The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) supports legislative efforts to update Supplemental Security Income (SSI) requirements that limit the amount of savings and ownership a person with disabilities can have without losing critical Medicaid services. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act both improve the current SSI program by increasing the asset limits to ensure better economic security for people with disabilities.
“We are grateful for legislation that will update the outdated SSI asset limits,” said Robin Troutman, Interim Executive Director of NACDD. “These asset limits, which have not been updated in over 30 years, create obstacles to economic self-sufficiency and financial independence for people with disabilities.”
Asset limits are requirements for public assistance programs that limit the amount of savings and ownership an applicant or recipient can have. SSI has an asset limit of $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples. This includes common resources like vehicles and bank account money. This limit does not take into account inflation, and it creates a marriage penalty because the couple limit is 25 percent less than the limit for two individuals.
“Across the country, people with disabilities are not able to live their full lives, choosing to forego job opportunities and even marriage because of these outdated and unreasonable asset limits,” said Troutman. “Congress needs to act now to change these rules and give people with disabilities a chance at economic security.”
The SSI Restoration Act improves SSI by increasing the asset limits of the program, increasing the benefit rate to at least 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, adjusting annually for inflation, and eliminating punitive reductions in benefits. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act increases resource limits used to determine eligibility for the SSI program. Specifically, this bill increases the resource limits from $2,000 to $10,000 for individuals, and $3,000 to $20,000 for married couples. The bill also annually adjusts the limits to account for inflation.
“Government safety net programs, like SSI, should help people with disabilities escape poverty, not keep them poor,” said Nathaniel Moore, Public Policy Intern with NACDD. “I think people need to let their members of Congress know that unless they improve SSI, more people with disabilities will find themselves trapped in a cycle of poverty.”
