a spouse, family member or some other person not necessarily related to the claimant. It is the responsibility of the Social Security Administration to decide (1) Does the claimant need a representative payee, and (2) Who will be the representative payee? 

 

 Persons who may need a representative payee are persons who can't make good judgments, can't handle their own financial affairs, need mental supervision, or have a serious drug or alcohol problem, etc. In this type situation, an RP is probably a good idea. Just be sure to choose an RP who will look out for YOUR best interests.  

Why to Avoid Representative Payees if Possible

Unless it is absolutely necessary, I recommend you avoid having a Rep Payee. I've seen all kinds of abuse by Rep Payees (RP). Sometimes the RP uses the Social Security money for their own needs or desires and the claimant suffers. The claimant is pretty much at the mercy of the RP when he/she wants or needs money. While there is theoretically accountability by the Social Security Administration, there is little RP supervision in reality. If the claimant complains about his/her RP, it can take a long time to get a response from Social Security, and they may never give the claimant a satisfactory resolution to the problem.

There have been attempts by the US Government to use the need for a representative payee to restrict other rights, such as gun ownership. The theory is that if an individual is not able to handle his/her own finances and needs an RP, they are not able to handle a gun responsibly. This is, of course, a ridiculous assumption. Just because someone can't make sound financial judgments doesn't mean that they are dangerous. The very fact that a clerk in the Social Security office can decide to take away an individual's Second Amendment rights is ridiculous. This is not currently the practice, but it has been attempted by liberals in the US Congress. And the issue is not going away. It will be tried again, and again. So, avoid using a Rep Payee if you can. You're just better off without one.

Who knows? Perhaps one day some Social Security employee may get to decide that a person using a representative payee is not safe to fly on an airplane, or board a cruise ship, or exercise some other right. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but leftists in the Government have already shown their hand. The decision to deny someone their Constitutional rights should belong to an official higher than a Social Security employee who conducts a ten minutes interview with the claimant.

 

  If you absolutely must have a RP, try to get someone appointed to that position that you trust explicitly and who uses good judgment on financial matters.

 

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