The Social Security Administration is set to introduce new rules that will make it easier for qualifying Americans to access certain benefits and increase payments for some.
The change will apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a means-tested program that provides monthly checks to more than 7 million disabled Americans and people age 65 and older.
The new rules will expand the definition of what qualifies as a publicly assisted household – the first change since 1980.
Currently, food assistance can count as unearned income for those receiving SSI, meaning their payments could be cut or their eligibility affected.
Those who receive payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will be included in the definition of a public assistance household under new rules that take effect on September 30.
The new rules will expand the definition of what is considered a publicly assisted household, making it easier for people to apply for benefits.
The new policy will also expand the definition to include households where not all members receive public assistance, which was previously a requirement.
A household receiving public assistance will now be defined as one that has an SSI applicant or recipient, as well as at least one other member who receives one or more forms of means-tested public income maintenance payments. CNBC reported.
“By simplifying our policies and including an additional program aimed at low-income families, like SNAP, we are removing important barriers to accessing SSI,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement.
“These changes promote greater equity in our programs.”
Currently, the maximum monthly SSI benefit is $943 per individual and $1,415 for an individual and their eligible spouse.
The definition of a publicly assisted household hasn’t been updated in decades, Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and health care policy at the nonprofit The Arc, told CNBC.
“I would characterize this as simply good policy and common sense changes to update this definition,” Milburn said.
With the change, more Americans could qualify for SSI, or current beneficiaries could receive higher payments.
It comes after the Social Security Administration announced earlier this week that it is expected to run out of funds by 2035.
“By simplifying our policies and including an additional program aimed at low-income families, like SNAP, we are removing significant barriers to accessing SSI,” Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley said in a statement.
The aging population is raising the cost of the Social Security program as a smaller proportion of people are contributing to it and spending is outpacing income.
The last annual report of the Social Security Board of Directors concluded that the program will only be able to pay full benefits for the next 11 years, one year longer than previous estimates.
Social Security is funded primarily through payroll taxes that are deducted from paychecks, which are then used to pay retirement and disability benefits.
If the trust funds the Social Security Administration relies on run out, that doesn’t mean payments will suddenly disappear.
Instead, the Trustees predict that beneficiaries will face a cut in their monthly checks, losing 17 percent of their current benefits.
This could be significant for millions of disabled Americans and those who rely on Social Security for their sole income in retirement.
However, this is a slight improvement over last year’s estimates, which predicted that funds could be exhausted by 2034, at which point only 80 percent of scheduled benefits could be covered.
It comes as experts also warn of a growing group of financially vulnerable Americans known as ‘ALICE’s.
An ALICE (or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Emploeded) is someone who earns enough money at their job to disqualify them from government assistance, but struggles to cover living expenses.
The term was coined by the nonprofit United Way in its United by ALICE program. It classifies ALICEs as Americans who earn more than the federal poverty level of $15,060 for an individual or $31,200 for a family of four, but who cannot make ends meet.
About 29 percent of American households are ALICE, according to the latest data from United for ALICE, while 13 percent are below the federal poverty level.
Many ALICEs are workers whose salaries are not enough to cover basic needs, meaning they may be forced to sacrifice healthcare in order to cover rent payments, for example.