Social Security and Powers of Attorney

In this article, we share a pain point for clients we have worked with, which deals with Powers of Attorney not being recognized by the Social Security Administration.

One key document in estate planning is a Power of Attorney (POA). A POA is a legal document that authorizes someone to act on behalf of another individual. These documents can be broad or specific in scope and temporary or permanent.

Durable Power of Attorney

The most common type of POA is a Durable Power of Attorney, which grants your chosen person or entity (agent) the authority to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so.

Powers of Attorney are commonly used for spouses, adult children helping aging parents, or assisting family members with special needs.

Issues with the Social Security Administration

While POAs are established to manage financial decisions, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not accept them. State laws govern POAs, and SSA has its own procedures for handling these matters to avoid the need for extensive paperwork.

If you are entrusting someone with your financial affairs, ensuring the Social Security Administration is informed is crucial. If you are transitioning financial responsibilities to another person, you can do this by proactively filing an Advance Designation of Representative Payee with the SSA. You can find more information on this here.

Areas Your Power of Attorney are Ineffective

In working with clients like you, particularly when working to be proactive for potentially diminished capacity, we have found that the following key areas cannot be changed/updated when dealing with the SSA:

Assisting with withholdings

Retrieving or requesting 1099’s

Changing the mailing address

Updating Bank Deposit Information

Where to Get Started

If you are currently dealing with issues or have an ongoing case with SSA, you can use the “Appointment of Representative” form (commonly known as SSA-1696) to authorize someone to assist with specific benefit-related matters. The form is available both in paper and online versions.

Follow Us on Social