What are the changes to the Supplemental Security Income announced by the Social Security Administration?
The Social Security Administration has announced that there will be several updates to the Supplemental Security Income distributed by the agency.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently announced that there will be changes to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that will result in increasing the benefits received by people with disability and seniors.
SSI sends payments every month to adults aged 65 and above, and to adults and children with a disability or blindness who have limited income and resources
The monthly maximum SSI payment amounts for 2024 are $943 for an eligible individual, $1,415 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse, and $472 for an essential person. However, these amounts could be lessened due to certain considerations which the SSA intends to change.
What are the changes to the Supplemental Security Income announced by the Social Security Administration?
Under a new rule, called “Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) Calculations”, informal food assistance received by the applicant or beneficiary from friends, family, and community networks of support will no longer affect their SSI eligibility or benefits.
Under current policies, ISM includes food and shelter that a person receives as unearned income. With this practice, a person’s eligibility for the benefit may be affected, or the amount of their payment could be reduced.
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Gifted meals will no longer affect SSI benefits
With the new regulation, beneficiaries will no longer have to fear that the food they receive from friends and family will end up lessening their SSI benefits.
Aside from increasing the amount that beneficiaries will receive, the new guideline also lessens the amount of information that applicants and recipients have to provide, as they no longer have to report any food assistance that they may receive from family and friends.
The new SSI rule will take effect beginning September 30, 2024. The Social Security Administration says the agency is set to make further improvements to the Supplemental Security Income program.