by Pat A. Shreck and Ralph W. Sanders
Featuring Scrooge, portrayed by the Social Security Administration; Bob Cratchit, portrayed by blind and visually impaired people who are eligible to receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI); and Tiny Tim, portrayed by blind and visually impaired people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Why this satire? Because there is little about Social Security which makes one feel merry, as in Christmas. Much about the story was less than happy. Certainly, the character of Tiny Tim had a lifestyle which can be well understood by Americans who are dependent upon SSI, and the Cratchit family as a whole had little more to live on or look forward to.
But Dickens’ main protagonist, Scrooge, did finally see the error of his miserly ways, as does our modern-day Scrooge, the Social Security Administration. So let’s talk up front about our modern-day Scrooge’s gifts for this holiday season.
Tiny Tim doesn’t quite rate a fatted goose or turkey. You do get this one-time-only gift: your SSI benefit payment for January will be paid to you on Dec. 29, 2000. And you do get an increase in monthly benefits. The federal minimum benefit for a single beneficiary goes from $512 per month to $530; for married couples who both receive SSI, the benefit goes up to $796.
Keep in mind that some states provide a state supplement to increase the monthly benefit for both single and married beneficiaries. The supplement amount varies from state to state. We will discuss the state component of SSI a little later.
So in this version of “The Christmas Carol,” life for our modern-day Tiny Tim continues to be pretty tough. And here’s another thing to remember before you rush out to spend your new- found wealth. The cost of basic Medicare coverage will increase from $45.50 per month to $50, beginning with your January payment. This applies to all Medicare beneficiaries, whether you receive SSI, SSDI or retirement benefits.
Now, what about the Cratchit family in general? The gift in this year’s stocking for beneficiaries under SSDI, as well as retirees, is that your January check will include a 3.5 percent cost of living increase.
For SSDI beneficiaries, the earnings limit continues its slow but steady climb upward. During calendar year 2001, the substantial gainful activity level (SGA), the amount our modern-day Bob Cratchit is allowed to earn without losing eligibility for cash benefits is $1,240 per month, or $14,880 per year.
There are lots of ways in which an individual, particularly individuals who are self-employed, can earn much more than the SGA limitation without losing benefits. We will discuss some of those income reduction rules in future issues of “The Braille Forum.”
The two Social Security programs which most impact the lives of blind and visually impaired Americans are the SSDI and SSI benefit programs. What we want to do here is to point out the major differences between SSI and SSDI.
Clearly our modern-day Tiny Tim, represented by those individuals with blindness or vision loss who are dependent upon SSI to survive, has some serious issues to cope with. The SSI program came into existence when the federal government took over the old state cash benefit programs for the blind and severe vision loss community.
Because of its historical roots in state programming, SSI remains part federal and part state. The Social Security Administration sets up the basic eligibility and benefit standards for SSI, and the states have individual authority to impact those federal guidelines. For example, many states provide the Social Security Administration with revenues to increase the monthly benefit payment. A beneficiary may not be aware of what is causing his or her level of benefits to rise, because the state’s monthly payment is included in the one payment from SSA.
Every state could add a supplemental benefit for Tiny Tim, the SSI beneficiary, if we as advocates would educate our state legislative bodies about the difficulty of living on SSI. In our opinion, the Clinton administration failed miserably in welfare reform by not addressing the inequities of the SSI program.
More than the matter of the amount of the monthly benefit, the major difference between SSI and SSDI is about economic empowerment. Our modern-day Tiny Tim, while on SSI, is restricted both by how much he can earn and by his own financial status. There are extreme limits on how much money you can have, either in cash or tangible assets (e.g. a home, a car, or other such things). What is worse is that Social Security not only looks at your income, if you are an SSI beneficiary, but at the income of others who live in the family unit. If you are a dependent, living at home, even over 18 years of age, the (Scroogey) Social Security Administration will consider your parents’ income in determining financial eligibility for benefits. If you are married to a working spouse, they will take into account your spouse’s income.
Today’s Bob Cratchit, receiving SSDI benefits, faces a wholly different set of issues which govern eligibility. SSDI, when it works properly, is really an excellent disability insurance program that provides cash payments to beneficiaries, based on prior earnings and age, with no regard to their financial assets.
We who are blind and visually impaired have worked hard to obtain special provisions for beneficiaries who are legally blind. For example, the amount of money we can earn and remain eligible for benefits is substantially higher than that for beneficiaries with other disabilities. Also, the number of quarters we are required to work can be as few as six, depending on age, and should not have to exceed 20. Individuals with disabilities other than blindness must have paid in for at least 40 quarters.
In our next article, we will address the rules impacting earnings limits for those of you (Tiny Tims who are) SSI beneficiaries in more detail. In the meantime, whether you receive SSI, SSDI or neither, have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.