Health & Benefits

A dedicated account is a special bank account set up just for past-due Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for a child with a disability. Sometimes, past-due benefits are called lump sum benefits, back benefits, or underpayments.

Most of the time, these are the benefits that a child receives to cover the time from when the SSI application was filed to the time that monthly benefits start. If the case has gone through a long appeal process before benefits start, this past due or back benefit can be very large. Another situation where there might be a back benefit is where payments are suspended or stopped for a time and then start again. The money that Social Security did not pay during the suspension is back benefits. There also can be a back benefit if Social Security decides that it calculated the SSI wrong and owes the child more for months when it paid the incorrect amount.

If past-due benefits must be in a dedicated account, Social Security will not pay the benefits until the account is set up.

The rules about dedicated accounts only apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for a child with a disability. SSI benefits for adults with disabilities or for people 65 or older do not go into dedicated accounts. The dedicated account rules do not apply to Social Security insurance benefits, such as dependent or survivor benefits for children.

Dedicated accounts are only for large back benefit payments. When the back benefits are more than six times the full monthly benefit, Social Security will only pay the benefits into a dedicated account. In 2025, the full SSI benefit for an individual is $967 per month. That means if the back benefit is more than $5,802, it must go into a dedicated account.

Social Security will not pay the full back benefit all at once. Social Security will pay the back benefit in three installments, six months apart.

The representative payee for the child is responsible for setting up the dedicated account. If you are the representative payee and you do not set up the account within 30 days of the date of the Social Security notice telling you to establish the account, Social Security may look for a different payee to replace you.

You must open a dedicated account at a bank, trust company, credit union, or savings and loan association that is insured under either federal or state law. The dedicated account may be a checking, savings, or money market account. You may not use certificates of deposit, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or trusts for the dedicated account funds.

A dedicated account should use:

• the name of the child, and
• the name of the payee.

The title or label needs to make it clear that the money is for child. If you are the representative payee for the child, the best way to label the account is “(Name of Child) by (Your Name), representative payee.”

You must use any Supplemental Security Income (SSI) money for the benefit of the child. However, there are extra rules that apply to dedicated accounts. So, you can use the money only for certain needs of the child.

Social Security’s policy says that you can use the money in the dedicated account for the following things:

• Medical treatment for the child,
• Education or job skills training for the child,
• These four things if they are related to the child's impairment(s):
  • Personal needs assistance (like someone who comes into the house to help the child eat or get dressed, or who provides respite care so you can do errands),
  • Special equipment (such as a motorized wheelchair or specialized computer),
  • Housing modification (such as a ramp), and
  • Therapy or rehabilitation (such as physical therapy or music therapy).

You also can use the money in the dedicated account for other things that relate to the child’s impairment, but only if Social Security approves them ahead. These are examples of things you might ask Social Security to approve, depending on the child’s condition:

• Gluten-free foods the child needs,
• Specialized transportation, like a van that will hold the child’s wheelchair,
• Summer camp that is designed for children with the child’s conditions,
• Special clothing (for example, clothing that has fasteners that are easy for the child to use),
• Air conditioning for a child with asthma,
• A washing machine for an incontinent child,
• Repair of walls, carpets, or furnishings damaged or worn by the child, and
• Attorney or representative fees for the disability appeal.

You may be able to use the money for housing or food expenses in an emergency, but only if Social Security approves this ahead of time.

You do not need permission to use the money in the dedicated account for:

• Medical care for the child,
• Education or vocational training for the child, or
• Personal assistance, special equipment, housing modifications, or therapy related to the child’s impairments.

If you have any doubts about whether spending money on one of these things is allowed, you can ask Social Security ahead of time to approve the expense. This is a good idea, especially with personal assistance, special equipment, housing modifications, or therapy you believe is related to the child’s impairments. Asking ahead will help avoid Social Security questioning you later.

Remember that you must get permission from Social Security before you spend money in the dedicated account for anything that does not fit into the list above.

