The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced two of several updates to its Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regulations that will help people receiving and applying for benefits offered through this federal program.
SSI provides monthly payments to adults and children with a disability or blindness, and to adults aged 65 and older who have limited income and resources. SSI benefits help pay for basic needs like rent, food, clothing and medicine.
To receive SSI benefits, applicants must meet eligibility requirements, including income and resource limits.
Under SSA’s old rules, food and shelter were counted as unearned income, which may affect a
person’s eligibility or reduce their payment.
Under one of the new rulings, “Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM)
Calculations,” the agency will no longer include food in ISM calculations beginning on Sept. 30.
The new policy removes a critical barrier for SSI eligibility due to an applicant’s or recipient’s
receipt of informal food assistance from friends, family and community support networks.
The new policy is also easier to understand and use, reduces month-to-month variability in payment amounts and will improve payment accuracy. SSA will see savings because less time
will be spent administering food ISM.
The SSA also announced “Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients.” Beginning Sept. 30, the agency will expand its SSI rental subsidy policy, which was only in place for SSI applicants and recipients residing in seven states (Conn., Ill., Ind., NY, Texas, Vt. and Wis.). In those states, rental assistance (renting at a discounted rate) is less likely to affect a person’s SSI eligibility or payment amount.
This new rule will extend this policy to all SSI applicants and recipients nationwide. This may increase the benefit amount some people are eligible to receive and will allow more people to qualify for critical SSI payments.
For more information on the SSI program, including who is eligible and how to apply, visit ssa.gov/ssi. To make an appointment, call between 7am and 5pm, Mon–Fri: 800-772-1213 (toll free) | socialsecurity.gov
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