Simplifying SSI

CW: Poverty

New efforts are being made to simplify the process of applying for Supplemental Security Income benefits. Late last month, the Social Security Administration announced that it would launch a fully online SSI application with user-tested plain-language questions. The new version will pre-populate responses when possible and provide seamless transitions, among other enhancements.

Currently, the Social Security Administration asks numerous questions about someone’s disability, work history, and family situation when applying for SSI. The Social Security Administration requires documentation such as lab results, doctor’s letters and therapy records to corroborate your responses. If an applicant has worked, the Social Security Administration will want to know about their work history as well.  

For children, the application process is different. Children under age 18 can get SSI if they meet Social Security’s definition of disability for children and there are limited income and resources in the household. For children to meet Social Security’s definition of disability, their disability must cause severe limitations in daily life and be expected to last longer than 12 months.

SSI beneficiaries are also currently limited to having no more than $2,000 in assets at any given moment to continue receiving monthly payments. Married couples are limited to $3,000.

The asset limits have not been updated since 1989. The asset limit’s value depreciates annually as a result of inflation because it is not adjusted. As of last year, the asset limit was worth one-sixth of what it was in 1972.

According to The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, if asset limits had been adjusted for inflation since 1972, when the law first went into effect, they would be $9,929 for an individual and $14,893 for a couple as of last year. This would represent more than a sixfold increase.

The modifications are known as iClaim expansion. They are meant to reduce the time it takes to apply and expedite initial claim decisions, authorities said. The average wait time for the first eight months of the 2024 federal fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2023 was 230 days, or more than seven and a half months. 30,000 people died last year while waiting for an answer regarding their application for Social Security benefits according to Commissioner Martin O’Malley. 

The revised application will be available in December to first-time applicants aged 18 to 65 who have never married and are seeking Social Security and SSI payments. It is anticipated to open to all candidates in late 2025.

Social Security officials said they intend to make improvements based on feedback from their customer support team. The government plans to use what it has learned from the iClaim expansion to improve the in-person, phone, mobile, and paper-based processes for applying for SSI.

The United States’ disability benefits system must be overhauled. Benefits should be expanded, and the application procedure should be streamlined. People’s lives rely on these benefits, and thousands die while waiting for an answer. Hopefully, these changes make it easier for people to apply for and receive SSI.

Sources:

Diament, Michelle. “Social Security Moves to Streamline SSI.” Disability Scoop, Disability Scoop, 3 Sept. 2024, http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/09/03/social-security-moves-to-streamline-ssi/31035/. 

Jakab, Jackie. “Your Guide to the Disability Interview.” Atticus, Atticus Law, P.C., 18 Mar. 2024, http://www.atticus.com/advice/general/disability-interview#. 

Jayson , Sharon. “Social Security Disability Claimants Face Record Waits.” AARP, AARP , 12 June 2024, http://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/info-2024/disability-claim-wait-times.html. 

Romig, Kathleen. “SSI: A Lifeline for Children with Disabilities.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 11 May 2017, http://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/ssi-a-lifeline-for-children-with-disabilities. 

Romig , Kathleen, et al. “The Case for Updating SSI Asset Limits.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 26 June 2023, http://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/the-case-for-updating-ssi-asset-limits?fbclid=IwAR0wZj-zM_VqbPoQ4RV3WZUbOBCKVbnxXlV9lJeWo4GLEVAx2EomA5klzoo_aem_AfEqv7yxyHvw-DLrwMkFZ4LovFDDWokEDXSN5qdX6LwdCd85JZbF0gQkswCdVv1LpVA.

Rein, Lisa. “Social Security Ditches Obsolete Jobs Data Used to Deny Disability Claims .” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 June 2024, http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/24/social-security-disability-benefits-jobs-list-outdated/.

Rein, Lisa. “Social Security Denies Disability Benefits Based on List with Jobs from 1977.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 27 Dec. 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/27/social-security-job-titles-disabled-applicants-obsolete/.