A proposed Social Security Administration rule could reduce Supplemental Security Income payments for hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans who live with relatives or caregivers.
The proposal would reverse a 2024 policy that made it easier for some households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to qualify for protections against reductions in benefits due to family support.
The change had not been finalized. However, advocates estimated that nearly 400,000 older adults and people with disabilities could receive smaller payments or lose eligibility if the previous household rules returned.
SSI supports low-income Americans
Supplemental Security Income, commonly known as SSI, provides monthly payments to people who are blind, have qualifying disabilities, or are age 65 or older and have very limited income and financial resources.
SSI differs from Social Security retirement and disability insurance because eligibility is based on financial need rather than a person’s employment record.
The maximum federal SSI payment for an individual was $994 per month in 2026. Actual payments could be lower when recipients had other income or received certain types of help with shelter expenses.
The proposal would reverse a 2024 rule
In September 2024, the SSA expanded its definition of a public assistance household.
Under that policy, a household could qualify when it included an SSI applicant or recipient and at least one other person receiving an approved public income-maintenance benefit. SNAP was also added to the list of qualifying programs.
The change was intended to reduce administrative work and prevent the SSA from treating support provided within an extremely low-income household as income available to the SSI recipient.
The proposed reversal would remove SNAP from the qualifying list and restore the earlier requirement that every household member receive an approved public assistance payment.
Living with family could affect payments
SSI rules allow the SSA to reduce benefits when a recipient receives free or subsidized shelter from another person.
For example, a person who lives in someone else’s home and does not contribute toward household shelter expenses may be treated as receiving in-kind support and maintenance. That support can reduce the person’s federal SSI payment by as much as one-third.
The 2024 public assistance household rule protected more low-income families from that calculation. If the proposed reversal took effect, some recipients living with relatives could again have the value of shelter support considered when their payments were calculated.
SNAP would no longer provide protection
SNAP helps eligible low-income households purchase groceries, but it also serves another purpose under the expanded SSI rule.
Participation in SNAP helped demonstrate that a household had limited resources and was unlikely to have extra income available to support an SSI recipient. This allowed qualifying households to avoid some in-kind support calculations.
The proposed rule would remove SNAP from the list of public income-maintenance programs used for this determination. A household could therefore receive food assistance and still fail to meet the narrower definition of a public assistance household.
Nearly 400,000 people could be affected
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that removing SNAP and restoring the former household definition could reduce benefits for more than 275,000 existing recipients.
An additional 100,000 or more people could lose SSI eligibility entirely, bringing the total number potentially affected to nearly 400,000. Those estimates were based on an earlier SSA analysis of the financial effects of the 2024 expansion.
The final number could change depending on the language of the proposed regulation, any revisions made during review, and how the SSA implemented the policy.
Disabled adults living at home face added risk
The rule could have a particularly large effect on adults with significant disabilities who live with parents, siblings, or other relatives.
Many of these recipients cannot work enough to support themselves and may require help with transportation, meals, medical appointments, or daily activities. Living with family may be the safest and least expensive option available.
Under the narrower household definition, providing a bedroom or covering part of a recipient’s housing costs could be treated as financial support. That could reduce the SSI payment even when the family itself had a low income and received SNAP.
The change could create more paperwork
The proposal could also increase reporting and administrative requirements.
SSA employees may need to collect more information about who lives in a household, which public benefits each person receives, and how rent and utility costs are divided. Recipients may also need to report changes in household size or financial contributions.
SSI recipients are generally required to report changes in living arrangements within 10 days. Changes involving an address, the number of household members, or a person’s contribution toward shelter costs can affect payment calculations.
The SSA previously said the broader 2024 rule reduced administrative burdens and simplified the process for both agency employees and low-income households.
The proposal was not yet final
As of spring 2026, the rescission proposal was still moving through the federal rulemaking process.
The SSA had proposed the reversal in July 2025, and the White House Office of Management and Budget later reviewed the regulatory action. The agency said it wanted to restore the earlier policy to promote program integrity and reduce implementation costs.
A proposed rule normally must be published before the public can submit comments. The agency may then revise, withdraw, or finalize it.
Until that process was completed, existing SSI recipients remained subject to the rules already in effect and did not automatically lose benefits because of the proposal.
TL;DR
- The SSA was considering reversing a 2024 expansion of its public assistance household rules.
- The proposal would remove SNAP from the list of qualifying public assistance programs.
- It would require every household member to receive an approved benefit for the household to qualify.
- Some SSI recipients living with relatives could have shelter support counted against their payments.
- Payments could be reduced by as much as one-third in certain living arrangements.
- Estimates suggested more than 275,000 recipients could face reductions, and over 100,000 could lose eligibility.
- The proposal was still under review and had not taken effect.
