TN 19 (12-11)

A. When an organization serves as representative payee for a group of beneficiaries

When an institution, agency, or nursing home (called organization in this section) serves as common representative payee for more than five beneficiaries, use the following instructions to change the payee legend or to appoint a new common payee, if necessary.

You will usually need to process a payee change when the organization:

• changes ownership;

• dissolves;

• merges with another organization; or

• is absorbed by another organization

B. Procedure for when to change the payee legend or appoint a common representative payee

1. No change in representative payee

If you receive a request to change only the name or title of the official carrying out the representative payee responsibilities for the organization, or the address of the organization (i.e., the organization continues as payee), input the payee name change and legend change.

EXAMPLE: The Shady Grove Nursing Home changes its name to the Shady Grove Care Center (same employer identification number (EIN)). This is not a change of payee situation, so only input a name change and legend change. For more information on how to input the change in the Electronic Representative Payee System (eRPS), refer to mass change of address in MS INTRANETERPS 020.003.

2. Change in representative payee

Use the following procedures for changing representative payees.

a. Development of organizational representative payee

• Interview personally, (either by phone or by personal visit) the representative of the organization applying to be a common payee.

• Ask the applicant how the organization uses the benefits and the reason for the change.

• Document on the report of contact screen (RC), or the Report of Contact Details screen in eRPS, that you explained the payee's duties, the field office's (FO)’s recommendation and reasons for appointing the applicant.

• Complete only one SSA-11 and query the Pending Applications and Selected List screens in eRPS, (MS INTRANETERPS 020.014 and 020.017) to identify all beneficiaries affected by the change and their SSNs. Attach a list of the affected beneficiaries to the SSA-11. If the current payee is not on eRPS (e.g., a foreign payee who does not have an SSN or EIN), request the organization to provide a list of affected beneficiaries. Verify their eligibility.

• If the organization is not on eRPS, establish the organization before entering the merger action through the Organizational/Institutional Rep Payee Overview screen function in eRPS (MS INTRANETERPS 014.001).

• Determine if any of the beneficiaries have legal guardians or higher preference payees. For information on using the payee preference list, see GN 00502.105E.

• Make the payee determination.

• Send a manual advance notice about the new payee determination to each beneficiary involved. Create a diary in RPS and tickle for 15 days. For more information on sending an advance notice, see GN 00503.100.

NOTE: eRPS processes the mass change, but eRPS will not automatically send the advance notice.

b. Processing the payee change

• At the end of the 15 days, the servicing FO inputs the change of representative payee action via the eRPS mass change of address screen, per instructions in MS INTRANETERPS 020.003.

• Store a copy of the SSA-11 either in the Non Disability Repository for Evidentiary Documents (NDRED), or in electronic disability (eDib), under the SSN of the first beneficiary on the list.

• Annotate in the Make Note screen in eRPS the current organizational payee, describing the action, i.e., (merger/ownership change), any documentation collected, the date advance notices sent, and the SSN where the SSA-11 is electronically stored.

C. Examples of when a change of representative payee is necessary and the actions to take

1. Change of payee

Another corporation (ABC, Inc.) purchased Johnson's Nursing Home ABC, Inc. continues to operate as a nursing home, stays at the same location, and all current residents remain there. Since there is a new owner, with a new EIN and a new business name, we consider this a change of representative payee. Therefore, ABC Inc. must file an SSA-11, if they wish to serve as payee. If you select the organization as payee for all of the beneficiaries, you must send an advance notice to each affected beneficiary. Establish the new organization in the eRPS (refer to MS INTRANETERPS 014.002), and after the due process period ends, process the payee change.

2. Change of payee’s title only

The representative payee is the State Director of Mental Hygiene. The position title changed to the State Director of Social Services, but all duties remain the same, including the representative payee responsibilities. In this situation, the payee is not changed. Since you are not appointing a successor representative payee, advance and formal notices of the name change in the payee legend are not required.