§ 416.645. Conservation and investment of benefit payments.
(a) General. If payments are not needed for the beneficiary's current maintenance or reasonably foreseeable needs, they shall be conserved or invested on behalf of the beneficiary. Conserved funds should be invested in accordance with the rules followed by trustees. Any investment must show clearly that the payee holds the property in trust for the beneficiary.
Example: A State institution for children with intellectual disability, which is receiving Medicaid funds, is representative payee for several beneficiaries. The checks the payee receives are deposited into one account which shows that the benefits are held in trust for the beneficiaries. The institution has supporting records which show the share each individual has in the account. Funds from this account are disbursed fairly quickly after receipt for the personal needs of the beneficiaries. However, not all those funds were disbursed for this purpose. As a result, several of the beneficiaries have significant accumulated resources in this account. For those beneficiaries whose benefits have accumulated over $150, the funds should be deposited in an interest-bearing account or invested relatively free of risk on behalf of the beneficiaries.
(b) Preferred investments. Preferred investments for excess funds are U.S. Savings Bonds and deposits in an interest or dividend paying account in a bank, trust company, credit union, or savings and loan association which is insured under either Federal or State law. The account must be in a form which shows clearly that the representative payee has only a fiduciary and not a personal interest in the funds. If the payee is the legally appointed guardian or fiduciary of the beneficiary, the account may be established to indicate this relationship. If the payee is not the legally appointed guardian or fiduciary, the accounts may be established as follows:
______ (Name of beneficiary) ___ (Social Security Number), for whom ______ (Name of payee) is representative payee for Supplemental Security Income benefits;
(2) For interest or dividend paying accounts—
______ (Name of beneficiary) by ______ (Name of payee), representative payee.
(c) Interest and dividend payments. The interest and dividends which result from an investment are the property of the beneficiary and may not be considered to be the property of the payee.
[47 FR 30475, July 14, 1982, as amended at 78 FR 46501, Aug. 1, 2013]