TN 43 (04-16)

A. Policy

History of past poor performance as a payee raises serious doubt about a person's ability to perform suitably as payee. While poor performance is not an absolute bar to serving as payee, you should not appoint a person with poor past performance unless you determine there is some compelling reason for doing so. On those rare occasions when you make such an appointment, you must fully document the reasons for your decision.

B. Procedure - Applicant Has Poor Payee Performance

The eRPS contains information about an individual's prior performance as payee, including indications of unsatisfactory performance (see GN 00502.132. If the eRPS shows the applicant has misused funds or is overpaid because he or she received and did not return payments after the death of the beneficiary, confirm the accuracy of this data by querying the associated MBR/SSR. If accurate, ask the payee why the obligation was not repaid. Ask him or her to repay or make arrangements to repay it now.

1. Non-selection of Applicant with a Poor Past Performance

An applicant whose past performance was unsatisfactory should generally not be appointed as payee. Take the following actions when you determine the applicant is not a suitable payee:

• Complete the application in eRPS

• Non-select the applicant using the Selection-Decision screen (MS INTRANETERPS 012.002)

• Select Poor Past Performance as the Non-Select Applicant screen (MS INTRANETERPS 012.003).

• Check “Send non-select notice to applicant” so eRPS

  sends the appropriate non-select notice.

• Look for a new payee applicant and consider direct payment, if appropriate.

2. When to Appoint an Applicant with a Poor Past Performance

If you determine that there is no other suitable payee available, and direct payment is prohibited, and your investigation shows the applicant does not pose a risk to the beneficiary, you may decide the appointment of this applicant is in the best interests of the beneficiary. You must fully document your reasons for a selection of someone with poor past performance on the Make Note screen on the eRPS. A manager must approve the payee selection (see GN 00502.132 for more information). The manager must take action on the Approve Selection screen under “Manager Actions” from the eRPS overview screen (MS INTRANETERPS 012.006). Document the management’s approval on the Selection-Required Notes screen (MS INTRANETERPS 012.007). Prepare a 3-month diary for an SSA-624-F5 evaluation using the Add New Issue screen in eRPS (MS INTRANETERPS 008.007) or another reliable diary control. For T16 cases, use the diary code and date (DA) field to establish a UA diary on the SSR (see SM 01301.647). Conduct additional follow-up evaluations when you believe they are necessary. On the Rep Payee Details page, document the results of all follow-up evaluations on the Make Note screen (MS INTRANETERPS 015.002). You may withhold any accrued or conserved benefits until you have evaluated the payee's performance unless the funds are needed to meet current needs. See GN 00603.070 and GN 00502.186 for more information.

CAUTION: Direct input of payee appointment will release all accrued benefits. Manual action by the PC is required to withhold accrued or conserved benefits.

SPECIAL NOTE ON MISUSERS – A person who has a history of misuse cannot serve as payee unless he or she has repaid or has a plan to repay the misused benefits and a manager approves the selection.