U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Bob Casey (D-PA) are urging the Social Security Administration (SSA) to simplify the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) application.
The SSI program provides income support to adults aged 65 or older, blind or disabled adults, and blind or disabled children with limited financial resources. Currently, more than 7.5 million individuals receive monthly SSI payments averaging $677 per month.
The senators have long been advocates for improving customer service at SSA for the over 70 million Social Security and SSI beneficiaries. In April 2021, the Senate Finance Committee, which Wyden chairs, held a hearing on the burdens this application places on potential beneficiaries.
Then in January 2022, Wyden and Casey led a coalition of 15 senators to request an update on SSA’s efforts to implement changes discussed during the April 2021 hearing, including simplifying the SSI application.
“SSI claimants face significant administrative barriers to accessing this critical lifeline. In addition to the program’s stringent income and asset limits, the current SSI application form for evaluating non-medical eligibility criteria is over 20 pages long, and in paper form,” the senators wrote in a letter to SSA Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi.
One of the improvements they would like to see if for the SSI application to be online.
“It is more important than ever that the SSI program is modernized and accessible to all Americans…to expand access for disabled individuals seeking to apply for SSI benefits while lowering administrative costs,” the senators continued.
The senators, all of whom sit on the Senate Finance Committee, asked SSA officials to respond to the letter within 90 days with an update on the agency’s progress to improve the SSI application.