The Social Security Administration (SSA) wants to change some of its assumptions so that all Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients are treated equally across the country. Until now, different standards have been used depending on the state. Specifically, SSA wants a new rule that changes the way it alters benefit payments for those who receive what is known as “in-kind support and maintenance” in the form of a rental subsidy.
Under the current rules, a person’s SSI help is reduced if he or she pays less than the current market value, or what he or she would pay on the open market, for rent or living expenses. This is especially common for people with disabilities who rent a room or apartment to a family member for a reduced rate.
However, because of several court rulings, Social Security has set less stringent standards in seven states: Connecticut, New York, Vermont, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Texas. In these cases, beneficiaries do not have their payment reduced if they spend more than one-third of their income on housing, even if their rent is below the current market value.
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THE NEW PROPOSAL BY SOCIAL SECURITY TO REGULATE SSI
With the new rule, the Social Security Administration (SSA) seeks to extend the lenient rule in effect in the seven states mentioned above to the entire country. In doing so, an estimated 41,000 SSI recipients are expected to increase their income by an estimated $128 per month.
SSA has stated that “The current lack of uniformity in our definition of business arrangement may harm affected SSI applicants and recipients who do not live in states where the rental subsidy exception applies”.
Similarly, he has stated that “The proposed rules, if finalized, would benefit SSI applicants and recipients, regardless of the state in which they live, and would make the SSI program easier to administer. The proposed change would also make the SSI program more equitable by applying the rental subsidy policy uniformly to all affected SSI applicants and recipients, regardless of where they live”.
CITIZEN COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE CURRENT SITUATION
Kathleen Romig, Director of Social Security and Disability Policy at the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said the current rule is “cruel. It punishes people who need support only for receiving help from family members.
Likewise, she indicated that “the new proposal is an important step towards simplifying the harsh and byzantine rules”. However, he maintains that “benefit reductions in cases where people receive assistance with housing and other needs should be eliminated altogether”.
According to official sources, more than 7 million people receive this SSI help each month. As for the amount, the maximum benefit established by the Federal Government is $914 for individuals and $1,371 for couples.