Millions may now see higher social security money checks due to the Administration’s major changes, sources confirm.
The Social Security Administration issued a final rule that will make it so food assistance programs don’t lower payments to certain beneficiaries.
The change applies to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which sends monthly checks to those who are disabled, blind, 65 years or older, and have little to no income.
About 7.4 million Americans receive support partially or exclusively from SSI.
The rule goes into effect on September 30 and will no longer count toward calculations for eligibility for benefits, reports The US Sun.
These are known as In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM).
Right now, support in the form of food, shelter, or both can sometimes count as unearned income for SSI beneficiaries, which can lower their payments or affect their eligibility for benefits.
In 2024, the maximum federal SSI amount an individual can receive a month is $943.
For couples, this number is $1,415, and for essential people, or those who live with an SSI recipient and act as a caretaker, the monthly payment is $472.
To qualify for SSI, recipients must earn less than $1,971 a month from work.
They must also have less than $2,000 in resources per individual, or $3,000 for a couple.
Resources generally mean either money or other assets that can be turned into cash such as bank accounts, bonds, property, and stocks.
The new rule also means that SSI recipients won’t have to worry that groceries or meals they get from family or friends might lower their monthly benefits, Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and healthcare policy at The Arc told CNBC.
The Arc is a nonprofit that serves those with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration won’t have to use limited resources to document every time a beneficiary receives free food and cut their monthly benefits, Milburn added.
“It represents a really meaningful step to address one of the most complex, burdensome, and inhumane policies impacting people with disabilities that receive SSI,” she said.
The Social Administration said it plans to make more changes in the future for beneficiaries and applicants.
“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,” said Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley in a statement.
SSI is run by the Social Security Administration but it is funded by general taxes and not Social Security taxes.
It is only available to people who live in the US and are US citizens.
As this benefit is dependent on how much wealth or how many assets a person has the application would require specific documents.
These include your Social Security number, information about your home, birth certificate, payroll slips, and other documents about your income.
Blind or disabled people who apply must also provide details of the hospitals and clinics they’ve been to.
Recipients will receive the cash electronically.
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Also Read: Retirees Will Now Receive More Money For Social Security
Other Economy News Today
A new income program will now hand out big money to struggling families living below the poverty line, sources confirm.
The program aims to distribute monthly $500 checks for a year to 140 families in Evanston, Illinois, reports the local news outlet Evanston RoundTable.
Applicants must have children 5 years old or younger and incomes at or below 1.84 times the federal poverty line – which is currently $31,200, as per healthcare.gov.
The $840,000 program focuses on the tract of 8902, an area whose residents have dealt with rising inequality and lack of affordability for at least several years.
Kristin Meyer, a management analyst for Evanston’s Health and Human Services Department says, “Economic investment and helping families get the resources they need helps people pay for childcare costs, pay for the rising costs of their homes, and helps them stay in our community.
And by investing in our youngest children, we are investing in the future of Evanston and the future adult population of 8092.”
Evanston RoundTable reports that other tracts of the city were skeptical as to why the program excluded them, solely focusing on the 8092 district.
Meyer reportedly responded saying that 8092 had a specific history of redlining and other discriminatory policies that put it at a unique disadvantage to other parts of Evanston.
Similar guaranteed basic income pilot programs have been kicking off in nearly every US state, accelerating in the last year, reports The Daily Hodl.
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Also Read: New Social Security Benefit Will Now Save Beneficiaries Money
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