In October, there will be a change to Social Security that will affect millions of retirees and SSI recipients who depend on these payments to pay for their basic needs. As the Social Security Administration (SSA) makes changes to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programme, people who get it should expect big changes to their income in the near future.
In addition to helping disabled people and low-income seniors over 65, SSI benefits can also give monthly payments to children in certain situations and with certain conditions. But rules about who can get benefits and how much they are worth have changed over time.
The new Social Security change that will impact SSI beneficiaries this month
The SSA will change its rental subsidy policy and how it defines a household for public help starting this month. The process for deciding who gets food as help has also been changed. In the past, Social Security benefits took into account food aid from family and friends.
This is no longer the case, though, which could mean that more than 90,000 people who get SSI will have to pay an extra $131. Alex Beene, a teacher of financial literacy at the University of Tennessee at Martin, says that “the changes are extremely beneficial for current and potential beneficiaries.” This is because they should increase the number of Americans who qualify and the amount many of them get each month. Newsweek heard this.
Beene also said that the biggest change is that food help from family, friends, and community groups is no longer taken into account when figuring out who gets benefits. Millions of people who already get benefits should get bigger checks because of this, and people who wouldn’t have been able to get help before should be sure to get it.
About 7.5 million people get SSI payments every month, and the most each person can get is $943. Couples can earn $1,415, but they have to meet certain requirements. The rental aid will now be more uniform across the country, which is another improvement to Social Security. Because of this change, 41,000 people will see their monthly payments go up by $132.
Additional benefits from the new rental subsidy and public assistance definition
Kevin Thompson, president and CEO of 9i Capital Group and a financial expert, says that the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programme has been plagued for a long time by strict reporting requirements and out-of-date laws.
As a result, Newsweek reported that many people are relieved by this development. Also, it will be easier for Americans to meet the standards for public assistance households, which could mean that they get more money.
In a statement, Martin O’Malley, the commissioner of Social Security, said that these changes will make it easier for more people to get their necessary SSI benefits.
We are streamlining SSI, getting rid of barriers to payment, and making things easier for everyone and contract workers by streamlining and expanding our rules. Seniors who get Social Security will find out how much they will get each month for the next year on Thursday, October 10.
When the new cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is released, the Senior Citizen League thinks that the rate of increase could be as low as 2.5%. The SSA uses the consumer price index to figure this out every year.
In 2025, people will likely get a much smaller COLA because inflation is going down. In 2023, seniors got a raise of up to 8.7%, but in 2024, the COLA was only 3.2%. Many Social Security recipients are glad to see the increases in their checks this month, but Thompson pointed out that some people are against them.
Thompson said that the most important thing is that the system works in the long term, even though many people may benefit from the higher advantages in the short term.
As someone who works in finance, I hear a lot of talk about increasing payouts, but not as much about making sure that Social Security will be able to support its recipients in the long term. Without a complete overhaul, the SSI system could see future benefit cuts, which could put at risk the very people it is meant to help.
Also See:- Cost-of-Living Adjustment Ends in 2024: Social Security Changes Checks Again in October