SSI asset amount limit is still set to 1989 levels. Asking the US Congress (and Senate) to change that.

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,590
Location
Great Lakes
So some of you know I was turned down for SSDI about 7 years ago. I can't apply again because now my credits have expired. I could possibly apply to SSI however the approval process can take months. In the meantime they won't allow applicants to have more than $2000 in savings.

For someone who is not able to work at all, that means only a month or at most two to live on while waiting to be approved. :(

The $2,000 resource limit for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients has not been updated since 1989, failing to keep up with inflation. This outdated limit forces SSI recipients to essentially live in poverty and spend down any modest savings they may have, rather than allowing them to maintain a small financial cushion for emergencies or future needs. https://www.investopedia.com/ssi-resource-limit-inflation-7559696

There was a bipartisan effort to update the resource limit called the SSI Saving Penalty Elimination Act
(VIDEO) by raising it to $10,000 for individuals and indexing it to inflation going forward, which would provide SSI recipients with some ability to save while still qualifying for vital income assistance.

However, I don't think that passed and until such reforms are enacted, the severely outdated $2,000 cap remains a significant financial hardship for those relying on or even applying for SSI benefits.

So if you're in the US, I'm asking you if you would consider emailing your congressional representative and asking them to work to change this rule. https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Thank you.

Edit: Researching this more, I believe it was held up in a Senate Finance Committee, so maybe it would also be good to contact our Senators. It's an election year so maybe they would actually act on it if enough people contact them.
 
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Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,590
Location
Great Lakes
Last edited:

Zebra

Senior Member
Messages
1,016
Location
Northern California
The $2,000 resource limit for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients has not been updated since 1989, failing to keep up with inflation. This outdated limit forces SSI recipients to essentially live in poverty and spend down any modest savings they may have, rather than allowing them to maintain a small financial cushion for emergencies or future needs.

This is an important topic for all US citizens, but especially those of us in need of government assistance.

NPR recently did an in-depth piece on the SSI rules and regulations you cited above.

I'm sharing a link to the piece which is an 8 minute audio recording (or a very long read of the transcript).

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/08/g-s1-3475/social-security-ssi-asset-limits
 

Florida Guy

Senior Member
Messages
323
$2000 is ridiculous, that wasn't enough to live on for more than a couple months or so even back in 1989. The government hands out billions of incentives to buy electric cars and billions go overseas for bad purposes, etc etc but sick people have to jump through a hoop to get basic assistance. If you are too sick to do the jumping required, too bad for you.

There are tricks to get around that, simply have a family member or trusted friend keep it for you. Some people keep savings in gold or silver, some keep cash. Whatever you keep in a safe deposit box is out of sight and doesn't exist as far as the govt is concerned. When they need money they take some out or sell some gold. But, if someone had $20k in the bank and it suddenly went down to $2k they are going to ask questions. Better to take it out little by little over a period of time.

If you were denied in the past, changes could be coming up in '25 with a change in policies
 

Nacht_Segler

Curmudgeonly Cantankerous Luddite
Messages
283
Location
North Eastern PA - USA
So some of you know I was turned down for SSDI about 7 years ago. I can't apply again because now my credits have expired. I could possibly apply to SSI however the approval process can take months. In the meantime they won't allow applicants to have more than $2000 in savings.

For someone who is not able to work at all, that means only a month or at most two to live on while waiting to be approved. :(

The $2,000 resource limit for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients has not been updated since 1989, failing to keep up with inflation. This outdated limit forces SSI recipients to essentially live in poverty and spend down any modest savings they may have, rather than allowing them to maintain a small financial cushion for emergencies or future needs. https://www.investopedia.com/ssi-resource-limit-inflation-7559696

There was a bipartisan effort to update the resource limit called the SSI Saving Penalty Elimination Act
(VIDEO) by raising it to $10,000 for individuals and indexing it to inflation going forward, which would provide SSI recipients with some ability to save while still qualifying for vital income assistance.

However, I don't think that passed and until such reforms are enacted, the severely outdated $2,000 cap remains a significant financial hardship for those relying on or even applying for SSI benefits.

So if you're in the US, I'm asking you if you would consider emailing your congressional representative and asking them to work to change this rule. https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Thank you.

Edit: Researching this more, I believe it was held up in a Senate Finance Committee, so maybe it would also be good to contact our Senators. It's an election year so maybe they would actually act on it if enough people contact them.

I had read last year .... (trying to think) ... there was a really good website about how there was bipartisan support to 'upgrade' SSI. I'm on SSI and man would upgrades be nice. I can't recall the site I came across as it's been so long ago at this point.

On a related note - I got an email from Social Security that there have been some updates with regards to SSI, one regarding the counting of food given, another update with regards to being considered an assistance household, and the last part was regarding rent. I tried to make sense of what the rent part was, as I pay for all of my rent, but even after reading it several times...I was still like...:cautious:

I will copy what was in the notice in a new response.
 

