Mrs. Kim, a 69-year-old grandmother, wants to visit her daughter's family in South Korea and plans to fly there in March; however, she is quite torn about going. Her daughter told her that the airline ticket will be purchased soon, but Mrs. Kim has heard that if she receives the ticket her SSI payments would be in jeopardy – and that she might actually lose them completely. Mrs. Kim lives on those benefits and cannot afford to lose them. Still, she wants to see her daughter.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal income program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income. It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. The total amount of SSI a person can receive varies across the country, because each state adds some funds to the federal baseline of $674. [The monthly maximum Federal amounts for 2010 are: $674 for individuals and $1,011 for an eligible individual with an eligible spouse. (Social Security Online)] Most people collecting SSI benefits receive between $700 and $850 monthly; this is a great help for the needy.
But in some cases, like that of Mrs. Kim, people subsisting on whatever they receive in SSI benefits lead a restrictive life, one full of anxiety. An employee of the Korean-American Senior Center said, "SSI welfare funds give basic needs for Korean elderly people in their sunset years, but often the strict regulations surrounding SSI give them cold feet, forcing them to all but abandon any plans they have to travel."
Even temporary income received from children, like pocket money, traveling money, gifts must be reported, sometimes causing the loss of monetary benefits – in one case, benefits were cut completely following a trip to Korea.
For elderly Koreans who rely on SSI welfare benefits the strict government regulations for SSI are a cause for concern. They want to live freely and enjoy life without restriction, but this is often difficult. For example, if they go to abroad and forget to report this travel to the government before their departure, and SSI discovers it after the fact, they might either lose their benefits or be forced to repay them. All of their expenditures have to go on an annual tax return; should the amount spent exceed government guidelines, future benefits might be endangered. This has caused great anxiety – and sadness – especially among sick elderly Koreans, many of whom want to travel to South Korea for medical treatment. Although there is a program in place for such medically related travel, and the families can provide airfare and cover all expenses, the problem is at this end: SSI regulations make such travel and care very difficult. So for many seniors this is just a dream.
The qualifications for an SSI beneficiary over the age of 65 are: for single or widowed recipients, a monthly income or resources of under $2,000; for couples, under $3,000. Resources include cash, real estate, extra income, savings, etc. Beneficiaries must be careful not to exceed these dollar limits; otherwise, they put their SSI benefits in jeopardy.
Especially in this current time of economic difficulty, the government closely scrutinizes beneficiaries' finances, by examining annual renewal documentation, but also by conducting surprise investigations or audits. This also has many elderly Koreans worried.
The employee at the Korean-American Senior Center said, "Korean-American seniors are nervous and anxious because of the government's recent investigations. People are keeping careful watch on their resource limits, so as not to endanger their benefit flow."
"Many people worry needlessly. Elderly beneficiaries do not necessarily have to worry about losing their benefits, as long as they keep their resources below the respective $2000 or $3000 mark. The government will not remove or demand repayment of benefits from people who receive many gifts from their children, if the recipient can prove the gifts were bought and paid for by family or relatives overseas. This includes airline tickets, medicine, health supplements, clothing, etc. Such overseas-funded items cannot influence SSI benefits; however, beneficiaries must return to the United State within 30 days," explained an SSI spokesperson.
