Stay Informed!

Posted on 05/18/2011 @ 11:15 AM

Tags: Federal Policy, Financial Empowerment, Economic Inclusion

Recruit original cosponsors for Supplemental Security Income asset limit reform!

Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI) and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-MA) plan to reintroduce a bill that would reform the asset limit test of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program by the end of May.

ASK your legislators to become original cosponsors of the SSI Savers' Act. The legislation would reduce the disincentive to open bank accounts, save and work for people with disabilities.

Click here to TAKE ACTION and send a message to your legislators urging them to support SSI asset limit reform. Follow-up with a call. The Switchboard's number is 202.224.3121. The operator can connect you to your legislator's office.

Background

In general, eligibility for SSI is limited to those who have no more than $2,000 in assets for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. The SSI test also generally counts all resources deemed accessible to an individual, including defined-contribution retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, as subject to the asset limit. These outdated rules pose as a serious obstacle to becoming financial self-reliant.

Beneficiaries of SSI are allowed little in savings to fall back on. This rule leaves them vulnerable to predatory lenders and deeper poverty, and requires them to ultimately rely on greater government assistance.

The SSI Savers Act of 2011 proposes the following:

• Increase asset limits from $2,000 (single) and $3,000 (married) to $5,000 and $7,500 respectively, and indexes those limits to inflation.
• For recipients younger than 65, the bill excludes retirement accounts, education savings, and individual development accounts from counting against the limit.
• For recipients 65 and older, it allows retirement accounts up to $50,000 (single) / $75,000 (married) to reduce SSI benefits accordingly instead of creating an immediate cut off.

The bill is similar to HR 4937 introduced last session by Representatives Petri and Tsongas.

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