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Food is no longer In-Kind Support (ISM)!
As of September 30, 2024, food is no longer considered In-Kind Support and Maintenance for those receiving SSI. Just as clothing was dropped off the list of “food, shelter and clothing,” now food has dropped off the list. This means anyone (or a trust) can pay for food for an SSI recipient and it does not need to be reported and it will not count against their SSI payment.
For folks not yet familiar with SSI (Supplemental Security Income), let me explain. When your child with disabilities turns 18, you’ll help them apply to the Social Security Administration for needs-based government benefits: SSI and Medicaid. For 2024, the monthly SSI payment is $934. This is supposed to cover one’s basic living costs for food and shelter. Of course it does not come close. But if someone ELSE pays for food and shelter, then Social Security wants to know so that the SSI payment can be reduced. In other words, if you bought groceries or a meal for your loved one on SSI, you were supposed to report this to Social Security so they could reduce the SSI payment by the value of that food. Ridiculous. And now the ridiculousness is a thing of the past. Social Security does not care that you buy food for your family member.
Now, only housing costs paid for by someone other than the SSI beneficiary need to be reported to Social Security. And the rules about that are changing for the better too. More on that soon.
Great News about SSI – Overpayments won’t be as painful!:
When Social Security determines an overpayment has been made to an SSI recipient, they will no longer take 100% of the SSI check until the overpayment is resolved. Now, Social Security will take only 10% of the monthly check. Hooray!
If your SSI is currently getting docked 100% due to an overpayment, be sure to call Social Security and request a manual adjustment to 10%. And don’t forget to request a waiver of the overpayment altogether based upon hardship.
Of course, if you receive an overpayment notice, you should appeal it immediately -- within 10 days. If you appeal it within 10 days, your benefits continue unaffected during the appeal process. An appeal is called a “request for reconsideration.” Many people make a request for reconsideration of the overpayment and also request a waiver of the overpayment due to hardship. Sometimes that overpayment was a mistake by Social Security so don’t hesitate to appeal it.
Simplification of Shelter cost:
Starting September 30, 2024, Social Security is doing a whole new thing about housing for SSI recipients who live with family members. The agency is changing how it handles In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) in the form of a rental subsidy. In other words, Social Security is done torturing folks about what they are charging for rent or for “fair share contribution” from the SSI recipient.
We all know that the $943 of monthly SSI is not enough to pay for the basic costs of living, for food and shelter. What can you rent for that?! So naturally many SSI recipients live with their parents or other family members. And under the current policy, SSI requires that the SSI recipient be charged rent or a fair share contribution. And folks drive themselves crazy trying to figure out what that should be. And if it’s not considered enough by the agency, then SSI benefits get reduced.
Funny thing is, folks in seven other states have been doing things differently. Their state courts ruled that so long as the SSI beneficiary is spending more than a third of their income on housing, then that is good enough, even if that means their rent is less than current market value.
Now, Social Security has decided to make that easier rule the national standard. Hooray!
Starting September 30, 2024, an SSI recipient just needs to show Social Security a written “business arrangement” whereby they pay $354.33 per month to live in that home. If they do that, Social Security will be satisfied. Even if market rate rent or “fair share” portion to live in that home is much higher.
This “business arrangement” rule means no more guessing what your loved one should be paying to live at home.
Here’s how I think this is going to work. The payment required for shelter needs to be no more than 1/3rd of the Federal Benefit Rate plus $20. The Federal Benefit rate for 2024 is $943. One third of $943 is $334.33. Add the $20 and you have $354.33.
Keep in mind the Federal Benefit Rate changes each year. It is $943 for 2024 but likely will go up in 2025. This means your shelter “business arrangement” goes till December 31st and then you recalculate based on the new SSI amount for the next year.
Submitted to PEACE NW by:
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