Three new Social Security policies

The Social Security Administration recently published a final rule, “Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household.” 

Under the final rule, beginning September 30, 2024, the agency will expand the definition of a public assistance household to include households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments and households where not all members receive public assistance. The expanded definition will allow more people to qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), increase some SSI recipients’ payment amounts, and reduce reporting burdens for individuals living in public assistance households.

The revised rule also changes the definition of a public assistance household when determining who in a household receives public assistance. The new rule defines a public assistance household as one that has both an SSI applicant or recipient, and at least one other household member who receives one or more of the listed means-tested public income-maintenance (PIM) payments (the any other definition). The previous policy required all household members to receive public assistance. This change benefits SSI recipients living in households where only some members receive public assistance.

These changes are key because, if an applicant or recipient is determined to be living in a public assistance household, the agency assumes they are not receiving assistance from other household members that would otherwise be counted as income. This will allow more people to qualify for SSI and in some cases, receive a higher SSI payment.

For more information, you may access the SSA Press Release at https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2024/?utm_content=pressrelease&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery#5-2024-3

To read the final rule “Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household,” visit Federal Register: Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/19/2024-08364/expand-the-definition-of-a-public-assistance-household).
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The Social Security Administration published a final rule, “Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Applicants and Recipients.” 

Under the final rule, beginning September 30, 2024, Social Security will expand its SSI rental subsidy policy, which due to judicial decisions is currently only in place for SSI applicants and recipients residing in 7 states (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New York, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin). In those states, rental assistance, such as renting at a discounted rate, was less likely to affect a person’s SSI eligibility or payment amount. This new rule extends the same advantageous policy to all SSI applicants and recipients nationwide. This may increase the payment amount some people are eligible to receive and will allow more people to qualify for critical SSI payments.  

For more information visit the Social Security Blog post at https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-to-expand-ssi-rental-subsidy-policy-agency-continues-to-remove-barriers-to-accessing-ssi-payments/.

To read the final Expansion of the Rental Subsidy Policy for Supplemental SecurityIncome (SSI) Applicants and Recipients rule, visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/11/2024-07675/expansion-of-the-rental-subsidy-policy-for-supplemental-security-income-ssi-applicants-and).

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Recently, the Social Security Administration published a final rule, “Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) Calculations.”

The final rule announces the first of several updates to the agency’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) regulations that will help people receiving and applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Under the old rules, ISM includes food, shelter, or both a person receives – the agency counts ISM as unearned income, which may affect a person’s eligibility or reduce their payment amount. Beginning September 30, 2024, the agency will no longer include food in ISM calculations. The new policy removes a critical barrier for SSI eligibility due to an applicant’s or recipient’s receipt of informal food assistance from friends, family, and community networks of support. For additional information visit Social Security's blog announcement (https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-to-remove-barriers-to-accessing-ssi-payments/).

To read the final rule, Omitting Food from In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations, visit the Federal Register at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/27/2024-06464/omitting-food-from-in-kind-support-and-maintenance-calculations.