The Social Security Administration (SSA) is advancing a regulatory proposal that would restrict eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), potentially reducing or terminating monthly benefits for nearly 400,000 disabled and elderly Americans. The rule, currently under review by the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, would reverse a 2024 policy expansion and reinstate stricter standards for determining household income.
SSI is a needs-based cash assistance program distinct from retirement Social Security, serving disabled individuals, the blind, and those aged 65 and older with limited income and assets. The proposed change focuses on how the SSA defines a “public assistance household,” a key factor in calculating benefit amounts based on living arrangements.
Under the 2024 rule, a household could qualify as a public assistance household if either the SSI applicant or any other household member received means-tested benefits like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly known as food stamps. This broader definition reduced the likelihood that in-kind support from family members, such as free shelter, would be counted as income, thereby preserving higher SSI payments.
The SSA now plans to rescind that rule, removing SNAP from the list of qualifying public income-maintenance payments. The agency stated the rollback is necessary for “program integrity,” arguing that the benefits of the 2024 expansion did not justify its costs. According to a regulatory filing, the SSA aims to return to the earlier standard requiring that all household members receive such payments for the household to qualify.
Data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that the change would reduce SSI benefits for over 275,000 recipients and eliminate eligibility for more than 109,000 individuals. These projections are based on the SSA’s own 2024 analysis, which had projected the broader rule would boost payments for about 277,000 recipients by fiscal 2033 and add roughly 109,000 new eligible participants.
The financial impact on beneficiaries could be substantial. The SSA’s 2026 guidance sets the maximum federal SSI benefit at $994 per month for a single individual. For a recipient living in another person’s household, the standard payment drops to $662.67 per month before state supplements or other adjustments. The proposed rule would effectively push more recipients into the lower payment tier by counting the value of shelter provided by family members as income.
ProPublica recently highlighted the case of Shy’tyra Burton, a 22-year-old Philadelphia SSI recipient with developmental and intellectual disabilities who lives with her father. Under the proposed rule, the SSA could reduce her monthly benefit by counting the value of her bedroom, even though her father qualifies for SNAP.
The 2024 expansion had added SNAP to the household definition for the first time since 1980, when only older cash-assistance programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families were included. The SSA considered but did not include other supports such as Medicaid and energy assistance. The Government Accountability Office estimated the 2024 rule would increase federal SSI outlays by $15 billion between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2033, with net administrative costs rising by $83 million, primarily for system changes, notices, verification, and follow-ups.
The proposal is not yet final. It is listed as proposed and under review at OIRA, without a legal deadline or designation as economically significant. The rule must be published and opened for public comment before it can take effect. For now, the 2024 rule remains in place, allowing households to count SNAP benefits as a qualifying factor through at least September 30, 2024.