By Lorie Konish -
CNBC
The Social Security Administration issued a final rule that will prevent food assistance from reducing payments to certain beneficiaries.
The change applies to Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which provides monthly checks to adults and children who are disabled, blind or over age 65, and who have little or no income or resources.
Approximately 7.4 million Americans receive benefits exclusively from SSI or in combination with Social Security.
A woman enters a Social Security office in Houston, Texas, on July 13, 2022.Getty Images
Under the new rule, which will go into effect on September 30, alimony will no longer count in the calculations to qualify for benefits such as child support and support, or ISM (
In-Kind Support and Maintenance
).
Currently, support in the form of food, shelter, or both can count as unearned income for SSI recipients, and therefore reduce their payments or affect their eligibility for those benefits.
The maximum monthly federal SSI amounts in 2024 are $943 for individuals, $1,415 for couples, and $472 for people considered essential, or those who live with and provide care for an SSI beneficiary.
[Buy now and pay later? Consumers regret these loans]
To qualify for SSI, recipients must generally earn less than $1,971 a month from their work. They must also have less than $2,000 in resources per person, or $3,000 per couple.
This usually includes money or other assets that can be converted into cash, such as bank accounts, bonds, property and stocks.
The new rule means that SSI recipients will no longer have to worry that groceries or meals they receive from family or friends will reduce their monthly benefits, said Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health care policy. at the Arc, a nonprofit organization serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Social Security Administration, in turn, will no longer have to use its limited resources to document every time a beneficiary receives free food and then reduce their monthly benefit by up to a third, he explained.
“It represents a truly significant step toward addressing one of the most complex, burdensome and inhumane policies affecting people with disabilities who receive SSI,” Milburn said.
The change is the first of several updates the Social Security Administration said it plans to roll out for SSI beneficiaries and applicants.
“Simplifying our policies is a common-sense solution that reduces the burden on the public and agency staff, and helps promote equity by removing barriers to accessing payments,” stated Martin O'Malley, Security Commissioner in a statement.
The new rule may help provide some relief to SSI recipients as high inflation continues to cause rising food and grocery bills for all Americans.
“Social Security recipients are one of the groups most exposed to food insecurity in the United States,” said Thomas Foley, executive director of the National Institute on Disability.
The new rule may also result in fewer overpayments or underpayments for benefits, and therefore increase the financial security of beneficiaries, he added.
Congress may have the opportunity to make more significant changes to SSI through a bipartisan bill that would raise beneficiary asset limits to $10,000 for individuals, up from $2,000 currently, and to $20,000 for married couples, compared to $3,000 today.
[Acapulco shows signs of recovery during Holy Week]
“Disabilities affect everyone, so it's a bipartisan issue,” Foley said.
“Restricting asset limits to the $2,000 level really impacts people's room to save and build a better financial future,” he said.
In December, bank CEOs, including JPMorgan Chase's James Dimon, testified before the Senate that they favor updating SSI rules.
“We have employees who do not want us to increase their salary because if it exceeds a certain amount, they cannot receive that benefit to which they are entitled,” Dimon said in December.
“This definitely needs to be fixed,” he stressed.