REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE SERVICES

A representative payee can be appointed by the Social Security Administration to receive the Social Security or SSI benefits for a person who can’t manage or direct the management of his or her benefits.  Mains’l does not charge a monthly fee from Social Security benefits and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, but charges may apply depending on the business relationship between Mains’l and the person requesting representative payee services.

1. When the individual requesting representative payee services also receives consumer/participant directed services, Mains’l charges and receives a monthly fee through the person’s Medicaid waiver.
2. When the individual requesting representative payee services also receives traditional waiver services and is requesting the service in order to ensure payment to Mains’l for other services, representative payee services are provided at no charge.

A representative payee’s main duties are to use the benefits to pay for the current and future needs of the beneficiary, and properly save any benefits not needed to meet current needs. A payee must also keep records of expenses.

Establishing Mains’l as a Representative Payee

The following steps are to be followed to establish Mains’l as Representative Payee:

1. The person requesting representative payee services informs their manager and provides the person or  representative with the contact information of the person designated at Mains’l to be representative payee.
2. The manager contacts the individual designated to be representative payee at Mains’l to inform him or her that a request to perform representative payee services has been made.
3. The representative payee, after being contacted by the person or their representative, plans a meeting.
4. A meeting is held to determine if the person would like to choose Mains’l as rep payee. If so, next steps are identified to determine when and how paperwork will be completed.
5. After paperwork is completed, Mains’l begins performing representative payee services.

Fulfilling Representative Payee Responsibilities

1. Required Duties: The person assigned at Mains’l as a representative payee works with the person receiving services and their support team to ensure his or her day to day needs are being met by performing the following duties:

1. Determine the beneficiary’s needs and use his or her payments to meet those needs;
2. Save any money left after meeting the beneficiary’s current needs in an interest bearing account or savings bonds for the beneficiary's future needs;
3. Report any changes or events which could affect the beneficiary’s eligibility for benefits or payment;
4. Keep records of all payments received and how the money was spent and saved;
5. Provide benefit information to social service agencies or medical facilities that serve the beneficiary;
6. Help the beneficiary get medical treatment when needed;
7. Report to the Social Security Administration  any changes that would affect our performance or our ability to continuing as payee;
8. Complete written reports accounting for the use of funds; and
9. Return to the Social Security Administration any payments to which the beneficiary is not entitled.
10. Mains’l completes the annual Representative Payee reports from Social Security for each person we provide rep payee services for, as requested by Social Security. 

1. Monthly Process

1. Mains’l collects the social security benefits each month and deposits the funds into each individual’s rep payee account in QuickBooks. 
2. By the 5^th of each month, the rep payee checks the account balance of each person they are payee for to ensure there are enough funds in the persons account to process payments for the month.
   
   • Payee pays bills for each person, as needed before the due dates.
   •  Payee issues a personal needs check by the 5^th of each month