Sponsors (9)
The bill increases direct SSI access and monthly payments for many adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities and simplifies benefit calculations, but it raises program costs, changes family income-treatment dynamics, and will add administrative burden to SSA.
Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) who meet income/resource limits become directly eligible for SSI at age 18, increasing access to cash assistance.
Married beneficiaries with IDD will have SSI benefits calculated without spouse deeming, increasing their net monthly SSI payments.
SSI payment calculation is standardized to the basic SSI rate (minus only the individual's countable income), simplifying administration and making benefit amounts more predictable.
Expanding eligibility and removing spouse deeming will likely increase SSI program costs, which could raise federal spending or require offsets.
Some spouses and households will no longer have their income counted toward a beneficiary's SSI determination, which can shift eligibility and benefit dynamics within families.
SSA will face added administrative workload to implement the new eligibility and payment rules; without extra funding this could cause processing delays for applicants.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by David G. Valadao · Last progress February 27, 2025
Creates a new SSI eligibility category for adults age 18 and older with intellectual or developmental disabilities and changes how their benefits are calculated when they are married. The bill requires SSI payments for these individuals to be based only on their own countable income and prevents a spouse’s income or resources from being "deemed" to them for eligibility or payment purposes. No funding amounts or an effective date are specified.