When it appears to the system that the interest of an applicant entitled to a payment would be served, certification of payment may be made, regardless of the legal competency or incompetency of the individual entitled to the payment, either for direct payment to the applicant, or for the applicant’s use and benefit to a representative of an applicant. The system may adopt rules under chapter 17A for making payments to a representative of an applicant if the system determines that it can sufficiently safeguard the member‘s rights under this chapter.