The Supplementary Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act of 2021 has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. The bill would improve the lives of millions of SSI beneficiaries around the country, including over 2 million older adults who are living below the federal poverty level due to inadequate benefit levels, and often lose or are denied benefits due to outdated eligibility rules. 

About SSI

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides modest financial assistance for people who are unable to work enough to meet their basic needs. An older single woman whose lack of stable or well-paid work over her lifetime prevents her from receiving significant Social Security benefits, or a person with a serious disability that makes it impossible to work enough hours to afford rent, food, and other necessities. Among SSI recipients who are older adults, over 60% are women. 

Why SSI Needs to be Updated

While SSI is meant to help those in great need, many people are not able to obtain benefits because the program has been neglected for decades and the application process is incredibly difficult to navigate. The current eligibility rules, some of which haven’t been updated in almost 50 years, make people’s financial problems even worse. For example, a person who has resources that are just $1 over the $2,000 asset limit will be denied benefits or have all their current SSI benefits terminated until they spend down their “excess” savings.

Some of the ways the bill would modernize the SSI program and better support those receiving SSI benefits include:

· Increasing benefits to the Federal Poverty Level;

· Repealing the marriage penalty that provided less in benefits to SSI recipients if they were married;

· Allowing SSI recipients to keep more of their income from sources like Social Security to supplement their benefits;

· Increasing the amount of savings that people can have while still qualifying for benefits; and

· Repealing penalties for people who receive help with food or shelter from friends or family members.

President Biden pledged during his campaign to update SSI and restore it as a program that helps extremely low-income older adults and people with disabilities meet their basic needs, and members of Congress have told him they agree. Senators Brown, Warren, and Sanders are leading the effort in the Senate, and Representatives Grijalva, Slotkin, and Schakowsky introduced the Act in the House. Justice in Aging is excited to see the SSI Restoration Act introduced in both Houses of Congress with significant support. We hope that the provisions in this bill will be included in any infrastructure plans put forth by Congress in the coming months. We can’t afford to wait decades longer to fix SSI and provide critically-needed assistance to help the lowest-income older adults and people with disabilities live with dignity. 

Learn more about the SSI Restoration Act, read our Issue Brief, and FAQ, watch a recent event about the importance of SSI, and access a list of current supporters. 

Call, write to, or tweet at your Senators and Representative today and tell them to restore SSI.