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Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a critical supplemental program to the Social Security system that provides modest financial assistance for people who are unable to work enough to meet their basic needs. Examples of older adults who may qualify for SSI include an 80-year-old low-income retired couple with unexpected medical costs who are facing homelessness, a 50-year-old person who is blind, with no savings, and a 70-year-old single woman with little to no Social Security benefits. The program is a key anti-poverty program that must be defended from cuts and also needs expansion and updating.
Below advocates will find Issue Briefs, Fact Sheets, and other resources about our efforts to protect and expand this program.
The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2019 would update the income and asset limits to better reflect reasonable assistance in today’s dollars. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) introduced the bill in September 2019 along with House co-sponsors. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the bill in the Senate in October 2019, with co-sponsors Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Robert Casey (D-PA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Policy Issue Brief: The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2019, September 2019
Comparison Chart: SSI Restoration Act Provisions vs. Current Provisions, September 2019
List: Co-Sponsors & Endorsers, Frequently updated
FAQ: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), September 2019
Fact Sheet: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), September 2019
The Social Security Administration's Representative Payee Program allows older adults with cognitive impairments to designate another person to manage their benefits and finances, but the program is inadequate to meet the growing need, and current payees don’t have adequate training resources. We’ve worked to shine a light on these problems and suggested measures the SSA could implement to make the program work better.
Issue Brief: Skilled Nursing Facilities and Other Creditors Acting as Representative Payees, January 2018
Issue Brief: How SSA Can Improve the Representative Payee Program to Protect Seniors, June 2016
Fact Sheet: The Social Security Administration's Representative Payee Program: The Basics, January 2016
Fact Sheet: What is a Social Security Representative Payee and How are they Chosen? March 2016
Fact Sheet: Ways to Meet the Growing Need for Representative Payees, April 2016
The opportunity to live with dignity, regardless of financial circumstances—free from the worry, harm, and injustice caused by lack of health care, food, or a safe place to sleep. By using the power of law to strengthen the social safety net, and remove the barriers low-income seniors face in trying to access the services they need, we work to ensure the future we all envision for our loved ones and ourselves.
© 2020 JUSTICE IN AGING