If the Commissioner of Social Security determines that the interest of any qualified individual under this subchapter would be served thereby, payment of the qualified individual's benefit under this subchapter may be made, regardless of the legal competency or incompetency of the qualified individual, either directly to the qualified individual, or for his or her use and benefit, to another person (the meaning of which term, for purposes of this section, includes an organization) with respect to whom the requirements of subsection (b) have been met (in this section referred to as the qualified individual's "representative payee"). If the Commissioner of Social Security determines that a representative payee has misused any benefit paid to the representative payee pursuant to this section, 405(j) of this title, or section 1383(a)(2) of this title, the Commissioner of Social Security shall promptly revoke the person's designation as the qualified individual's representative payee under this subsection, and shall make payment to an alternative representative payee or, if the interest of the qualified individual under this subchapter would be served thereby, to the qualified individual.
The Commissioner of Social Security may promulgate regulations to provide for additional felony crimes under this clause.
The Commissioner of Social Security shall establish and maintain lists which shall be updated periodically and which shall be in a form that renders such lists available to the servicing offices of the Social Security Administration. The lists shall consist of-
The benefits of a qualified individual may not be paid to any other person pursuant to this section if-
Subject to paragraph (2), if the Commissioner of Social Security makes a determination described in the first sentence of subsection (a) with respect to any qualified individual's benefit and determines that direct payment of the benefit to the qualified individual would cause substantial harm to the qualified individual, the Commissioner of Social Security may defer (in the case of initial entitlement) or suspend (in the case of existing entitlement) direct payment of the benefit to the qualified individual, until such time as the selection of a representative payee is made pursuant to this section.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any deferral or suspension of direct payment of a benefit pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be for a period of not more than 1 month.
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in any case in which the qualified individual is, as of the date of the Commissioner of Social Security's determination, legally incompetent under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the individual resides.
Payment of any benefits which are deferred or suspended pending the selection of a representative payee shall be made to the qualified individual or the representative payee as a single sum or over such period of time as the Commissioner of Social Security determines is in the best interest of the qualified individual.
Any qualified individual who is dissatisfied with a determination by the Commissioner of Social Security to make payment of the qualified individual's benefit to a representative payee under subsection (a) of this section or with the designation of a particular person to serve as representative payee shall be entitled to a hearing by the Commissioner of Social Security to the same extent as is provided in section 1009(a) of this title, and to judicial review of the Commissioner of Social Security's final decision as is provided in section 1009(b) of this title.
In advance, to the extent practicable, of the payment of a qualified individual's benefit to a representative payee under subsection (a), the Commissioner of Social Security shall provide written notice of the Commissioner's initial determination to so make the payment. The notice shall be provided to the qualified individual, except that, if the qualified individual is legally incompetent, then the notice shall be provided solely to the legal guardian or legal representative of the qualified individual.
Any notice required by paragraph (1) shall be clearly written in language that is easily understandable to the reader, shall identify the person to be designated as the qualified individual's representative payee, and shall explain to the reader the right under subsection (f) of the qualified individual or of the qualified individual's legal guardian or legal representative-
In any case where payment under this subchapter is made to a person other than the qualified individual entitled to the payment, the Commissioner of Social Security shall establish a system of accountability monitoring under which the person shall report not less often than annually with respect to the use of the payments. The Commissioner of Social Security shall establish and implement statistically valid procedures for reviewing the reports in order to identify instances in which persons are not properly using the payments.
Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Commissioner of Social Security may require a report at any time from any person receiving payments on behalf of a qualified individual, if the Commissioner of Social Security has reason to believe that the person receiving the payments is misusing the payments.
In any case in which the person described in paragraph (1) or (2) receiving benefit payments on behalf of a qualified individual fails to submit a report required by the Commissioner of Social Security under paragraph (1) or (2), the Commissioner may, after furnishing notice to such person and the qualified individual, require that such person appear in person at a United States Government facility designated by the Social Security Administration as serving the area in which the qualified individual resides in order to receive such benefit payments.
The Commissioner of Social Security shall maintain lists which shall be updated periodically of-
The Commissioner of Social Security shall maintain lists, which shall be updated periodically, of public agencies and community-based nonprofit social service agencies which are qualified to serve as representative payees pursuant to this section and which are located in the jurisdiction in which any qualified individual resides.
In any case where the negligent failure of the Commissioner of Social Security to investigate or monitor a representative payee results in misuse of benefits by the representative payee, the Commissioner of Social Security shall make payment to the qualified individual or the individual's alternative representative payee of an amount equal to the misused benefits. In any case in which a representative payee that-
misuses all or part of an individual's benefit paid to such representative payee, the Commissioner of Social Security shall pay to the beneficiary or the beneficiary's alternative representative payee an amount equal to the amount of such benefit so misused. The provisions of this paragraph are subject to the limitations of subsection (l)(2). The Commissioner of Social Security shall make a good faith effort to obtain restitution from the terminated representative payee.
For purposes of this subchapter, misuse of benefits by a representative payee occurs in any case in which the representative payee receives payment under this subchapter for the use and benefit of another person under this subchapter and converts such payment, or any part thereof, to a use other than for the use and benefit of such person. The Commissioner of Social Security may prescribe by regulation the meaning of the term "use and benefit" for purposes of this subsection.
