Supplemental Security Income: continuity and changes since 1974
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Research report (AARP Public Policy Institute)
- Author(s):
- Favreault, Melissa M., author
- Contributor(s):
- AARP (Organization), issuing body. Public Policy Institute (AARP (Organization)), issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : AARP Public Policy Institute, August 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Public Assistance -- trends Social Security Disabled Persons Income Poverty United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Once termed the forgotten safety net (Select Committee on Aging 1987), the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides critical support to those with low income and few assets, including children and working-age adults with severe disabilities as well as adults ages 65 and older.1 In May 2021, over 7.8 million people who have limited resources (box 1)--almost 1.1 million children, nearly 4.5 million adults ages 18 to 64, and nearly 2.3 million adults ages 65 and older--received cash benefits from the program (figure 1). Monthly benefits for all SSI beneficiaries averaged $585, with higher average benefits for children ($690) and those ages 18-64 ($616) and lower benefits for those ages 65 and older ($476). This brief uses data from published sources and tabulations from nationally representative household survey data to describe demographic and economic characteristics of beneficiaries of SSI, generally prior to the pandemic. I show how the program and its recipients have changed since it first paid benefits in 1974, with higher shares of children and working-age adults receiving aid today than at the program’s outset. SSI beneficiaries are a diverse group, disproportionately made up of people who are not married, are of color, have had less education, report poor health, and live in states with higher poverty rates. The program closely targets people with serious economic need. Nonetheless, many SSI beneficiaries still face significant financial hardship, including food insecurity, difficulties affording housing and utilities, and poor housing quality. Beneficiaries’ circumstances often differ with age and disability status, with younger and disabled recipients often even worse off than older beneficiaries. The program’s asset limits--unchanged since 1989--are currently $2,000 for a single person and $3,000 for a couple—and the amount of income beneficiaries can receive without affecting their SSI benefits (“income exclusions”) has failed to keep pace with inflation. Social Security Administration (SSA) office closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic also appear to be hampering timely access to the program.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (iv, 22 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918400888406676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918400888406676