Nacht_Segler

Curmudgeonly Cantankerous Luddite
Messages
283
Location
North Eastern PA - USA
We have important news to share with you about some changes to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program that will be effective September 30, 2024. These changes will simplify our processes and make things easier for everyone.​
  • Food: We are no longer counting food that someone gives you as income when we figure your SSI payment.
  • Nationwide Expansion of Rental Subsidy: We are expanding the In-Kind Support and Maintenance rental subsidy exception nationwide which was previously limited to SSI applicants and recipients in 7 states. This change may apply to those related to the landlord or landlord’s spouse as parent or child.
  • Revision of the Public Assistance Household Definition: We are expanding our definition of a public assistance household to include SNAP payments. A public assistance household will apply when the household has both an SSI applicant or recipient and one other household member who receives a public assistance payment.  
These changes simplify the rules and requirements of the SSI program.​
 

Nacht_Segler

Curmudgeonly Cantankerous Luddite
Messages
283
Location
North Eastern PA - USA
This isn't the website, but it has quite a bit of good information in it:

https://www.nasi.org/discussion/ssi-resource-page/

Historic Bipartisan Momentum for Updating SSI’s Antiquated Asset Limits

Signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972, Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, provides monthly cash assistance to people with significant disabilities or who are 65 or older and who have very little in income and assets – including more than 1 million disabled children. The income support that SSI provides is nothing short of critical for the roughly 8 million disabled and older Americans currently receiving benefits. But due to decades of federal neglect, SSI’s income protections have withered over time — and the program now consigns millions of disabled people and older adults to deep and enduring poverty, despite the fact that it was enacted to give them a lifeline out of it.

One of SSI’s most outdated rules is its asset limits, which have remained stuck at $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples since Congress last adjusted them for inflation in 1984. These levels have lost nearly all of their value in the nearly four decades since they were last adjusted; had they been indexed to inflation when SSI was initially signed into law in 1972, for example, they would be more than $10,000 and $16,000, respectively, today. Now, more than fifty years after the SSI program’s founding, bipartisan policymakers and stakeholders are working to reform its antiquated asset limits, in recognition that they have become one of the most regressive anti-savings measures in federal law.

This resource page contains information and resources on current legislation being debated in Congress to update SSI’s asset limits, as well as a range of related resources from bipartisan experts and cross-sector stakeholders for Academy members, partners, and others seeking to learn more about this issue. For more information, contact Rebecca Vallas rvallas@nasi.org.

Bipartisan legislation would update SSI’s asset limits

Bipartisan legislation led by Senators Sherrod Brown (D–OH) and Bill Cassidy (R–LA), and Representatives Brian Higgins (D–NY), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R–PA)—the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act—would update SSI’s asset limits to $10,000 for an individual and $20,000 for a couple, to ensure the program’s beneficiaries are able to build modest savings without losing survival income and health insurance. The legislation would also remedy Congress’s original error, by indexing the limits to the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W), to ensure they keep pace with inflation moving forward.

Learn more:

Who supports updating SSI’s asset limits?

Updating SSI’s asset limits has the support of economic policy experts across the political spectrum, as well as disability advocates, advocates for older adults, antipoverty advocates, social service providers, faith groups, corporate leaders, and a broad array of stakeholders. The CEOs of eight of the nation’s largest banks voiced their support for updating SSI’s asset limits in a recent hearing convened by the Senate Banking Committee. And it’s supported by more than 7 in 10 Americans, with widespread support across party lines.

Here’s what policy experts and stakeholders are saying:

Who would be helped by updating SSI’s asset limits?

Here’s what SSI beneficiaries are saying:

  • Emily shared why SSI asset limits need to be updated during a press conference about the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act.
  • Steve shared why SSI is important to him.
  • Lauren shared how SSI asset limits make it harder for her to live on her own and save like her peers.
  • Steve shared how SSI asset limits have been a barrier to work and savings.
 

southwestforests

Senior Member
Messages
918
Location
Missouri
However, I don't think that passed
I would have to search to see.
What I do know is that here in what's left of 2024, the $2000 limit still applies.

https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-resources.htm

WHY ARE RESOURCES IMPORTANT IN THE SSI PROGRAM?

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a needs-based program. To get SSI, your countable resources must not be worth more than $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. We call this the resource limit.

Countable resources are the things you own that count toward the resource limit. Many things you own do not count.

WHAT THINGS DO NOT COUNT TOWARD THE RESOURCE LIMIT?

