Many Americans with disabilities weren’t aware that the relief of stimulus checks would result in their ineligibility for disability benefits.
Congress has sent out three pandemic relief stimulus checks since the start of the pandemic. These payments are a type of tax credit – not to be considered as part of one’s income. Due to this, the stimulus payments weren’t supposed to be used in eligibility consideration for social security programs, including disability benefits.
According to a report from HuffPost, many people might have lost their eligibility for benefits due to having more money in their bank accounts than what is allowed under eligibility guidelines. Referencing legal aid attorneys, the report says that the SSA (Social Security Administration) suspended disability benefits for some recipients because their stimulus payments pushed the balance in their bank account above the $2,000 limit for individuals ($3,000 for couples).
These limits don’t include home, car and a few other assets. The HuffPost report does state that this might have affected only a small number of the almost 8 million recipients.
The disability benefit program provides $794 a month to eligible people. It is assumed that most disability benefit recipients would have qualified for the full amount of the three stimulus checks (of up to $1,200, $600 and $1,400) sent so far.
As stated in federal law, the tax credits, in any form, should not be considered part of income or “resources,” within a year of their receipt, to determine the eligibility for social programs. Therefore, it is possible that the SSA made a mistake in cancelling the benefits of the recipients.
It is also conceivable that the SSA only cancelled the benefits of recipients who have not spent their first stimulus payment in April, thereby causing their bank account to exceed the limit.
However, the report recers to a case from last year when the SSA suspended the Supplemental Security Income of a Philadelphia resident. This suspension was not on the basis of the one-year rule. As per the report, the SSA will withhold 10% of the monthly benefits of that person until it recovers the extra money sent last year.
Irregardless, the SSA will need to explain why it suspended the benefits for some recipients. The argument arises that such a situation wouldn’t have even occurred if authorities had raised the limit, something that hasn’t been done since 1989.
The SSA is allegedly aware of the issue and is working to address it.
In the meantime, anyone who has lost their eligibility for disability benefits over the last year, and believes it is because of the stimulus checks, should register a complaint with the SSA.
