Biden Administration Reducing Penalties In Supplemental Security Income Program

WASHINGTON The federal government will soon stop docking disability benefits for people whose friends, family or roommates help them out with food. 

The Social Security Administration finalized the rule change this week as part of a broader mini-makeover for the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides monthly benefits for more than 7 million Americans with disabilities.  

The maximum SSI benefit is $943 per month, but the government can reduce the amount by a third if someone else in the household provides in-kind support in the form of food or shelter. Come September, the government will take food out of the equation.

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, SSA commissioner Martin OMalley said in a press release . 

The government did not say how many individuals would be affected, though an initial estimate last year said the proposed change would increase SSI spending by less than 1%. But the Social Security Administration is considering further changes to its in-kind support rules that would have a bigger impact, including one that would shield SSI recipients from benefit cuts if members of the household receive federal food assistance. Another proposal would reduce penalties for receiving help on rent. 

Claire Grandison, supervising staff attorney for Community Legal Services, a Philadelphia organization that helps disability applicants and recipients navigate the system, said shes thrilled about the changes. 

Theyre curtailing some of the harshest policies that punish people with disabilities just for getting help meeting their most basic needs, Grandison said. Its a win for our clients because theyre going to be able to receive the help they need from loved ones to make sure that they have enough food, and its a win for Social Security because we know that their staff are overburdened, and the SSI program is incredibly complex.

The changes reflect a more generous approach to the safety net under President Joe Biden than his predecessor Donald Trump, whose administration sought tighter eligibility rules for disability benefits. But since the changes are being done through regulation, they can be undone that way, and theyre much smaller than the reforms envisioned by anti-poverty advocates who want bigger benefits and smaller hurdles to eligibility. 

Supplemental Security Incomes rules havent seen a major update in decades. Recipients have to let the government inspect their bank accounts and in some cases, to contact their landlords. They arent allowed to have more than $2,000 in savings, forcing them to remain poor if they want to maintain their income. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been pushing to update the asset limit without much luck .

The SSI program is the federal safety net of last resort for Americans with the least ability to earn market income, but it costs money and most lawmakers arent interested in fussing with it.