Bipartisan bill aims to update rules for federal benefits for elderly, disabled

Published Monday, May 2, 2022 by CNBC

By Lorie Konish

A federal benefits program for blind, disabled and elderly individuals could get a long-overdue update if a proposal in Washington is approved.

Two Ohio senators — Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. Rob Portman — have teamed up to introduce a bill to update the Supplemental Security Income program’s rules for how much money beneficiaries can have set aside. SSI was created by Congress in 1972.

The senators’ bill, called the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, was introduced on Thursday.

SSI provides a maximum monthly benefit of $841 per individual or $1,261 for couples where both individuals are eligible for the program.