BASIC (12-81)

An SSA employee may be a representative payee for his/her minor child or an incapable individual for whom the SSA employee serves in a fiduciary position (guardian, trustee, etc.) However, the SSA employee may not take any action in any manner (formal or informal) as an SSA employee in connection with the claim, such as participating in the development or prosecution of the claim. Services by an SSA employee serving in this capacity are limited to filing for and/or the receipt of benefits on behalf of an individual.

It is the responsibility of the SSA employee to inform the DO that he is an SSA employee when he files a claim. If it comes to the attention of the DO by any other manner that the prospective representative is an SSA employee, determine why this fact was not volunteered at the initial filing and document the file.

To avoid any instances where an employee may attempt to use this procedure to circumvent the conflict-of-interest provisions, the claims file should be thoroughly documented to show that the employee selected is the individual best qualified to serve as representative payee. When an SSA employee files a claim on behalf of an individual, evidence will be required on every factor of entitlement and no assumptions or presumptions of fact may be applied with regard to establishing entitlement.