US Senator Bill Cassidy (R)
US Senator Bill Cassidy is sponsoring bipartisan legislation, the Savings Penalty Elimination Act, to protect individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from losing their benefits for simply working hard. It’s the first push to reform the program in almost 40 years. Cassidy said it…
“Raises the outdated cap on how much a person can have in savings and still receive SSI benefits. It would raise the cap to $10,000 for an individual and $20,000 for a married couple and then index it to inflation after that,” said Cassidy.
SSI was created in the 1970s to provide additional income for disabled and elderly Americans. Cassidy said the current cap of $2,000 was set in the 1980s.
“Someone who’s disabled shouldn’t have to choose between a better job and losing their safety net because of some rule established in 1980 that was not indexed to inflation,” said Cassidy.
Cassidy said the current cap is a negative work incentive, and it deprives a disabled person of the dignity of work.
“It’s an easy fix, it encourages work, it allows people to save, it helps lift people and families out of poverty,” said Cassidy.
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