Social Security’s SNAP Expansion — How It Can Benefit Retirees

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While you’re in the midst of doom-scrolling or avoiding breaking news banners, it’s only natural to feel a bit of economic anxiety, as the country and its current trajectory feel uncertain. Those seniors who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from the Social Security Administration (SSA), however, have a reason to potentially breathe a big sigh of financial relief.

SSI, of course, is a monthly payment that can be received by adults age 65 or older with limited financial means, or those (adults or children) with a serious disability. These payments can help pay for medication, food, rent and hopefully cover cost of living adjustments (COLA) for basic needs. To qualify for such benefits, one must meet certain low-income eligibility requirements. Further, the Social Security Press Office recently announced several helpful changes to SSI that will hopefully reduce customer burden during what may become an economically fraught administration.

Keep reading to learn more about how these changes could affect future benefits.

What Are the Latest Changes to SSI Regulations?

For those who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, you are no longer required to have all household members receive public assistance to be officially considered a public assistance household by the Social Security agency. These amended definitions will grant more Americans the ability to qualify for SSI, and will also increase the monthly payment amount for certain SSI recipients.

Additionally, food will no longer be considered in In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) calculations, which will remove a critical barrier to SSI eligibility that an applicant or recipient might encounter if they get informal food assistance from friends, family and community networks.

The agency will be taking a rental subsidy that ensures people paying at least a certain amount toward rent are not subject to ISM in the form of rental assistance and expanding it from seven states to the entire nation, which would promote greater equity. All told, the SNAP expansion from last year, coupled with these additional changes, should alleviate a number of financial burdens for America’s seniors.

Trump Administration vs. SNAP

Though there have been Social Security SNAP expansions, the current White House administration has made it public knowledge that those living in public assistance households may soon be facing barriers to accessing SSI. Here are a few key takeaways as to what other changes could affect retirees when it comes to their Social Security and SNAP benefits: 

• Potential cuts to benefits may include stricter work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents, chip-enabled EBT cards to improve security and changes to eligibility rules. 
• Congress is considering converting SNAP into a block grant and having states pay a share of benefits, which is a proposal supported by the Republican Study Committee’s budget plan. 
• If this passes, it would severely limit access to this assistance in times of economic crisis for families that need it most. 
• If the proposed farm bill is reauthorized, it would slash future benefits for all participants by more than $30 billion over 10 years through limiting future adjustments to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which is used to calculate SNAP benefits.

T. Woods contributed to the reporting for this article.

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