Section 213 of Public Law (P.L.) 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996, enacted August 22, 1996, requires that the representative
payee of an individual under age 18, who is eligible for the payment of Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) past-due monthly benefits and any Federally administered State
Supplement (OSS) which, after withholding of any applicable interim assistance reimbursement
(IAR) together exceed the product of 6 times the current Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)
plus any OSS, must establish an account in a financial institution into which such
past-due benefits must be paid.
Subsequent past-due benefits (including any OSS, but minus IAR reimbursement) that
exceed the amount described above must also be paid into this account and may be paid into the account if they are in an amount less than or equal to that described
above.
Any other subsequent underpayment that is equal to or exceeds 1 times the FBR, but
is less than the amount described above, may be, but is not required to be, deposited
into the account.
Section 213 also lists the allowable expenses for which the funds in the account shall
be used. These allowable expenses include those for education, training, medical treatment
and other items or services related to the impairment. Any unauthorized use “shall
be considered a misapplication of benefits..., and any representative payee who knowingly
misapplies benefits from such an account shall be liable to the Commissioner in an
amount equal to the total amount of such benefits.” (See GN 00602.140 for details of what are allowable expenses.)