Great news! Three big changes are coming to the SSI program on September 30, 2024. These changes will help thousands of people get more SSI benefits.
Previously, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reduced SSI benefits for people who received help from friends, family, or others in certain situations. This is called In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM), which lowers the monthly income for people on SSI.
However, SSA has made changes to ISM limitations to allow more people on SSI to get help with food and housing costs. Beginning September 30, 2024:
- Update: SSI recipients will no longer face benefit reduction for getting help with food or groceries.
- Old rule: Previously, disabled people’s benefits could be cut by one-third if they received any kind of help with food—even for something as minor as a family member bringing them groceries.
- Update: SSI recipients will no longer face benefit reduction for receiving any discount to their housing cost, as long as they spend at least one-third of their monthly SSI payment on rent.
- Old rule: Previously, disabled people were penalized for renting a place that was cheaper than what Social Security considered the market rate. This included renting a place from a friend or family member who was charging only a small amount of rent.
- Update: SSI recipients who live in a household with any other person on certain public benefits, including SNAP (or food stamps), will not have their SSI benefits reduced for that reason.
- Old rule: Previously, disabled people were exempt from SSI benefit cuts if they lived in a “public assistance household,” which was a household where every person living there received certain public benefits like TANF cash assistance. SNAP was not previously included in the list of eligible public benefits. Now, if an SSI recipient lives with any other person receiving SNAP benefits, their SSI benefits will not be cut for that reason.
- In Pennsylvania alone, thousands of people live in a household with another member receiving SNAP benefits. The change to exempt all these SSI recipients from ISM would result in millions per year in extra money for low-income Pennsylvania families.
