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The Social Security Administration has issued a final rule that can stop food assistance from decreasing funds to certain beneficiaries.
The change applies to Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, which gives month-to-month checks to adults and kids who’re disabled, blind or age 65 and older, and have little or no earnings or assets.
Approximately 7.4 million Americans obtain assist both completely from SSI or together with Social Security.
Under the brand new rule, which works into impact Sept. 30, food will now not rely towards calculations for eligibility for benefits, identified as In-Kind Support and Maintenance, or ISM.
Currently, assist within the type of food, shelter or each could rely as unearned earnings for SSI beneficiaries, and due to this fact scale back their funds or have an effect on their eligibility for benefits.
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The month-to-month most federal SSI quantities in 2024 are $943 for individuals, $1,415 for {couples} and $472 for important individuals, or those that dwell with an SSI beneficiary and supply care.
To qualify for SSI, beneficiaries should usually earn less than $1,971 monthly from work. They should even have lower than $2,000 in resources per individual, or $3,000 per couple.
That usually consists of both cash or different belongings that may be changed into money, such as financial institution accounts, bonds, property and shares.
The new rule means SSI beneficiaries will now not have to fear that the groceries or meals they obtain from household or associates could scale back their month-to-month benefits, mentioned Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and well being care coverage at The Arc, a nonprofit group serving individuals with developmental and mental disabilities.
The Social Security Administration, in flip, will now not have to use its restricted assets to doc each time a beneficiary obtained free food after which minimize their month-to-month profit by as a lot as a 3rd, she mentioned.
“It represents a really meaningful step to address one of the most complex, burdensome and inhumane policies impacting people with disabilities that receive SSI,” Milburn mentioned.
The change is the primary of a number of updates the Social Security Administration mentioned it plans to put in place for SSI beneficiaries and candidates.
“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,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley mentioned in an announcement.
The new rule could assist present some aid to SSI beneficiaries as excessive inflation continues to immediate higher food and grocery bills for all Americans.
“People on SSI are one of the most food insecure groups in the United States,” mentioned Thomas Foley, govt director on the National Disability Institute.
The new rule might also end in fewer overpayments or underpayments of benefits, and due to this fact improve monetary safety for beneficiaries, he mentioned.
Congress could have the chance to enact greater modifications to SSI by a bipartisan bill that might elevate the asset limits for beneficiaries to $10,000 for people, up from $2,000, and to $20,000 for married {couples}, up from $3,000.
“Disability affects everybody, so it’s a bipartisan issue,” Foley mentioned.
“Restricting asset limits to the $2,000 level really impacts people’s ability to save and build a better financial future,” he mentioned.
In December, financial institution CEOs together with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon testified before the Senate that they’re in favor of updating SSI’s guidelines.
“We have employees who don’t want us to increase their salary because if it goes over a certain amount, they can’t get that benefit which they’re entitled to,” Dimon mentioned in December.
“This definitely should be fixed,” he mentioned.