Supplemental Security Income

Over eight million Americans, all of them at least age 65 or unable to work because of severe disabilities, rely on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for their survival.  The federal benefit rate is $710 per month for individuals ($1,066 for a couple), but many states supplement this and provide Medicaid benefits to recipients.  A SSI recipient cannot have more than $2,000 in resources ($3,000 for a couple). And, in most states, someone must have less than $718 in monthly income in order to be eligible.

NSCLC seeks to update the long neglected program which was designed for 1972, not 2011.

Improving SSI  We support reforms to the SSI program such as increasing the federal benefit rate, the resource limit and the general income disregard. Our policy issue brief includes more reforms we advocate for.

  • Policy Issue Brief: SSI Modernization Improvements Long Overdue (2013)
    (1/17/2013) A basic problem is that Supplemental Security Income is still designed for 1972, the year it was signed into law by President Nixon. A policy issue brief, recommendations and a fact sheet can all be found here. Read the Policy Issue Bri...


  • Table Helps Calculate Medicaid Eligibility Under Pickle Amendment
    (11/15/12) The Social Security Administration recently announced its cost of living adjustment for Social Security and SSI benefits effective January 1. This adjustment affects the calculation of Pickle Amendment eligibility for Medicaid in 2013. This ...


  • Fact Sheet: Supplemental Social Security Income
    Revised for 2012, this fact sheet describes the program, who receives it, and why it is important.  


  • NSCLC Supports Rebuild America Act
    In a letter to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Committee on Health, Education , Labor and Pensions, NSCLC strongly endorsed the Rebuild America Act.  NSCLC praised the Act’s inclusion of a provision that ensures that beneficiaries who receive b...


  • NSCLC Joins Call for Action on Refugee Issue
    (3/26/2012) In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), NSCLC joined nearly 40 organizations and 45 individuals urging immediate reinstatement and extension of SSI eligibility for “this vulnerable group of refugees and humanitarian migr...


  • Refugee, Asylees and Others Need Our Support
    Contact Your Members of Congress Today! Senators and Representatives need to hear from advocates about the urgent need to address extending the Sept. 30 deadline for refugees and other humanitarian immigrants or they will lose their Supplemental Sec...


  • Senate Bill Seeks to Solve Refugee Sept. 30 Deadline Problem
    Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Kirsten Gildebrand (D-NY) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have submitted a bill today to preserve SSI for some 4,600 refugees, asylees and other humanitarian refugees. Read the Senate Refugee Bill.  


  • SSI Transfer Penalty: Harsh Consequences Need Attention
    In a Policy Issue Brief entitled SSI Transfer Penalty: Harsh Consequences Need Attention, NSCLC calls for repeal of the penalty due to the hardship it causes for Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (Pub...


  • Webinar: Due Process Protections in SSI
    In February 2011, NSCLC held a webinar on due process protections when appealing SSI non-disability determinations. The presentation for legal service attorneys details the due process protections available when filing Request for Reconsideration and R...


  • What is Direct Express?
    DIRECT EXPRESS DEBIT CARDS Since 2008, people receiving Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits who do not have a bank account have had the option of receiving benefits in the form of a prepaid debit card instead of a paper ch...