The Social Security Administration will relax its rules related to food assistance for people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income. (Disability Scoop)
The Social Security Administration is moving forward with a major change to the way it calculates monthly Supplemental Security Income benefits for people with disabilities.
The agency said that starting this fall it will no longer consider food when determining what is known as “in-kind support and maintenance.”
Under current rules, SSI benefits can be reduced (in many cases by about one-third) if another person routinely provides meals or groceries to a beneficiary. Now, that’s about to change.
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“A vital part of our mission is helping people access crucial benefits, including SSI,” said Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley. “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.”
in a final rule Released late last month, the Social Security Administration said it will stop considering food expenses in child support and support-in-kind calculations starting September 30.
The agency will continue to count housing expenses, meaning SSI benefits can be deducted if a recipient does not contribute to the rent, mortgage or utility costs of their residence.
The change will limit the amount of information SSI recipients must report, ensure the rules are easier for everyone to understand and reduce variability in SSI payments from month to month, officials said. Additionally, Social Security expects to see administrative savings as the agency will no longer have to spend time monitoring food provided in-kind.
However, even with the update, Social Security said it will continue to ask beneficiaries who live in someone else’s household whether someone else in the household pays for or provides all of their meals.
Disability advocates welcomed the new rule.
“Maintenance and support-in-kind calculations are often ridiculous and cruel, causing SSI recipients to lose benefits for things like sleeping on someone’s couch or getting help paying for food,” said Zoe Gross, director of advocacy from Autistic Self Advocacy Network. “No one should lose necessary benefits because of things like this. By exempting food from ISM, the Social Security Administration will make it easier for people who receive SSI to get help with food and nutrition. This especially affects people who live with friends and family, as it does for many autistic people who receive SSI.”
The update could have broad implications, as the Social Security Administration said it reduced benefits for 793,000 beneficiaries starting in January 2022 because they received help with food or lodging.
The rule change is one of “several updates” that Social Security says are being prepared for SSI regulations, all aimed at helping people receive and apply for benefits under the program.
About 7.5 million Americans receive SSI each month, with a maximum federal benefit of $943 for individuals and $1,415 for couples.
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