The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced a significant update aimed at expanding eligibility for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and redefining what constitutes a public assistance household.
This modification, detailed in the final rule titled “Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household”, will take effect on September 30, 2024, marking the start of a new fiscal year. From then on, the definition of a public assistance household will be expanded to include households receiving payments from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits), as well as those where not all household members are beneficiaries of public assistance.
This is good news for beneficiaries of both Social Security and SNAP benefits, as it would streamline the qualification process for SSI benefits, which can be crucial income for covering basic needs such as housing, food, and healthcare for low-income households.
How the New Rule Will Expand SSI Eligibility
The updated rule modifies how public assistance households are identified, especially in situations where not all members receive state aid. Before this modification, which takes effect in September 2024, all household members had to be beneficiaries of some form of public assistance for a household to be recognized as a public assistance household.
With the new rule, a household only needs to have one member as an applicant or beneficiary of Supplemental Security Income and another member receiving certain types of public income maintenance benefits for low-income households.
This change is likely to result in increased SSI payments and reduce reporting burdens for many recipients.
For Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, the new rule supports the agency’s commitment to removing barriers that hinder vulnerable populations from accessing necessary benefits.
This new rule marks the first time that SNAP benefits are included in the SSA’s definition of a public assistance household since its inception in 1980, reflecting a positive shift in representing a broader premise for qualifying low-income households and offering them state aid. The SSA is also taking other measures to improve the SSI program, such as excluding food value from SSI benefit calculations and expanding a rental subsidy exception from 7 states to a federal policy.
The Maximum SNAP Benefits You Can Receive in 2024
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps or food benefits, is a food assistance program in the United States. These benefits provide assistance to low-income individuals and families to purchase nutritious food.
The program is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and offers an electronic card that is used as a payment method at participating stores to purchase eligible foods, such as fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products and other food staples.
For the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands, benefits increased in 2024. On the other hand, SNAP benefits decreased in Hawaii from $1794 to $1759 for a 4-member family.
These are the maximum SNAP allocations in the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., until September 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website:
- Household size 1: $291
- Household size 2: $535
- Household size 3: $766
- Household size 4: $973
- Household size 5: $1,155
- Household size 6: $1,386
- Household size 7: $1,532
- Household size 8: $1,751
- Each additional person: $219
Benefits are typically higher for households in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For a family of four, the maximum benefits in Alaska could be as high as $1,937.
