On April 13, the President signed the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018. The law directs state Protection & Advocacy system organizations to conduct all periodic onsite reviews along with additional discretionary reviews. In addition, the P&As will conduct educational visits and conduct reviews based on allegations they receive of payee misconduct. The CNMI state P&A is the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems, Inc., or NMPASI.<\/p>\n
Representative payees are responsible for keeping records and, when requested, reporting to Social Security how they spend the benefits received on behalf of a Social Security beneficiary or Supplemental Security Income recipient. Representative Payees may receive a report form used to account for the Social Security or SSI benefits received or we may select you for a representative payee review. The review is to determine if you have performed the following duties:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Managed funds so the beneficiary(ies) have no unmet current needs
\n\u2022 Accounted for all funds received and spent
\n\u2022 Conserved any unspent funds in appropriate manner, and
\n\u2022 Complied with representative payee accounting and reporting responsibilities.
\n\u2022 When allegations of payee misconduct are received by NMPASI, a review is conducted which includes:
\n\u2022 an interview with the individual or organizational representative payee;
\n\u2022 a review of the representative payee\u2019s financial records for the requested beneficiary or sample of beneficiaries served;
\n\u2022 a home visit and interview for each beneficiary included in the review; and
\n\u2022 an interview with legal guardians and third parties, when applicable.
\n\u2022 When NMPASI schedules the review, the reviewer will request the records needed for each beneficiary. Some common financial documents that representative payees may be asked to provide are:
\n\t\u2022 a beneficiary budget;
\n\t\u2022 a beneficiary ledger;
\n\t\u2022 individual bank statements;
\n\t\u2022 Collective account bank statements;
\n\t\u2022 receipts of income;
\n\t\u2022 account balances;
\n\t\u2022 bank reconciliation records;
\n\t\u2022 cancelled checks;
\n\t\u2022 expense documentation including receipts, bills, and rental agreements;
\n\t\u2022 how the payee keeps conserved benefits (e.g., checking, savings, etc.); and
\n\t\u2022 any other financial documents that pertain to a beneficiary\u2019s Social Security and\/or SSI benefits.<\/p>\n
If the results of the review find that the payee is not fulfilling the duties of a representative payee, corrective action(s) may be required in order for the payee to continue to serve. NMPASI or the Social Security Administration will contact the payee to explain the findings and initiate a corrective action. Once all corrective actions are satisfactorily completed, NMPASI or the Social Security Administration will notify the payee in writing that the review is complete.<\/p>\n
If the review finds that no corrective action is required, the representative payee will receive a notice advising them that the review is complete.<\/p>\n
To ensure satisfactory oversight of Social Security and SSI benefits, NMPASI will conduct a home visit and interview of beneficiaries served by the representative payee selected for a review. If applicable, NMPASI will also conduct an interview with legal guardians or third parties.<\/p>\n
Resources are available for Representative Payees at the Social Security website: https:\/\/www.ssa.gov\/payee\/<\/p>\n
For more information about Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries or to report suspect misconduct by a Representative Payee, contact NMPASI at 235-7273\/7274 or visit us online at www.nmpasi.org. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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