Take Action to Help People with Disabilities Build Assets: Support the 2011 SSI Savers Act
Congressman Tom Petri (R-WI) and Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-MA) introduced a bill that would reform asset limit tests in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program on June 2. HR 2103 would enable people with disabilities to open bank accounts, work, and save.
One of the most common policy barriers to asset building and self-sufficiency for people with disabilities are asset limit tests. In general, eligibility for SSI is limited to those who have no more than $2,000 in assets for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. This SSI asset test generally counts all resources deemed accessible to an individual, including defined-contribution retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs.
Such asset limits are painfully low, and haven’t been raised since 1989. SSI beneficiaries are allowed little emergency savings, which leaves them vulnerable to predatory lenders and requires them to ultimately rely on greater government assistance. To address this situation the SSI Savers Act of 2011 would:
- Increase asset limits from $2,000 (single) and $3,000 (married) to $5,000 and $7,500 respectively, and index those limits to inflation;
- For recipients younger than 65, exclude retirement accounts, education savings, and individual development accounts from counting against the limit; and
- For recipients 65 and older, allow retirement accounts up to $50,000 (single) and $75,000 (married) and reduce SSI benefits accordingly instead of creating an immediate cut off.
The bill is similar to HR 4937 introduced last session by Representatives Petri and Tsongas.
Click here to take action and send a message to your legislators urging them to support SSI asset limit reform, then follow-up with a call. The switchboard's number is 202.224.3121. The operator can connect you to your legislator's office.
For more information on asset building for people with disabilities, please visit the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law’s web resource pages to review our webinar series on asset building for people with disabilities: Accessible Assets, Part 1 (November 2009) and Accessible Assets, Part 2 (February 2011).
This blog post was coauthored by Ji Won Kim.
