LSR Policy Recommendations for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program
WASHINGTON DC – Together with the National Senior Citizen Law Center (NSCLC), LSR is calling for needed updates to the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
Over 8 million Americas rely on SSI for survival. In most of the country the maximum benefit is $698 a month and a beneficiary cannot generally have more than $718 total income a month, including the SSI benefit. A beneficiary also cannot have more than $2,000 in non-exempt resources. SSI is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) but funded through general revenue. One out of every three older SSI applicants has a primary language other than English, with the overwhelming majority of these Spanish speaking.
“SSI has been a critical program to low-income Latinos for the past 40 years but needs to be strengthened,” stated Jeff Cruz, Executive Director of Latinos for a Secure Retirement, a coalition of ten leading national Latino organizations. “Outdated rules have put many poor seniors in peril.”
For a full list of the policy recommendations, click on the link on the top of the page.
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