Normally, you cannot spend money in the dedicated account on basic needs, such as:

• Food,
• Housing,
• Rent,
• Utilities,
• Clothing, and
• Personal items that are not specifically related to the child’s impairment.

However, if you have no other way to pay for housing or food and the child is at risk of being homeless or not having enough to eat, you can ask Social Security to let you use the money in the dedicated account for these expenses. Remember that you must ask for permission before you spend the money on these things.

If Social Security tells you that you cannot spend the dedicated account money for something that the child needs, you can file an appeal. Do not spend the money until you get a decision on the appeal. Learn more about appealing a decision about Social Security benefits. 

No. The dedicated account will not make the child ineligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Normally, a person can only get SSI if they have less than $2,000 in cash, stocks, bonds, or certain other valuable property. However, Social Security does not count the money in the dedicated account against the $2,000 resource limit. There is no time limit for using the money in the dedicated account.

In most cases, when someone gets an SSI back benefit, that money will not count against the $2,000 limit for only nine months. After nine months, any money left from the back benefit will count against the $2,000 resource limit. That nine-month limit does not apply to money in a dedicated account.

No money except back benefits can go into a dedicated account. If you are a representative payee for a child, do not put the monthly benefits or money that is not from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) into the account.

Sometimes, after the dedicated account is set up, there is another, smaller back benefit that can be put into the account. But, it does not have to go into that account. As the representative payee, you must make a decision about whether it is better for the child for the additional small back benefit to go into the dedicated account or into another account, such as the account for the monthly benefits. If the additional payment is less than the monthly benefit amount ($967 in 2025), you cannot put it into the dedicated account.

One reason to put additional back payments into the dedicated account is to protect it from counting against the $2,000 resource limit and making the child ineligible for SSI. On the other hand, one reason not to put the money into the dedicated account is that the rules are very strict about how you can spend the money in the dedicated account. Putting the money into another account frees you to use the money for any of the child’s needs.

You will report to Social Security every year about how much money is in the dedicated account. This will include reporting to Social Security about any deposits into the account and anything you spend.

You should keep detailed records of how you use the money in the dedicated account. You should keep all of the receipts you get when you spend money in the account. Keep all of the bank statements you receive. You should also keep copies of any written request you make asking Social Security for permission to use the money in the dedicated account, and copies of any responses from Social Security. If your request is not in writing, or you get an answer from Social Security that is not in writing, make a note of who you talked to, the date of the conversation, and what was said. It is best to communicate in writing with Social Security.

If you keep paper records, you can keep everything together in a large manila envelope. If you keep records by computer, be sure that they are organized into a file or folder and that emails are also in a labeled folder.

When a representative payee spends money from the dedicated account for the child, but for an expense that is not allowed, it is called “misapplication.” If Social Security decides that you misapplied funds from the dedicated account when you knew that the expense was not allowed, Social Security will ask you to repay them. Also, Social Security may investigate whether you should keep being the representative payee.

You have the right to file an appeal if you do not think that you knowingly misapplied money from the dedicated account. For example, if it was an honest mistake or the expense should have been allowed. You cannot use the dedicated account to repay the misapplied amount. 

As long as the child keeps receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you must spend the money according to the rules for dedicated accounts even after the child turns 18. If you continue to be the representative payee, you must follow the rules for the dedicated account.

If you are finishing your time as the representative payee, you must return any money in the dedicated account to Social Security. If the child is still eligible for SSI, the child or their new representative payee must set up a new dedicated account, and Social Security will deposit the money there. Then the child or the new representative payee must spend the money according to the rules for dedicated accounts, including making annual reports to Social Security.

If the child is no longer eligible for SSI, Social Security will turn over the dedicated account funds to the adult child, who can spend the money as they wish.

If you have any questions about what to do with the dedicated account after the child turns 18, talk to Social Security. This will help protect you if Social Security has any questions. 

Learn more about dedicated accounts on the Social Security website.