Improving Social Security’s Financial Capability Assessments

When Social Security beneficiaries are incapable of managing their benefits, the agency can appoint a representative payee to administer benefits on their behalf. A committee of the Institute of Medicine was asked by the Social Security Administration to review the process by which financial capability determinations are made and to recommend improvements. The committee’s conclusions and recommendations include the following: giving priority to real-world financial performance in assessing capability, providing clearer instructions to informants, developing systematic approaches to identifying beneficiaries at risk of incapability, exploring the use of a supervised direct payment option, and instituting regular data collection to assist in improving operations.