Keep in mind the following when reassigning user roles:
- Changes to the Account Manager and Authorized Representative user roles cannot be made until the Account Manager and the Plan Sponsor have passed initial validation in the RDS Secure Website.
- When user roles are reassigned, the terminated user will be valid until 11:59PM Eastern Time of the termination date. The new user is effective at 12:00AM Eastern Time on the day immediately following the terminated user's termination date.
- A user terminated from a previous role may be reassigned as the Account Manager or Authorized Representative, as long as that user's previous user role has been terminated from all Plan Sponsors that they are associated with. Allow one day after the user's termination date before assigning the user the new role.
- Both the Account Manager and Authorized Representative roles may be pending reassignment at the same time.
- The Account Manager and the Authorized Representative may be reassigned on the same day, but the termination date must be a different date.
- A pending reassignment may be cancelled prior to the time the reassignment takes effect.
Note: The reassignment of user roles can affect final payments. The Account Manager and Authorized Representative roles must be active.
IMPORTANT: Account Manager (AM) and Authorized Representative (AR) reassignments do not take effect immediately. Please complete all reassignments well ahead of Application and Reconciliation deadlines to ensure smooth transition. A newly appointed AM or AR can be granted access to the RDS Secure Website (SWS) on the same day that the role reassignment is performed. However, that person will not have access to the Plan Sponsor account itself, or any associated applications, until after the termination date of the previous AM/AR has passed. This means the new user cannot view or modify any information for that Plan Sponsor until at least the next day. When reassigning these roles, please remember:
- New AMs & ARs cannot access the Plan Sponsor account on the same day the role is reassigned.
- Registration for a user account does not guarantee same day access.
- Termination Dates cannot be in the past.
- Reassigning a Designee or Actuary to an AM or AR role takes multiple days to complete.
- The AR role has critical functions that only they can perform.
- CMS’ RDS Center does not have a Call Center.
These major concepts are explained in detail in the Reassigning the Authorized Representative (AR) and Account Manager (AM) Roles Technical Article. Please review this material and plan ahead for your Application and Reconciliation Deadlines. Failure to do so may result in a missed deadline and possible loss of subsidy.
For additional information please refer to Reassign the Account Manager and Authorized Representative Roles in the RDS User Guide, specifically the subtopic Timing and Dependencies.