YO!

i have never made a post like this before but i haven’t seen anyone here talk about it yet so i want to at least provide some links because this is extremely important for disabled people with or without benefits in the USA.

link to this tiktok

[Video Description: A tiktok video from the user immarollwithit. She is dancing in her wheelchair, and is wearing a top with the moon, sun, and stars. She is also wearing a pair of denim shorts and a head wrap with a similar design to her top. She is in a room with a couch and another wheelchair behind her, and the room opens into a hallway with a door in the back. She has brown skin, and is wearing makeup with red eyeshadow and black eyeliner. As she dances, there are captions above her that appear line by line throughout the video.]

Captions: “Want to help disabled people across America? SSI currently has many outdated restrictions. People can’t have more than 2k in their savings. Benefits payments can legally be sub-poverty!!!! Many people can’t get married bc they’ll lose necessary benefits. Call your representatives to get the new bill passed!”

[End Video ID]

she doesn’t name the bill in the video but in the comments it’s clarified that the act referred to is the SSI Restoration Act of 2021.

“The Supplementary Security Income (SSI) Restoration Act of 2021 has been introduced in both the House and the Senate. The bill would improve the lives of millions of SSI beneficiaries around the country, including over 2 million older adults who are living below the federal poverty level due to inadequate benefit levels, and often lose or are denied benefits due to outdated eligibility rules.” (link) - summary from Justice In Aging, an organization dedicated to fighting senior poverty

“This bill restores a program that plays a key role in the security of millions of Americans. Specifically, it modernizes and improves SSI by streamlining and simplifying the claiming process, expanding the resources and income limits, and eliminating punitive reductions in benefits.” (link) - summary from the SSI Restoration Act Section by Section, linked on Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva’s website, in the social security tab

below is taken from the issue brief on justiceinaging.org regarding what the bill entails

• The SSI benefit rate will be increased to at least 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, adjusted annually, so that no one receiving SSI will be left to live below the poverty line.

• Couples will receive their full SSI benefit, totaling twice the individual rate, rather than a reduced marriage penalty rate.

• Low-income seniors and people with disabilities who can’t work enough to meet all their basic needs will be able to save up to $10,000 and couples will be able to save up to $20,000 for emergencies such as car repairs, new roofs, and other unexpected expenses, without losing benefits.

• Individuals will be able to receive up to $128 monthly from other sources, such as Social Security benefits or pension payments, without a corresponding loss in benefits.

• Individuals who are able to work will be able to earn up to $416 a month without being penalized.

• Individuals who live in households with others, including family members, will no longer be penalized with lower benefits through the in-kind support and maintenance provision.

• Individuals who transfer assets (even small amounts of money to a family member) will no longer suffer harsh penalties.

• Eliminate installment payment requirements and extend the time to spend down resources so that SSI recipients who have been waiting for months or years to obtain their benefits can receive the full overdue amount.

• Exclude retirement accounts from countable resources to allow people with disabilities to build up their savings for retirement and use those resources to pay for expenses in later life.

• State and local earned income tax credits and child tax credits will be excluded from income calculations in the same manner as general tax payments.”

here is a link to the official bill [EDIT: pdf warning]

here is the issue brief from justiceinaging.org on the SSI Restoration Act of 2021 which explains what would change about SSI in more detail, and has the list provided above

here is the FAQ (also justiceinaging.org)

here is a carrd made by myelasticheart on tiktok, which also details the bill, AND includes a script for calling representatives, as well as links for finding said representatives