The Senate passed on Friday the Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2017, H.R. 4547, which requires the Social Security Administration to make annual grants to each state's protection and advocacy system to allow for reviews of representative payees under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program.
A representative payee is a person or organization who manages retirees' Social Security benefits when they are unable to do so themselves. Approximately 5.5 million beneficiaries rely on a representative payee, according to AARP.
AARP applauded the bipartisan bill, which passed the House in February, for also adding "stronger protections to deter fraud and abuse by payees, including through expanded use of background checks."