Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a need-based program for low-income individuals who have been found disabled, or the elderly, who meet strict income and asset guidelines, but other types of financial support, including housing and food, can reduce an SSI beneficiary’s benefits as well.
Social Security classifies this type of support as “in-kind” support and is required under the agency’s rules to consider in-kind support as income that can lower monthly benefit amounts. Below is a description of in-kind support as identified by Social Security.
In-kind support and maintenance is food, shelter, or both that somebody else provides for you. We count in-kind support and maintenance as income when we figure the amount of your SSI benefits. For example, if someone helps pay for your rent, mortgage, food, or utilities, we reduce the amount of your SSI benefits.
The maximum SSI monthly benefit for 2022 is $841, an extremely modest amount so any type of reduction in benefits can cause extreme financial distress for SSI beneficiaries, but the agency may no longer consider food support as in-kind support, which could be a positive development for SSI beneficiaries who have seen their benefit amounts reduced.
In February 2022 Social Security requested approval from the Office of Information at Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget remove food as a classification of in-kind support for SSI beneficiaries. Unfortunately, no action has yet to be taken on the proposal. Below is copy of the proposal sent in for review.
We propose to change the definition of In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) to no longer consider food expenses as a source of ISM. Instead, ISM would only be derived from shelter expenses (i.e. costs associated with room, rent, mortgage payments, real property taxes, heating fuel, gas, electricity, water, sewerage, and garbage collection services). The present definition of ISM is used across several regulations and this regulatory change would necessitate minor changes to other related regulations.
