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.

• California Supreme Court Rules Bank Seize SSI Deposit to Pay for Overdrafts and Fees
  The California Supreme Court has ruled that a state statute exempting Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) funds directly deposited into a bank account from attachment does not prohibit a bank from seizing an incoming SSI deposit to r...



• CA Supreme Court Rules Bank May Seize SSI Deposit to Pay for Overdrafts and Fees
  The California Supreme Court has ruled that a state statute exempting Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) funds directly deposited into a bank account from attachment does not prohibit a bank from seizing an incoming SSI deposit t...



• Court Upholds Rehab Act Claim for Blind Participants in SSA Programs
  The decision is an important victory for the estimated 3,000,000 participants in Social Security programs who are blind or have low vision, the overwhelming majority of whom are over the age of 80. A district court in California has denied jurisdict...



• NSCLC Challenges SSA Policy on Alleged Probation Violation
  A lawsuit has been filed by NSCLC on behalf of a nationwide class of thousands of individuals, who have lost their Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, challenging the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) policy of suspen...



• Have You Seen a Fleeing Felon?
  Since the Social Security Administration began a computer-matching program in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in several states, the number of people affected by "fleeing" beneficiary provisions has increased dramatically in the SSI program. ...



• Tenth Anniversary of “Welfare Reform” – Impact on Elderly and Disabled
  It was ten years ago this past Tuesday that President Clinton signed into law the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996," the so-called "welfare reform" law. While there has been a spate of coverage of...