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From The Hill:
People with disabilities are twice as likely as their peers to live in poverty. SSI is a federal program that provides monthly payments to individuals with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income or resources. But SSI has a strict cap limiting how much savings or assets recipients can accumulate before pulling the rug out from under them.
Under antiquated standards [passed by Congress in 1989], individuals who receive SSI aren’t allowed to have more than $2,000 in assets. The asset limits for this program haven’t been increased in 35 years. The cost of basic needs has soared, yet SSI recipients live with a check amount set decades ago, when a dozen eggs cost $1 to today’s cost of about $3.
One of the most responsible things Congress could do to is pass the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act. Proposed legislation would raise the asset limit to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for couples. It would index future limits to inflation by modernizing out-of-date caps on assets. Bringing the asset limits into the 21st century would let recipients have money in their bank accounts for medical emergencies, clothes and travel. It would improve the lives of the millions of people who receive SSI benefits.
Read the full article at The Hill.
