I have a POA and Health Proxy for my Mother. I had to get a verification letter from SS for her (dementia), SS refused both docs. Why?

You need to call SS and pretend you are your mother. Have all of her info. in front of you. There is an automated service. You don't need to speak to anyone.

The Social Security Administration does not recognize POA. You must follow their procedures to apply to be a representative payee for SS & Medicare on behalf of your mom and then you will be able to act on her behalf on matters related to her SS & Medicare benefits.

I also had to apply - separately - to be the rep payee for both my dad & mom's federal pension & benefits. They also do not recognize POA.

It's not hard to do these paperwork things - it just takes time, etc.

If your mom is competent, she can sign for you to be her ss rep-payee at the local ss office. If she is ruled incompetent, and you are appointed as her guardian by the court; you can apply at ss to be her rep-payee. When you go to ss to apply for the rep-payee, you must have your photo id, you moms ssn, your court papers ie..incompetent, appointment of guardianship etc... Even though you put in for rep-payee ss will still ck "you" out ie...credit/background check, and "are you financially responsible" too take care of your moms finances. The reason I know, is because I just went through this with SS May 2013, and was granted as my mom's rep-payee. The above replies are correct they do not recognize just POA/Health Proxy etc..... I heard you can fill out the form online for rep-payee, but I actually did face to face w/ss representive. I did a walk in (w/verifiable court papers/justification in hand), but got their early, prior to them opening due to long lines and their wierd hours....ended up being #10 in line, so it didn't take long. Once called did a 10 minute questions/answer interview w/the ss representitive; and ther rep typed/filled in the forms...Questions they asked: Why do your mom need rep-payee ie... Mental Impaired, Demensia/Guardianship etc..; Why would you be best person to be your moms rep-payee ie.... daughter/guardian, and I see her daily or 3 to 5 days a wk; Who else has interest in your mom ie..in my case my brother and they will want the persons name/address/phone#; Are you her natural/adoptive relative?; Have you ever been convicted of a felony, imprisoned for more than yr or have a warrant; Where are you employed?....; Do your mom owe you money? What is your monthly income/other household income?; You will also have to show them your drivers license or state id card (they will make a copy of it, court or justifiable papers, not POA/Proxy)... Bottom line they want to see if your a qualified candidate to be your mom's rep-payee. The easiest way is if your mom request you as rep-payee... But in my case my mom didn't want a rep-payee, so I had to do what had to be done; to include the prior to going to ss going to court having her ruled incompetent/and me/bro as her guardian.

Is your POA envoked? Have your mom's physician do this., the physician would have to declare her incompletent to make her own decisions.
If POA is alreade evoked, you might petition the court for guardianship. You will still need the letter from the physical referring to incompetence in making her own decisions. The latter should work for SS

A word of caution about writing down passwords. If you write them down, ANYone can access them. I code all of mine. I use a letter and number combination. For example: Bevwest might mean, Coke1234 ... where Bev=Coke (note the Cap) and 1234 is a number combo that I'll always remember == NOT a birthday!! I use a pin number from a long ago closed bank account. Most 'secure' passwords require at least 8 digits with a combination of Upper/lower case letters, numbers and some force a character. In that case, I use the actual character in the code, like: Bev&1234.

If I need to remember pin numbers, I make an address book entry: 1234 Main St (the 1234 represents the ACTUAL pin number and the street name can be any random street name, maybe make the initials match the institution where it's used. For instance, if it's Mutual Bank, it would be 1234 Maple Bark Lane. Do NOT list it under the institution's name in the address book. Make up some contacts, instead, that help you remember what it's for.

If you're setting up accounts and you want someone to know them, clue them into your code and send it registered mail. Most of these accounts are your life's bread. Protect them. There are really greedy, evil people out there.

I have a POA for my husband and I also had to have a letter from his Dr. stating he has Dimentia and not capable to make his own decisions. When I took it back to the SS office, I was made his representative and can answer for him. I do get a letter each year from SS making asking what I spent his monthly SS check on. I send the letter back stating money was spent on living expenses, medications, etc. etc. I don't try and break it down monthly and they have accepted this.

I'd start here: http://www.ssa.gov/payee/

(would be nice if we could edit our responses) ... That page, and subsequent ones, specifically state that a POA does not give authority to manage SSA benefits, and requires payee status. The FAQ page, with lots of answered questions: http://www.ssa.gov/payee/faqrep.htm

Hope that helps!

(It would be nice to edit responses!)

Part two - once guardianship is approved, SS has a specific set of procedures and forms to submit for approval - -

basically you want to - as DPOA, MPOA - is to do everything you can to do it as them and on-line and direct deposit everything. Having to interface with the bureaucracy of SSA or the fed's on anything is time-consuming and inefficient for you and job security for them. One over-zealous low level fed and you will be stuck in paperwork hell and your elder's $ in limbo. Not pretty and maddening.

Keep your data and input stuff always the same and same passwords, keep it simple and keep a binder or notebook on everything filed with date and password.