Follow-up: Minor Children Receiving Social Security Benefits
Without a Representative Payee
A-13-17-50169
June 2019 Office of Audit Report Summary
Objective
To determine whether the Social
Security Administration (SSA)
complied with its policies when it paid
benefits to minor children.
Background
The law requires that most minor
children have representative payees to
manage their benefits to ensure the
payments are used for their current and
foreseeable needs.
SSA generally presumes minor
children under age 18 are incapable of
managing their own benefits. As a
result, SSA usually appoints
representative payees to manage the
benefits of children. However, SSA
can pay a child age 15 through
17 directly if the child meets certain
criteria.
We identified 709 minor children
under age 15 and 1,273 minor children
who were between age 15 and 17 and
5 months as of April 2017 that did not
have appointed representative payees.
We provided a list of the 709 minor
children under age 15 to the Agency
for review and corrective action. In
addition, from the group of children
between the ages 15 and 17 and
5 months, we randomly selected 50 for
review.
Findings
SSA did not always comply with its policies when it paid benefits
to minor children. Of the 709 minor children under age 15 we
identified and referred to SSA for review and corrective action,
SSA confirmed it had not appointed representative payees for
668 as of April 2017. We estimate the Agency paid these children
approximately $12.2 million. For the remaining 41 children, SSA
reported appointing representative payees for 22 before our
referrals, suspending or terminating benefits for 14, and correcting
the dates of birth for 5 who were actually over age 18.
Of the 50 children we reviewed who were between ages 15 and
17 and 5 months, SSA did not comply with its policies for 46 who
received benefits. The Agency confirmed it did not appoint
representative payees for 32 child beneficiaries. Based on our
sample, we estimate the Agency paid 815 child beneficiaries
approximately $22.5 million. Additionally, SSA did not document
capability determinations for 14 children it paid directly as is
required by Agency policy. Based on our sample, we estimate SSA
did not properly document capability determinations for
356 children it paid directly.
Recommendations
We recommend SSA:
1. Direct employees to (1) comply with policies for appointing
representative payees for minor children, (2) document
capability determinations, and (3) adjudicate representative
payee applications properly.
2. Implement a process to periodically identify all children under
age 17 and 5 months being paid directly; and determine and
document whether the Agency needs to appoint representative
payees.
SSA agreed with our recommendations.
Agency Actions Resulting from the Audit
In response to our audit, SSA appointed representative payees for
the children who were still receiving benefits and needed to be
served by representative payees.