There are several scenarios where people without SSNs accept benefits as the “representative payee” on behalf of eligible beneficiaries—including most disabled children, as well as elderly or disabled adults, said Kathleen Romig, the director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
An SSA memo obtained by Government Executive notes that the agency currently can, at times, make someone a representative payee even if they don’t have an SSN. The payee, Romig noted, is not required to be eligible for benefits themselves.
The new policy proposal would bar any payments to payees without SSNs, of which there are currently more than 170,000, according to the document. The Social Security Administration did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
One large group that could be affected by the proposed change would be children receiving Supplemental Security Income or disability benefits whose parents don’t have an SSN. Others impacted could include widows and other survivors of dead Americans living overseas.
The proposal may be wrapped up in the administration’s immigration policies, said several SSA employees.
“The only time we pay someone who is here illegally is when they are a payee,” one explained. “So by barring people without SSNs from applying to be payee, they would be able to say they stopped paying illegal immigrants Social Security. But it will create a crisis. We usually are paying them because their kid is severely disabled and still a minor. If they aren't the right person to m ..
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