There is no shortage of outdated requirements to get Social Security Insurance (SSI) benefits. The rules for elderly or handicapped recipients make it disadvantageous to receive any income beyond the modest government allotment; the government takes half of anything earned above $85 per month and allows clients who receive Russian (or Ukrainian, etc.,) pensions to keep only $20 of these supplemental rations.
The goal of these restrictions is to stop the elderly and handicapped from “flashing their wealth,” and keep them on the miserly allowance that is on a par with official poverty levels.
The actual result, however, is quite different. SSI clients look for and find the most elaborate means to improve their lives without violating the government’s conditions. If the bank account is getting close to the maximum $2,000 permitted, cash is kept at home in a shoebox, or with kids, or in a safe deposit box. If the law says you can’t earn more than $80 a month, then they won’t! To keep the remainder of the Russian pension, for instance, they fill out forms to allow friends and family in the former Soviet republics to receive the full pension.
Government officials ought to reform the hopelessly outdated rules – and simply eliminate the absurd ones – to avoid pushing more people into the same pitfalls. Bank account levels need to be reviewed to take into account inflation, rent, and general living expenses. Earned-working pensions for immigrants should be increased.
It seems that Capitol Hill has finally taken notice of these problems and the first reforms are expected within the year.
The Russian Forward spoke to Irina Matichenko, director of the immigrant department of New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) – a not-for-profit legal aid service – about the upcoming changes. Currently, the Social Security Protection Act is under review in Congress – it is an important piece of the federal budget – and has support from both parties as well as the White House.
“With presidential and congressional elections this year,” said Matichenko, “the bill is likely to pass into law. The bill has a clause that raises the cap for unearned income originating outside the United States from $20 to $60 per month. This will allow many poor, elderly immigrants to receive their monthly pension without fear.” Other positive changes are anticipated as well, according to her.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to mention NYLAG’s class-action suit against the State of New York currently being prepared. SSI funds are made up of a large federal portion and a smaller state piece. We are determined to go to court in order to reinstitute the state portion of the payments to legal immigrants, who were denied future Federal payments because they are not U.S. citizens. In New York, non-citizen clients who formerly received SSI benefits and who arrived here after August 22, 1996, will be able to receive an additional sum (around $85 a month) from state SSI funds, to supplement Medicaid, welfare and food stamps for which they are already eligible. That is, if we win our suit,” explained Matichenko. “We will encourage advocacy groups in other states to take similar action. Perhaps we can change federal regulations,” she added. “We cannot settle for conditions that punish the elderly and handicapped for their inability to take an English-language citizenship test or deal with the bureaucracy of the immigration authorities.
