Third Party Beneficiary Payments
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This section provides information on payments received by a participant as a representative payee for the care and maintenance of another person.
Policy
Third Party Beneficiary payments are not countable when used for the care and maintenance of another person. A participant may be the representative payee for another participant in the budgetary unit, or a nonparticipant who is either in the home with the budgetary unit, or outside of the home.
When a payment is received and intended for both the participant and another person who does not live with the participant, all of the following apply:
●The income that is retained by the participant and not used for the care of the beneficiary is countable as unearned income.
●When the person’s portion cannot be identified, the income is divided among the intended beneficiaries.
Countable income is used to determine an income budget. (See Income Budgeting to see how FAA determines the income budget.) FAA needs to know about income that is both countable and not countable to determine whether a budgetary unit’s expenses are exceeding their income. (See Income Eligibility for more information about how FAA uses countable and not countable income.)
Procedures
When the payment is not intended for the participant, count the amount retained that is not used to care for the intended beneficiary. Count the income as unearned income in the month of receipt.
When the participant is present, have them sign the Authority to Release (FAA‑1765A) form to contact any companies or businesses involved. The FAA-1765A can be faxed or emailed to the participant's employer when it is not possible to use the Application for Benefits (FAA-0001A) or the HEAplus Authority to Release signed statement.
Verification
System interface and the case file(g) must be reviewed before verification is requested. No additional verification is needed when AZTECS interface or HEAplus hubs have verified the information.
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
For NA, all of the following income is required to be verified before eligibility is determined:
●Reported on a new application, during the interview of a new application, or changes reported before the eligibility determination of a new application.
●Changes after an eligibility determination of a new application (e.g., a renewal application, mid approval contact, etc.) and any of the following apply:
The source of the income has changed.
The income is questionable(g) or unclear(g).
The reported income amount has changed by $51 or more.
The previous verification in the case file is more than 59 calendar days old.
For CA, all income is required to be verified before determining eligibility.
Examples of verification that can be used for Third Party Beneficiary payments include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Assistance payments records
●AZTECS INTERFACE INQUIRY MENU (ININ) for verification of SSA or SSI income
●Benefit award letters from SSA
●Statement of Earnings VA, and other agencies
●Bank records
●Agency or payer providing the income
●Court records or court orders
●DCSS documents or print outs
●Divorce or separation papers or contact with the Clerk of the Court
●Current check reflecting gross income (Do not copy federal government checks)
●Federal or state tax forms
●Insurance policies
●Mortgages and Sales Contracts
●Signed statement from the agency or payer providing the income
●Absent Parent
●Participant Statement verification when one of the following occur:
Obtaining documented or collateral contact verification may cause harm or undue hardship(g) for the participant.
When all of the following occur:
●Other attempts to obtain the verification have failed. This includes documented and collateral contact verification.
●The participant has requested assistance from FAA.
●The worker has evaluated the request for assistance and cannot obtain the verification from another acceptable source.
●The participant statement is not questionable(g).
AZTECS Keying Procedures
When received by a participant and used for the care and maintenance of another, key the OX Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC.
When a payment is received and intended for both the participant and a beneficiary, count the amount retained by the participant as unearned income. Key the OT Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC. (See Example 1 Third Party Beneficiary)
When the payment is not intended for the participant, count the amount retained that is not used to care for the intended beneficiary. Key the OT Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC.
Document the case file(g) thoroughly to support keyed codes, amounts, and frequencies. See the AZTECS Data Entry Guide for instructions on keying the AZTECS income screens.
NOTE Documentation must support determinations of eligibility and benefit level. Document in sufficient detail to ensure that any reviewer can assess whether the determination is reasonable and accurate. Include specific information regarding the reason the income is determined to be normal. (See Budgeting Income Documentation Requirements for additional information.)
Examples
1) Mary is an NA participant. She lives alone. She is the SSA representative payee for her grandson Don's SSA benefits. Don's SSA benefit is $600 per month. Mary uses $500 of Don's SSA benefits to provide for Don's care and maintenance.
$500 of Don's SSA benefit is used to provide for his care and maintenance is not countable to Mary's budgetary unit. Key the OX Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC.
$100 of Don's SSA benefit is retained by Mary. Mary does not use the $100 to provide for Don's care and maintenance. $100 is countable to Mary's budgetary unit. Key the OT Unearned Income Code in the INC TYPE field on UNIC.
Legal Authorities
AAC R6-12-505
A.R.S 46-292-P01
7 CFR 273.9(c)(8)
7 CFR 273.9(c)(6)
last revised 10/02/2023