In addition to such other reviews of representative payees as the Commissioner of Social Security may otherwise conduct, the Commissioner may provide for the periodic onsite review of any person or agency that receives the benefits payable under this subchapter (alone or in combination with benefits payable under subchapter II or subchapter XVI) to another individual pursuant to the appointment of such person or agency as a representative payee under this section, section 405(j) of this title, or section 1383(a)(2) of this title in any case in which-
Within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Commissioner shall submit to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the results of periodic onsite reviews conducted during the fiscal year pursuant to paragraph (1) and of any other reviews of representative payees conducted during such fiscal year in connection with benefits under this subchapter. Each such report shall describe in detail all problems identified in such reviews and any corrective action taken or planned to be taken to correct such problems, and shall include-
If the Commissioner of Social Security or a court of competent jurisdiction determines that a representative payee that is not a Federal, State, or local government agency has misused all or part of a qualified individual's benefit that was paid to such representative payee under this section, the representative payee shall be liable for the amount misused, and such amount (to the extent not repaid by the representative payee) shall be treated as an overpayment of benefits under this subchapter to the representative payee for all purposes of this chapter and related laws pertaining to the recovery of such overpayments. Subject to paragraph (2), upon recovering all or any part of such amount, the Commissioner shall make payment of an amount equal to the recovered amount to such qualified individual or such qualified individual's alternative representative payee.
The total of the amount paid to such individual or such individual's alternative representative payee under paragraph (1) and the amount paid under subsection (i) may not exceed the total benefit amount misused by the representative payee with respect to such individual.
1So in original. Probably should be "1383(a)(2)(A)(iii)".
42 U.S.C. § 1007
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(B), (3), is classified generally to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
PRIOR PROVISIONSFor prior provisions, see note set out under section 1001 of this title.
AMENDMENTS2018-Subsec. (b)(2)(G). Pub. L. 115-165, §202(b)(1)(A), added subpar. (G). Subsec. (b)(4), (5). Pub. L. 115-165, §202(b)(1)(B), added pars. (4) and (5).Subsec. (d)(1)(F). Pub. L. 115-165, §202(b)(2)(A), added subpar. (F).Subsec. (d)(1)(G). Pub. L. 115-165, §203(b), added subpar. (G). Subsec. (d)(2)(D). Pub. L. 115-165, §202(b)(2)(B), added subpar. (D). Subsec. (h)(3) to (6). Pub. L. 115-165, §102(b), added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) to (5) as (4) to (6), respectively. 2004-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 108-203, §101(b)(3), substituted "for his or her use and benefit" for "for his or her benefit".Subsec. (b)(2)(D) to (F). Pub. L. 108-203, §103(b)(1), added subpars. (D) and (E) and redesignated former subpar. (D) as (F).Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 108-203, §103(b)(2), added par. (3).Subsec. (d)(1)(D), (E). Pub. L. 108-203, §103(b)(3), added subpars. (D) and (E).Subsec. (h)(3) to (5). Pub. L. 108-203, §106(b), added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) and (4) as (4) and (5), respectively.Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 108-203, §101(b)(1), inserted second and third sentences. Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 108-203, §101(b)(2), added subsec. (j). Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 108-203, §102(b)(2), added subsec. (k). Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 108-203, §105(b), added subsec. (l).
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 202(b) of Pub. L. 115-165 applicable to any individual appointed to serve as a representative payee pursuant to this section on or after Jan. 1, 2019, subject to provisions relating to prior appointments, see section 202(d) of Pub. L. 115-165 set out as a note under section 405 of this title.Amendment by section 203(b) of Pub. L. 115-165 applicable to any individual appointed to serve as a representative payee under this subchapter on or after Jan. 1, 2019, with provisions relating to prior appointments, see section 203(d) of Pub. L. 115-165 set out as a note under section 405 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2004 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 101(b) of Pub. L. 108-203 applicable to any case of benefit misuse by a representative payee with respect to which the Commissioner of Social Security makes the determination of misuse on or after Jan. 1, 1995, see section 101(d) of Pub. L. 108-203 set out as a note under section 405 of this title.Amendment by section 103(b) of Pub. L. 108-203 effective on the first day of the thirteenth month beginning after Mar. 2, 2004, see section 103(d) of Pub. L. 108-203 set out as a note under section 405 of this title.Amendment by section 105(b) of Pub. L. 108-203 applicable to benefit misuse by a representative payee in any case with respect to which the Commissioner of Social Security or a court of competent jurisdiction makes the determination of misuse after 180 days after Mar. 2, 2004, see section 105(d) of Pub. L. 108-203 set out as a note under section 405 of this title.Amendment by section 106(b) of Pub. L. 108-203 effective 180 days after Mar. 2, 2004, see section 106(d) of Pub. L. 108-203 set out as a note under section 405 of this title.
- Administrator
- The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of General Services.
- United States
- The term "United States" means (but only for purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph) the fifty States and the District of Columbia.
- owner
- The term "owner" means, with respect to federally assisted housing, the entity or private person, including a cooperative or public housing agency, that has the legal right to lease or sublease dwelling units in such housing.
- person
- The term "person" means an individual, a trust or estate, a partnership, or a corporation.