Congress must pass the bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act so that children with disabilities and their families can save for emergencies and enter the workforce without losing the life-sustaining benefits they rely on.
About Supplemental Security Income (SSI): Signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides modest monthly income assistance to nearly 8 million people with significant disabilities who have very little in income and assets. An important counterpart to Social Security, SSI is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The maximum monthly SSI benefit for an individual in 2026 is $994.
Nearly 1 million kids with disabilities — ranging from mental and neurodevelopmental conditions, musculoskeletal disorders such as cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, nervous system disorders such as epilepsy, and vision or hearing impairments — rely on SSI to meet their basic needs.
The problem: While modest, the income support that SSI provides is nothing short of life-sustaining for millions of disabled and older people in the United States. But because SSI’s eligibility rules have not been updated in nearly four decades, they now penalize people for saving for emergencies or trying to enter the workforce. One of SSI’s most egregiously outdated rules is its antiquated asset limit, which has remained stuck at $2,000 for individuals and $3,000 for couples since Congress last adjusted them for inflation in 1984. This forces children and their families to choose between saving for emergencies or keeping the benefits they need.
The solution: The bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act would increase the asset limit from $2,000 to $10,000 for an individual, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for a married couple. Increasing the limit empowers people to prepare themselves for a financial emergency and allows them to enter the workforce without worrying they’ll lose their eligibility for SSI by saving too much. Doubling the limit for a married couple relative to that of a single person eliminates a marriage penalty that punishes an SSI beneficiary for getting married.
Cosponsors: The Senate bill was introduced by Sens. Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Cassidy (R-LA) and is cosponsored by Sens. Wyden (D-OR), Collins (R-ME), Hassan (D-PA), Lankford (R-OK), Murray (D-NH), Rounds (R-SD), Whitehouse (D-WA), Murkowski (R-AK), Reed (D-RI) and Scott (R-FL). The House bill is led by Reps. Davis (D-IL) and Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and has 34 cosponsors — 17 Democrats and 17 Republicans.
Endorsed by: U.S. Chamber of Commerce, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Transunion, the Kroger Company, the Food Association, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, the Society for Human Resource Management, AARP, Bipartisan Policy Center, The Arc, National Association of Evangelicals, Faith and Freedom Coalition, Jewish Federations of North America, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, First Focus on Children, American Academy of Pediatrics, Autism Society of America, CEO Commission for Disability Employment, Cure SMA, Coalition on Human Needs, Justice in Aging, Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Down Syndrome Society, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Prosperity Now, Social Security Works, National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR), and nearly 300 other local and national organizations.