Cognitive impairment and Social Security's Representative Payee Program

Abstract

This paper found that: (1) Just over 9 percent of retirees with dementia, the most severe form of cognitive impairment, have a payee, while only 2 percent of those with mild cognitive impairment have one. (2) Over 95 percent of retirees with dementia have some form of assistance with their financial management, whether it is a payee, a non-impaired spouse or child, a power of attorney, or through their residence in a nursing home. The comparable number for those with mild cognitive impairment is 85 percent. (3) Retirees with spouses or kids living nearby are less likely to use a payee, indicating they may view family as substitutes for a payee. (4) Less educated, non-white, and relatively isolated retirees are most likely to lack formal or informal means of assistance with their financial management.