Historic Bipartisan Momentum Continues for Updating SSI’s Antiquated Asset Limits
Signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972, Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, provides monthly cash assistance to people with significant disabilities or who are 65 or older and who have very little in income and assets – including more than 1 million disabled children. The income support that SSI provides is nothing short of critical for the roughly 7 million disabled and older Americans currently receiving benefits. But due to decades of federal neglect, SSI’s income protections have withered over time — and the program now consigns millions of disabled people and older adults to deep and enduring poverty, despite the fact that it was enacted to give them a lifeline out of it.
One of SSI’s most outdated rules is its asset limits, which have remained stuck at $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples since Congress last adjusted them for inflation in 1984. These levels have lost nearly all of their value in the nearly four decades since they were last adjusted; had they been indexed to inflation when SSI was initially signed into law in 1972, for example, they would be more than $10,000 and $16,000, respectively, today. Now, more than fifty years after the SSI program’s founding, bipartisan policymakers and stakeholders are working to reform its antiquated asset limits, in recognition that they have become one of the most regressive anti-savings measures in federal law.
This resource page contains information and resources on current legislation being debated in Congress to update SSI’s asset limits, as well as a range of related resources from bipartisan experts and cross-sector stakeholders for Academy members, partners, and others seeking to learn more about this issue.
Bipartisan legislation would update SSI’s asset limits
The bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, championed by Senators Cortez-Masto (D-NV) and Cassidy (R-LA) and Representatives Fitzpatrick (R-PA 1st District) and Davis (D-IL 7th District) would eliminate one of the Social Security Administration’s biggest drivers of inefficiency while empowering millions of older people and people with disabilities to earn and save more money for their futures by:
- Raising the asset limits for individuals to $10,000
- Raising the asset limits for couples to $20,000 to help correct a harmful marriage penalty
- Indexing the asset limits to inflation moving forward
- Saving SSA staff time by reducing one of the agency’s most burdensome workloads
Learn more:
- S. 1234
- H.R. 2540
- Sen. Cortez Masto Press Release
- Sen. Cassidy Press Release
- Rep. Fitzpatrick (PA-1) Press Release
- Rep. Davis (IL-7) Press Release
- Bill One-Pager
- Social Media Toolkit
Who supports updating SSI’s asset limits?
Updating SSI’s asset limits has the support of economic policy experts across the political spectrum, as well as disability advocates, advocates for older adults, antipoverty advocates, social service providers, faith groups, corporate leaders, and a broad array of stakeholders. The CEOs of eight of the nation’s largest banks voiced their support for updating SSI’s asset limits in hearings convened by the Senate Banking Committee. And it’s supported by 71 percent of Americans, with widespread support across party lines.
Policy expert and stakeholder commentary:
- 10-part series on SSI and savings penalties (NPR): https://www.npr.org/people/2101159/joseph-shapiro
- As one Social Security program marks a 50-year anniversary, here’s how benefits may change (CNBC): https://cnb.cx/3VBghhV
- Bank CEOs express support for Supplemental Security Income reform (CNBC): https://cnb.cx/3RuM6Xy
- HBO’s John Oliver on LastWeekTonight: https://youtu.be/hq2s7RMRsgs?si=qCJt27K9l2Kwd2Tg
- Policymakers Should Update SSI’s Harsh Asset Limits (CBPP):
https://t.co/krOjml91vV - Ease SSI’s Asset Limits (AARP) https://blog.aarp.org/fighting-for-you/bill-ssi-savings-penalty
- Top 5 Reasons SSI’s Asset Limits Are Long Overdue for an Upgrade (TCF): https://tcf.org/content/commentary/top-5-reasons-ssis-asset-limits-are-long-overdue-for-an-upgrade/
- POLLING: Large Majorities of Voters Across the Political Spectrum Support Updating SSI’s Asset Limits (The Century Foundation and Data for Progress) https://tcf.org/content/commentary/just-3-in-10-disabled-voters-believe-leaders-in-washington-d-c-care-about-people-with-disabilities-finds-new-tcf-and-data-for-progress-poll/
- Enhancing Economic Opportunity and Mobility for People with Disabilities Through Asset and Income Limit Reforms (JP Morgan Chase Policy Center): https://www.jpmorganchase.com/content/dam/jpmc/jpmorgan-chase-and-co/documents/policy-center-asset-limit-issue-brief-ada.pdf
- Congress Should Give SSI Asset Limits a 21st Century Upgrade, by Kathleen Romig (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities), Rebecca Vallas (The Century Foundation), and Jason Fichtner (Bipartisan Policy Center): https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/3532554-congress-should-give-ssi-asset-limits-a-21st-century-upgrade/
- Raising SSI Asset Limits Raises Recipient Opportunity, by Will Raderman (Niskanen Center): https://www.niskanencenter.org/raising-ssi-asset-limits-raises-recipient-opportunity/
- Bipartisan Cooperation to End Poverty, by Andrew Biggs (American Enterprise Institute): https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbiggs/2022/06/10/bipartisan-cooperation-to-battle-poverty/
