If you manage Social Security benefits for a family member, child, or someone who can't manage their own finances, you may already be a representative payee — or you may be considering becoming one. It's a role that carries real responsibility, and understanding exactly what it involves can help you do it well and stay on the right side of Social Security rules.
In this article, we'll cover:
- What a representative payee is and who needs one
- How to become a representative payee
- Your responsibilities as a rep payee, including spending rules
- Annual reporting requirements and how to file Form SSA-6230
- Common mistakes rep payees make and how to avoid them
- What happens if you want to stop being a representative payee
What Is a Representative Payee?
A representative payee (often shortened to "rep payee") is a person or organization appointed by the Social Security Administration to manage Social Security or SSI benefits on behalf of someone who can't manage their own money. This might be a child, an adult with a severe cognitive disability, someone with a serious mental illness, or an elderly person with dementia.
The Social Security Administration assigns a representative payee when it determines that a beneficiary needs help managing their finances. The rep payee receives the benefit payments and is responsible for using the money to meet the beneficiary's needs — things like housing, food, clothing, medical care, and personal items.
Being a rep payee is not the same as having power of attorney. It's a specific appointment by the SSA that comes with its own set of rules and reporting requirements. Even if you already have power of attorney or guardianship over someone, you still need to be formally appointed as their representative payee to manage their Social Security benefits.
Who Needs a Representative Payee?
Not everyone who receives Social Security benefits needs a rep payee. The SSA only appoints one when there's evidence that the beneficiary cannot manage their own finances. For children under 18, a rep payee is always required — typically a parent or guardian. For adults, the SSA may appoint a rep payee if the person has a condition that prevents them from understanding or managing money, such as a significant intellectual disability, severe mental illness, or advanced dementia.
The determination is made by the Social Security Administration, often based on medical evidence and sometimes input from family members or caregivers. If the SSA decides a rep payee is needed, the beneficiary is notified and has the right to appeal the decision.
How to Become a Representative Payee
To become a rep payee, you need to apply through the Social Security Administration. The process involves filling out an application (Form SSA-11), providing identification, and sometimes undergoing a background check. You'll need to visit your local Social Security office in person to complete the application.
The SSA gives preference to certain types of payees. For children, parents or legal guardians are preferred. For adults, the SSA generally prefers a spouse, parent, or close family member. If no suitable individual is available, the SSA may appoint a qualified organization — such as a social service agency or nonprofit — to serve as rep payee.
There's no fee for becoming a representative payee. In fact, individual rep payees are not allowed to charge for their services. Only organizations that have been authorized by the SSA can collect a fee, and even then, the fee is capped at a percentage of the monthly benefit.
Your Responsibilities as a Rep Payee
Your most fundamental responsibility is to use the benefits for the current needs of the beneficiary. This means paying for food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, personal comfort items, and other day-to-day expenses. The SSA prioritizes spending in roughly this order: food and housing first, then medical care, then clothing and personal needs.
You must keep the beneficiary's money separate from your own. This is one of the most important rules and one that's frequently violated, sometimes unintentionally. The benefits should be deposited into a dedicated account titled to show that the money belongs to the beneficiary. Commingling funds — mixing the beneficiary's money with your own — is a violation that can result in the SSA removing you as rep payee.
You must also save any benefits that aren't needed for current expenses. If the beneficiary's monthly costs don't consume the entire benefit, the remainder should be saved in a dedicated account for their future needs. For SSI recipients, remember that the $2,000 resource limit still applies, so you need to monitor savings carefully to avoid exceeding the threshold.
Annual Reporting Requirements
Each year, the Social Security Administration requires rep payees to file an accounting report showing how the benefits were used. For most individual payees, this is Form SSA-6230 (Representative Payee Report). Organizational payees file Form SSA-6234.
The report asks you to detail how much was received, how much was spent on food and housing, how much went to other expenses, and how much was saved. You'll also need to report the beneficiary's current bank balance and any changes in their living situation.
Filing this report is mandatory, and failure to file can result in the SSA removing you as rep payee. The SSA typically sends you the form with a deadline. You can complete it online through your my Social Security account, by mail, by phone, or in person at your local Social Security office.
Keep good records throughout the year — receipts, bank statements, and notes about major purchases — to make filing easier. The SSA may request supporting documentation, especially if there are discrepancies or if the beneficiary's savings seem unusually low or high relative to their benefit amount.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake is commingling funds — depositing the beneficiary's benefits into your personal account or spending their money on your own expenses. Even if you intend to pay it back, this is a violation of rep payee rules.
Another common mistake is not saving excess funds appropriately. If the beneficiary receives $994 in SSI and their monthly expenses are $800, that remaining $194 should be saved in their dedicated account, not spent on discretionary items that don't benefit them.
Failing to report changes to the SSA is another pitfall. If the beneficiary moves, starts or stops working, enters or leaves an institution, or has a change in their living situation, you're required to report it. Changes can affect benefit amounts, and unreported changes can lead to overpayments that need to be repaid.
What If You Want to Stop Being a Rep Payee?
If your circumstances change and you can no longer serve as a representative payee, you need to notify the Social Security Administration. You can't simply stop managing the benefits — you need to go through the formal process so that the SSA can appoint a replacement.
Contact your local Social Security office and explain the situation. The SSA will work to identify a new payee. Until a replacement is appointed, you remain responsible for the beneficiary's benefits. If the transition takes time, continue managing the funds as you normally would and keep detailed records.
Being a representative payee is a big responsibility — and keeping benefits organized is half the battle. Purple offers checking accounts designed specifically for representative payees, making it easy to keep the beneficiary's funds separate, track spending, and stay compliant with SSA requirements.