About the SSI Penalty Elimination Act:

Social Security Income (SSI), originally designed as a safety net for disabled Americans, is hindered by outdated asset limits that prevent individuals from saving and supporting their families. The current system penalizes those on SSI for working, saving, and getting married.

Presently, SSI recipients are restricted to $2,000 in assets (or $3,000 for married couples), while the average monthly benefit is $585. This bill, the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, proposes sensible updates by increasing the asset limits to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples, addressing a problem that hasn't been revised since 1980, and indexing them to inflation for the future.

The SSI Savings Penalty Act also ends marriage penalties, which limit savings for married people with disabilties.

The aim is to allow individuals with disabilities the opportunity to work without fear of financial repercussions and provide them with the economic security they deserve.

My Progress

Click above to show your support for this bill!

I was very lucky to get a meeting with my federal representative Brad Schneider, who represents the 110th district of Illinois. I met Mr. Schneider virtually to tell him about my life story about how hard life has been living with multiple disabilities. The second topic we discussed was Social Security Income (SSI), and how the $2,000 asset limit is not going to cover financial obligations.

I let him know that I had a bus hit my car a couple weeks ago and that if there were to be any damage, I would not have the money to repair it. There are many life instances and emergency situations that I can’t attend to since my assets are limited to $2,000. I asked Congressman Brad Schneider if he would sponsor a bill that would raise the income level of those on SSI. He ended up agreeing to co-sponsor the SSI Penalty Elimination ACT (Bill HR.5408), which is sitting on the House of Representatives Floor for a vote at this time.

Call To Action

If we as advocates start calling into our federal representatives in a favorable vote of the SSI Penalty Elimination Act, we would surely get support to carry this bill to the Senate when the time comes. If you are a brave advocate like myself please consider asking your federal representative to vote in favor of this bill. This will change our world for the better!