The following things generally do not count toward the resource limit:

small blue and black arrowthe home you live in and the land it is on;

small blue and black arrowone vehicle, if you or a member of your household use it for transportation;

small blue and black arrowhousehold goods and personal effects;

small blue and black arrowlife insurance policies you own with a combined face value of $1,500 or less;

small blue and black arrowburial plots or spaces for you or your immediate family;

small blue and black arrowburial funds of up to $1,500 each for you and your spouse's burial expenses;

small blue and black arrowproperty you or your spouse use in a trade or business, or on your job if you work for someone else (see the SSI Spotlight on Property Essential to Self Support);

small blue and black arrow if you are disabled or blind, money or property you have set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS); and

small blue and black arrow Up to $100,000 of funds in an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account established through a State ABLE program (see the Spotlight on ABLE Accounts).

There are other things you own that may not count as resources for SSI. Sometimes, you might be able to get monthly benefits even if you own things that put you over the resource limit.

For more information, see the Spotlight , “Getting SSI Benefits While You Try to Sell Excess Resources.”

https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-resources-ussi.htm

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI) RESOURCES

WHAT ARE RESOURCES?

Resources are things you own such as:

Cash;

Bank accounts:

Stocks, mutual funds, and U.S. savings bonds;

Land;

Life insurance;

Personal property;

Vehicles;

Anything else you own which could be changed to cash and used for food or shelter; and

Deemed resources.

WHAT ARE DEEMED RESOURCES?

Sometimes we “deem” a portion of the resources of a spouse, parent, parent’s spouse, sponsor of a noncitizen, or sponsor’s spouse as belonging to the person who applies for SSI. We call this process the deeming of resources. If a child under age 18 lives with one parent, $2,000 of the parent's total countable resources does not count. If the child lives with 2 parents, $3,000 does not count. We count amounts over the parents’ limits as part of the child's $2,000 resource limit.


WHY ARE RESOURCES IMPORTANT IN THE SSI PROGRAM?

The value of your resources is one of the factors that determines whether you are eligible for SSI benefits. However, not all resources count for SSI. If the value of your resources that we count is over the allowable limit at the beginning of the month, you cannot receive SSI for that month. If you decide to sell the excess resources for what they are worth, you may receive SSI beginning the month after you sell the excess resources. You may even be able to receive benefits while you try to sell the excess resources in certain situations.
 

southwestforests

Senior Member
Messages
918
Location
Missouri
Whatever you keep in a safe deposit box is out of sight and doesn't exist as far as the govt is concerned.
Actually, there is a specific question about safe deposit box contents and value on the applications for Medicaid and for Medicare Extra Help.

And on the application for housing assistance vouchers from HUD.

References I could find right quick:
(wasn't going to post images of my own applications!) 😁

Starting with Missouri Department of Social Services
Family Support Division application form where
Declaration of Assets
Item I
is "Property Held in Safe Deposit Box Contents"
https://dssmanuals.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/im-78.pdf

From the Federal Government's Department of Housing and Urban Development
https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/DOC_7858.PDF

Assets Include:
 Stocks, bonds, Treasury bills, certificates of deposit,
money market accounts
 Individual retirement and Keogh accounts
 Retirement and pension funds
 Cash held in savings and checking accounts, safe
deposit boxes, homes, etc.
...

Back to here in Missouri,
https://dssmanuals.mo.gov/general-i...programs/0110-000-00/0110-040-00/0110-040-05/

0110.000.00 Verification Requirements for MO HealthNet and Adult Cash Assistance Programs
0110.040.05 Cash and Securities

IM-54 May 3, 2022; IM-93 December 28, 2016; IM-19 March 19, 2015

Verification of the amounts in savings and checking accounts and time deposits on deposit in banks or similar institutions is required. It may also be necessary to verify the closing of previously known accounts. Such verification can be secured from current (no more than 30 days old) bank statements or other papers which the claimant has or can secure. Verification can also be obtained directly from the institution with the claimant’s written permission (use form IM-6 or IM-7 to obtain permission).

NOTE: If the financial institution will not provide the information requested to FSD, requires payment for the response, or requires a company specific form, inform the applicant/participant that they must obtain the information from the institution directly.

Self-attestation of a Direct Express account and Mobile Application balances may be accepted if the information provided by the applicant/participant is not questionable. A Direct Express benefit debit card is used for deposit of federal benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Retirement (OASDI), Railroad Retirement, or Veteran’s Administration benefits.

There are multiple online or Mobile Applications that can accept, send and hold funds. These accounts are similar to Direct Express accounts, but they are not for receiving government payments. Mobile Applications are for personal use for buying and selling online items and for sending and receiving money from friends and family. Individuals can send money directly from a bank account to a Mobile Application where money can be held or transferred to a bank account. Examples of Mobile Applications include, but are not limited to:

PayPal
Venmo
Cash App
Zelle
Google Pay
Meta Messenger

If the self-attestation is close to or exceeds the program resource maximum, the account balance must be verified. Current month’s income is excluded from a Direct Express account.

The claimant’s statement as to the amount of cash in their home, on their person, or in a safe deposit box can be accepted provided there is no evidence for a contrary opinion.
 
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