Three big changes were recently announced by the Social Security Administration. These changes will affect hundreds of Americans with low incomes, disabled people, and children who are qualified for Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
It is very important to know how these changes will affect beneficiaries’ monthly payments in the coming months, since millions of marginalised people rely on these payments to meet their needs and keep up with rising costs. So, let’s go over the main points so you can better understand how these may affect your new bills.
Social Security has announced 3 new changes for October
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has been around since 1974, but many people still can’t get its benefits because of the strict rules and requirements set by the Social Security Administration. It is important to know that Congress now puts limits on people and couples who apply for and get SSI benefits.
These limits include wealth limits that have not been changed since 1989. Also, the incomplete 1989 adjustment may make it harder for receivers to save money and deal with other problems.
But Congress is the only one who can change wealth limits and other rules about marriage. The SSI asset limits have been talked about by Congress for a while now. The cap was last raised by a congressional committee in 2003, to $3,000 for individuals and $4,500 for couples, taking inflation into account.
Since then, the government has had to take other steps. Once more, we are ready to share our knowledge and experience with Congress as it thinks about and decides what to do about this issue.
Even though Congress can make some changes, the SSA will make routine changes to SSI rules to make them easier to understand, lessen the work for people with disabilities, and provide better support.
Recent letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA) say that the following three major changes would have an impact on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programme and, by extension, hundreds of crippled and low-income Americans.
Social Security will implement a new in-kind support and maintenance (IMS) rule
With this new rule, the Social Security Administration will no longer look at whether an applicant meets the in-kind support and maintenance (IMS) criteria if friends and family provide food aid. This will make more people eligible for SSI benefits and raise the amount that over 90,000 people get each month in SSI payouts by about $131.
The SSI program will extend the rental subsidy exception
The rent subsidy waiver used to only be available in seven states, but now it is available to all SSI applications and recipients across the country. This could make more people eligible, which would mean that about 41,000 people would get an extra $132 a month from SSI.
A new public assistance household definition for the SSI program
It will no longer be necessary for all members of a household to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) benefits in order for the family to be considered as receiving public assistance. SNAP benefits will be added to the list of types of public assistance.
With these changes, the meaning of a public assistance household will be widened. Last but not least, keep in mind that these two changes could make an extra 277,000 people eligible for and getting SSI payments, while also making it easier for people living in public assistance homes to file reports.
By making these changes, the Social Security Administration hopes that new people who want to join the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programme will have fewer problems and restrictions.
It’s also important to know that if you want to apply for this programme and already meet the standards for income and resources, you should talk to a financial advisor or Social Security expert to improve your chances of getting these monthly benefits.
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