Effective Dates: 08/11/2023 - Present Previous | Next

TN 32 (08-23)

GN 00504.240 Representative Payee or Name Change for a Group of Beneficiaries

A. When an organization serves as representative payee for a group of beneficiaries

When an institution, agency, or nursing home (called organization in this section) serves as common representative payee for more than five beneficiaries, use the following instructions to change the payee legend or to appoint a new common payee, if necessary.

You will usually need to process a payee change when the organization:

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    changes ownership (e.g. Mary Green sells Greenmount Payee Services to John Jones);

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    dissolves (e.g. Greenmount Payee Services ceases operations);

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    merges with another organization (e.g. Greenmount Payee Services merges with Mountolive Payee Services); or

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    is absorbed by another organization (e.g. Greenmount Payee Services is purchased and becomes a subsidiary of Harborside Corp.).

B. Procedure for when to change the payee legend or appoint a common representative payee

1. No change in representative payee

If you receive a request to change only the name or title of the official carrying out the representative payee responsibilities for the organization, or the address of the organization (i.e., the organization continues as payee), input the payee name change and legend change.

EXAMPLE: The Shady Grove Nursing Home changes its name to the Shady Grove Care Center (same employer identification number (EIN)). This is not a change of payee situation, so management should only input a name change and legend change. For more information on how to input the change in the Electronic Representative Payee System (eRPS), refer to the instructions in MS 07420.003.

2. Change in representative payee

Use the following procedures for changing representative payees.

a. Development of organizational representative payee

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    Interview the representative of the organization applying to be a common payee. You must conduct a face-to-face interview unless a phone or Video Service Delivery interview is permitted under GN 00502.113B.

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    Verify the applicant's identity in accordance with established verification procedures, GN 00502.117.

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    If conducting a face-to-face interview, print a copy of the Privacy Act Statement from the SSA-11, provide it to the applicant, and continue with the interview.

    If conducting a phone or VSD interview, read the following Privacy Act Statement to the applicant:

    Sections 205(a), 205(j), and 1631(a) of the Social Security Act allow us to collect your information, which we will use to determine your eligibility to serve as a representative payee. Providing this information is voluntary, but not providing the information may prevent us from assisting you. As law permits, we may disclose your information per routine uses in System of Records Notice 60-0089, 60-0222, and 60-0320; available at www.ssa.gov/privacy. Your information may also be used in computer matching programs to establish or verify eligibility for Federal benefit programs and to recoup debts under these programs.

    After reading the Privacy Act Statement, direct the applicant to SSA's website, www.ssa.gov, to download a copy of form SSA-11 (which includes the full, comprehensive Privacy Act Statement). If the applicant is unable to download a copy, mail a copy of the form to the applicant. If the applicant declines a mailed copy, continue with the interview.

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    Ask the applicant how the organization uses the benefits and the reason for the change.

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    Document on the report of contact screen (RC), or the Report of Contact Details screen in eRPS, that you explained the payee's duties, the field office's (FO) recommendation and reasons for appointing the applicant.

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    Complete only one SSA-11 and query the Pending Applications and Selected List screens in eRPS, (MS 07420.014 and MS 07420.017) to identify all beneficiaries affected by the change and their SSNs. Attach a list of the affected beneficiaries to the SSA-11. If the current payee is not in eRPS (e.g. a foreign payee who does not have an SSN or EIN), request the organization to provide a list of affected beneficiaries. Verify their eligibility.

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    If the organization is not in eRPS, establish the organization before entering the merger action through the Organizational/Institutional Rep Payee Overview screen function in eRPS (MS 07414.001 ).

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    Determine if any of the beneficiaries have legal guardians or higher preference payees. For information on using the payee preference list, see GN 00502.105.

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    Make the payee determination.

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    Send a manual advance notice about the new payee determination to each beneficiary involved. Create a diary in RPS and tickle for 15 days. For more information on sending an advance notice, see GN 00503.100.

NOTE: eRPS processes the mass change, but eRPS will not automatically send the advance notice.

b. Processing the payee change

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    At the end of the 15 days, the servicing FO inputs the change of representative payee action via the Merge Organization/Institution screen, per instructions in MS 07414.005. If the beneficiaries' address has changed, update the residence address via the Beneficiary Address Change Screen (MS 07414.010).

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    Store a copy of the SSA-11 either in the Non Disability Repository for Evidentiary Documents (NDRED) using Evidence Portal (EP), or in electronic disability (eDib), under the SSN of the first beneficiary on the list.

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    Annotate in the Make Note screen in eRPS the current organizational payee, describing the action, i.e., (merger/ownership change), any documentation collected, the date advance notices sent, and the SSN where the SSA-11 is electronically stored.

    NOTE: If the beneficiary contacts the FO and states that they have received the advance notice, understands their rights and agrees to the payee selection, you need not wait until the 15-day diary period, see GN 00503.100E.4.

    If the new payee is fee-for-service, notify the beneficiaries that the payee is authorized to collect a fee for its services (GN 00506.140).

C. Examples of when a change of representative payee is (or is not) necessary and the actions to take

1. Change of payee

Another corporation (ABC, Inc.) purchased Johnson's Nursing Home. ABC, Inc. continues to operate as a nursing home, stays at the same location, and all current residents remain there. Since there is a new owner, with a new EIN and a new business name, we consider this a change of representative payee. Therefore, ABC Inc. must file an SSA-11, if they wish to serve as payee. If you select the organization as payee for all of the beneficiaries, you must send an advance notice to each affected beneficiary. Establish the new organization in the eRPS (refer to MS 07414.002 Establish Organization/Institution), and after the due process period ends, process the payee change.

2. Change of payee’s title only

The representative payee is the State Director of Mental Hygiene. The position title changed to the State Director of Social Services, but all duties remain the same, including the representative payee responsibilities. In this situation, the payee is not changed. Management inputs the name change in eRPS. However since you are not appointing a successor representative payee, advance and formal notices of the name change in the payee legend are not required.

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http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200504240
GN 00504.240 - Representative Payee or Name Change for a Group of Beneficiaries - 08/11/2023
Batch run: 09/30/2024
Rev:08/11/2023