By Katherine Rodriguez | NJ.com
nj.com
(TNS)
Social Security is proposing yet another rule change.
The Social Security Administration would remove Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as a qualification to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and tighten the qualifications for what is deemed a “public assistance household,” according to an Executive Order submission currently under review.
“We propose to rescind the final rule … by removing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from the list of public income maintenance (PIM) payments,” the proposed order says. “We further propose to adopt our former longstanding definition of a public assistance household, according to which every household member has to receive a PIM payment for the household to constitute a public assistance household.”
But the proposed rule change may affect hundreds of thousands of people on SSI benefits who live with family or friends. Here’s why.
Why would SSI recipients lose their benefits if they live with family or friends?
A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that in April 2024, the agency’s “actuaries estimated the effects of including SNAP as a qualifying form of public assistance, along with other simplifications to the public assistance household rule.”
Social Security found that by 2033, “roughly 277,000 SSI beneficiaries would have higher benefits than would otherwise be the case and roughly an additional 109,000 beneficiaries would be eligible for SSI,” according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report.
The findings prompted the agency to submit a rule change that would ensure these changes do not happen.
The Trump administration’s order defends this policy as one that will “promote program integrity” despite the increased costs.
“We propose to revert to our former policy to promote program integrity and because the benefits derived from the final rule do not outweigh the significant burdens and costs associated with its implementation,” the Executive Order text says.
However, the rule would overlook how these nearly 400,000 beneficiaries who live with others who may be struggling financially would likely see cuts to their benefits or lose eligibility altogether.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ analysis of 2024 Social Security data, “removing SNAP as a qualifying form of public assistance would likely result in benefit cuts for over 275,000 people and loss of eligibility for over 100,000 more.”
This means that if a household qualifies for SNAP or other public assistance programs and is deemed to be living in poverty even if federal programs have confirmed they are poor, their disabled loved one over the age of 18 will be evaluated based on the value of their bedroom and how much income and assets their relatives make.
Photo credit: Social Security Administration
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