Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the “Spousal Deeming” Marriage Penalty

August 22, 2022

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is Social Security Administration (SSA) program for disabled people and older adults who have little to no income and assets. Recipients younger than 65 must be unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” due to disability. About 7.6 million people receive SSI.

SSI recipients receive a monthly cash benefit and Medicaid. Medicaid covers personal attendant care and other disability-related services and devices that private insurance does not cover. Many people with significant disabilities must have Medicaid to live in the community with supports instead of in institutional settings.

SSI recipients can lose their cash benefit and Medicaid if they marry a person with even a modest income or level of assets. This is because SSA counts part of the spouse’s income and assets as belonging to the SSI recipient. For many SSI recipients, this means that they are then considered or “deemed” to have income or assets that are too high for SSI or Medicaid. This counting is called “spousal deeming.”

When an SSI recipient marries a person who is not on SSI, a portion of the non-SSI spouse’s income is counted by the SSA and can cause the SSI spouse’s stipend to go lower. Under 2022 benefit levels, and assuming the SSI spouse has no income, the reductions begin once the non-SSI spouse earns about $925 per month. Here are some examples of what happens under the current rules:

(Notes: The final numbers may be different in some states where there is a state supplement to the federal stipend. And there are additional reductions if the SSI recipient also has income.)

If the SSI spouse’s stipend goes to $0 due to “spousal deeming,” then they no longer qualify for SSI. Losing SSI can mean losing Medicaid unless the SSI spouse can qualify for Medicaid another way.

“Spousal deeming” also applies to assets. If the combined countable assets of the couple exceeds $3,000, then the SSI spouse no longer qualifies for SSI and can lose Medicaid. With such a low asset limit, marrying someone with $3,500 in savings could cost someone their SSI stipend and Medicaid.

Our society has recognized that individuals have a fundamental right to marry a person of their choice. But spousal deeming and other marriage penalties used by SSA mean that people who receive SSI do not have this same freedom. Many SSI recipients cannot survive without their benefits:

• Our country has historically organized its systems for the delivery of medical care and support services to disabled people through Medicaid, which means that many people with significant disabilities cannot live without Medicaid. They simply cannot receive the care or services they need any other way.
• People who receive SSI have shown a disability that prevents them from engaging “substantial gainful activity.” This means that SSI recipients generally cannot earn enough money to make up for the stipends and health benefits they lose if they marry.

Several bills have been introduced which would mitigate spousal deeming. The Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act, H.R. 6405 (Rep. Jimmy Panetta, CA-20), would allow DAC recipients to marry without losing Medicaid through spousal deeming. The Marriage Access for People with Special Abilities Act, H.R. 761 (Rep. John Katko NY-24) would eliminate the “spousal deeming” rules for a subset of recipients of SSI, people with intellectual developmental disabilities.

The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination, S. 4102 (Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH), and the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2021,S. 2065 (Sen. Brown, D-OH), would each increase SSI asset limits. Higher asset limits would make it less likely for “spousal deeming” of assets to cost someone their SSI benefits.

The SSA can itself change the “spousal deeming” rules for SSI recipients without Congress doing anything. The statute says that a portion of the spousal income must be counted, except where the SSA finds that deeming is “inequitable under the circumstances.” Under this rule, the SSA could count less of the income received by the non-SSI spouse by first deducting a living allowance. This is what the SSA does in the context of a parent who does not receive SSI but who lives with a child who receives SSI.

If SSA subtracted a living allowance from the non-SSI spouse’s income before deeming, then less of the non-SSI spouse’s income would be considered in calculating the SSI spouse’s stipend.

The living allowance could be based on the monthly federal benefit rate (in 2022, $841 per month). Under this option, the non-SSI spouse can earn more before the SSA calculations would reduce the SSI spouse’s stipend. Reductions would not begin until the non-SSI spouse earns more than about $1,766 per month. Assuming the SSI spouse has no income, here are some examples of what would happen with an $841 living allowance deduction:

The living allowance could be based on the standard deduction published by the Internal Revenue Service for federal income tax returns (in 2022, $12,950 per year for an individual or $1,079 per month). Under this model, the non-SSI spouse can earn more than about $2,000 per month before their income starts reducing the SSI spouse’s stipend. Some examples with a $1,079 living allowance deduction:

Coming soon: This chart shows how spousal deeming affects SSI benefit levels under the current system and with the two potential living allowances.

Sources:

42 U.S.C. § 1382c(f)

20 C.F.R. § 416.1163

20 C.F.R. § 416.1165

Social Security Administration, SSI Monthly Statistics, May 2022.

Characteristics of Noninstitutionalized DI and SSI Program Participants, 2013 Update.

Richard Balkus and Susan Wilschke, Treatment of Married Couples in the SSI Program, Issue Paper No. 2003-01 (Dec. 2003).

U.S. Department of Labor, Minimum Wage.

Internal Revenue Service, IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2022.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic News Release, Usual Weekly Earnings Summary.