Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recently said that more than 100,000 people were taken out of the program and will no longer get payouts. The SSI program began in 1972, and its main goal is to help crippled or older people with few assets or income by giving them money every month.
The number of people getting Supplemental Security Income payments dropped by 119,395 from May 2023 (7,380,737) to May 2024 (7,261,342 disability checks). This was reported by the Social Security Administration.
At the moment, this financial program helps more than 7 million low-income adults over 65, disabled people, and children with special financial needs pay their monthly bills by giving them money.
Why will more than 100,000 beneficiaries no longer receive SSI payments?
In 2024, more blind and disabled recipients stopped getting benefits than in previous years. This caused a total loss of 140,034, going from 6,281,068 in May 2023 to 6,141,034 in May 2024. The number of claimants aged 65 and up has grown by 20,639, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
It’s not clear why the number of blind or disabled people getting SSI has gone down over this period of time. In California’s caseload for SSI payouts, for example, dropped by 16,573 between May 2023 and May 2024, even though the state had the most applications. More than 17,000 people who were getting benefits were told they were no longer qualified. Most of these people were blind or disabled.
The number of people in this group who got help dropped from 708,695 to around 690,300. Texas, on the other hand, saw a drop of 14,587 SSI applications from May 2023 to May 2024, from 591,710 to 577,123.
The number of people getting SSI payments stayed the same, but the number of applications went down in some states. For example, in North Dakota, Rhode Island, and New York, the number of applications went from 568,777 to 559,222.
Also, the number of people in North Dakota getting SSI payments dropped by only 17, from 7,923 last year to 7,906 this year. Other states saw smaller changes. For example, in Rhode Island, the number of recipients went from 30,317 in 2023 to 30,015 in May, an increase of about 300 people per year.
Further modifications that will impact SSI payments in the US
Last month, the federal government said it would be drastically changing how it looks at applications for SSDI and SSI payouts. In order to get SSDI Benefits, a person must not only meet our disability standards, but also have worked and paid Social Security taxes for long enough to get at least 40 work credits.
In contrast to many other programs, Social Security does not give money to people with temporary or partial illnesses. Martin O’Malley, the commissioner of Social Security, says that the rule will speed up the disability application process by letting beneficiaries focus on recent employment details.
This will cut down on the amount of work history information that is needed, which will save time and effort and improve the quality of information given to front-line employees.
This means that cases will be handled more quickly, wait times for cases will be cut down, and customer service will be better. The rule is meant to improve the quality of disability candidates’ work histories.
Starting June 22, 2024, the agency will only look at the last five years of relevant work experience. People had a hard time remembering specific requirements for their 15-year job history under the old rule, which caused incomplete or wrong reporting.
Finally, it’s important to note that the new rule makes it easier to apply for SSI benefits by focusing on the most recent relevant job activity while still keeping enough data to make decisions that can be trusted.