- Policymakers Should Increase SSI Asset Limits to Promote Equity and Economic Opportunity (CLASP): https://www.clasp.org/blog/lawmakers-should-increase-ssi-asset-limits-to-promote-equity-and-economic-opportunity/
- The Case for Updating SSI Asset Limits (CBPP): https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/the-case-for-updating-ssi-asset-limits
- How Dehumanizing Administrative Burdens Harm Disabled People (Center for American Progress): https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-dehumanizing-administrative-burdens-harm-disabled-people/
- National Association of Evangelicals Tells Congress to Increase SSI Asset Limits https://www.nae.org/increase-the-asset-limit-for-ssi/
- Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Joined by Hundreds of Advocacy Organizations in Telling Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Bipartisan Policy Center, Niskanen Center and Cross-sector Stakeholders Tell Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Chamber of Commerce Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Jewish Federations Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Orthodox Union Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- US Conference of Catholic Bishops Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Food Association Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Nationwide Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
- Society of Human Resource Management Tells Congress to Update SSI Asset Limits (PDF)
Who would be helped by updating SSI’s asset limits?
Here’s what SSI beneficiaries are saying:
- Emily shared why SSI asset limits need to be updated during a press conference about the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act.
- Steve shared why SSI is important to him.
- Lauren shared how SSI asset limits make it harder for her to live on her own and save like her peers.
- Steve shared how SSI asset limits have been a barrier to work and savings
- Several people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and family members shared how Medicaid and SSI help them be independent and live in their communities.
- How the Social Safety Net Is Failing Disabled People (Center for American Progress)
- Patrice: The Movie
- Logan shares that he dreams of starting his own business, but SSI Asset Limits hold him back.
Not only is the asset limit outdated, but SSI recipients have been penalized for the Federal Stimulus payments they received during the pandemic, after being assured this would not happen. My sister is currently having to pay back $1600 in SSI (4 months of benefits) because her bank account was over $2000 four months in 2021, after she received the $1400 stimulus payment. She told them it was because of the stimulus but they ignored her and penalized her anyway. This goes against their own rules, but she was afraid to appeal their decision. This is so unfair.
Good Day, I hope you get this message. What can the average elder do to help pass this law? (The Restoration S.S.I. Act) Many, like myself, were busy helping raise children, (unmarried) and did menial jobs to get by while at the same time trying to survive the collapse of 1971, 1981 then in 1991, and then 2008. Now, “We” are elderly citizens- baby boomers; who unfortunately were in ‘many cases’ able to pay into social security for a decade at best. We will rely on the offset in the difference between the $500 of our earned social security and the $914 from S.S.I., we are in the millions. “Life was different back then.” We are now hitting 65 and ready to move out of our RVs; ‘rooms-for-rent’ and for many elderly hard to believe ‘couch hopping.’ It is hard to believe many of us never drank, did drugs, or did anything other than work gigs to survive in our expensive U.S.A. (The generation that helped to build America) How can I help to push this bill through for us the “Baby Boomers” who are too weak to go on? I can make phone calls. Please confer, thanks in advance. (Senior Citizen)
The question isn’t if the limit should be raised, of course it should.
But why was it frozen in 1989 after being raised annually for 5 years priot to that year?
And how do cost of living benefit increases help us if we can’t keep most of them?
Very odd that they regularly update the benefit amounts due to cost of living but not the resource cap.
On this antiquated resource limit people are trapped where they are because $2000 is not enough to be able to move on. I have desperately wanted to move from the west to the east, where I grew up; for years. But one can’t even move across town on this amount. I could have taken disability when I was young, but chose not to do so, Now I am in my 80’s and need the SSI. I begged them to let me work when a younger senior, but they said I was too old to qualify. I need to move because my medical and dental needs are not being served here. I need to move because I have no family here and my sibling back east is very ill and I want to be an emotional support for her. I want to move because the property mgr. of my recently sold complex doesn’t like that I, having been here the longest, pay a lower rent. I am an expert saver and could have gotten mostly independent and saved for emergencies had the program allowed us to have a larger resource limit. Please tell Congress to help recipients to be able to save for emergencies, and other reasons so that we are not so desperate . Thank you for what you are doing.