Expanding Economic Opportunity and Mobility for People with Disabilities

的 current structure of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in the United States places working individuals with disabilities at risk of losing their economic security.

这个主张是……的核心新一期简报  澳博官方网站app 政策Center that calls for updating and simplifying asset and income limits for SSI to expand economic opportunity and mobility for people with disabilities.

And it’s something that’s long overdue, according to Jim Sinocchi, head of the 澳博官方网站app 残疾包容办公室. Since he arrived at the company in 2016, he’s advocated for removing these barriers in meetings with government officials and members of Congress.

“的se antiquated limits not only inhibit our firm’s ability to recruit and benefit from talent within the disability community, but they also hamper employers’ efforts as a whole to advance diversity and inclusion while investing in their communities,Sinocchi说.

“Wouldn’t it be better to incent more people with disabilities to enter the workforce and earn what they deserve instead of holding them back because they worry — and their caregivers worry — that they could lose their benefits if they earn too much?”
 

“简单地说, income limits imposed for government benefits eligibility - without regular, systematic review - strain families’ economic mobility."

顺便说一下背景, SSI is a federal assistance program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that provides income supports for people who qualify as disabled and have limited resources and income.

的 政策Center notes in its brief that important features of the program have not changed since it was established in 1972:

• 最近的估计显示大约有4.4 million working-age adults with a disability received an average monthly benefit of about $600.
• In 2021, 才有资格获得SSI, monthly income must be less than $794 for an individual or less than $1,已婚夫妇191美元.
• 的se maximum benefit amounts remain well below the federal poverty level.
• SSI has an earnings offset known as “income disregards” that effectively imposes a high marginal tax on work — $1 for every $2 earned, or 50 percent — on income over $65 per month.

Other disincentives to work faced by SSI disability beneficiaries include potential loss of income supports and health insurance, 工作规则的复杂性, and delays at SSA in processing beneficiaries’ earnings reports that lead to overpayments (which serve to further shrink already insufficient benefits by requiring beneficiaries to repay the government however much they were overpaid).

Sinocchi赞扬 政策Center’s efforts to work with the appropriate legislative representatives and policy movers to get the income limits raised appropriately to enable these individuals to gainfully work and earn a living without fear of losing their benefits.

“简单地说, income limits imposed for government benefits eligibility — without regular, systematic review — strain families’ economic mobility,他说. “And the systemic barriers created by these outdated asset and income limitations only serve to further widen the economic wealth divide.”

的 澳博官方网站app 政策Center supports advancing inclusive growth and opportunity by developing and advancing sustainable, evidence-based policy solutions to drive inclusive economic growth.