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Only the Social Security Administration (SSA) can formally appoint a representative payee to manage benefits for someone unable to do so for themselves — for example, a young child, a person with severe physical disabilities or an older adult with cognitive impairments.
However, you do have the option to select up to three people ahead of time who could serve as your payee should the need arise. This “advance designation” is not an appointment, but the SSA is legally obligated to give strong weight to your choices.
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Advance designation was put in place in early 2020 as part of an amendment to Social Security law that Congress passed two years earlier aimed at strengthening the representative payee program. Payees are tasked with receiving a beneficiary’s monthly payments and ensuring the money is used to meet that person’s essential and personal needs, such as shelter, food, medical care, clothing and recreation.
As of December 2022, 4.9 million Social Security recipients had payees, according to SSA data. Most are minors or adults disabled since childhood, but more than 1.3 million retired and disabled workers, their spouses or their survivors have someone else managing their benefits, typically a family member or close friend. Nearly 1 in 10 adult workers receiving disability benefits have a representative payee.
How advance designation works
Any adult who is applying for or receiving Social Security benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) can make an advance designation, as long as they are still capable of managing their payments at the time. (Child claimants and beneficiaries cannot designate a payee unless they have been declared an “emancipated minor” under the laws of their state.)
You can submit your list online if you have a My Social Security account or by phone to the SSA’s national hotline, 800-772-1213. You can change your choices or withdraw advance designation altogether at any time. Social Security will contact you annually to check if you want to review or update your selections.
