COVID relief payments will no longer affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or the benefit amount, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced. The assistance includes a long list of COVID relief payments, ranging from COVID-19 relief checks to state unemployment assistance.
Previously, the SSA Gave a 12 Month Exclusion Time Limit
Previously, the SSA had said that COVID relief payments would not be counted as income for determining SSI eligibility or monthly benefits, but that they would be excluded from being counted as an asset only for 12 months. After that, if the money was still in an individual’s account and it put them over SSI’s $2,000 asset limit, it could affect their eligibility or benefit payment.
SSA Will Now Restore Benefits Changed Due to COVID Relief Payments
Now the SSA has modified its rules and will be restoring SSI payments to those who had their benefits reduced or were deemed ineligible due to pandemic financial assistance. The agency now considers all types of pandemic-related financial assistance to be “disaster assistance,” meaning that they are excluded from being counted as a resource indefinitely.
The new policy covers a wide range of pandemic-related financial assistance. In addition to the three rounds of federal COVID relief payments since the start of the pandemic, the list includes state stimulus payments, federal and state unemployment assistance and emergency rental assistance payments.
SSA is also working to make SSI applicants and beneficiaries whole. “We are reviewing SSI claims and other SSI records going back to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to restore SSI payments for people whose SSI was affected,” the agency said.
Most SSI Recipients Will See Benefits Restored Without Needing to File a Claim
In most cases, SSI recipients do not need to do anything in order for benefits to be restored. “We will restore your SSI payment and we will mail you a letter explaining the change,” the SSA said. “If we need information from you first, or if we need to take a new SSI claim, we will mail you a letter.”
If You Moved Since Your SSI Stopped, You Will Need to Contact Your Local Office
If your SSI stopped because you received or are still receiving COVID relief financial assistance, and you moved since your SSI stopped, you’ll need to call your local office to report your move and talk with the SSA about your benefits restoration. Click here for the SSA’s office locator.
In investigating bank balances above $2,000 ($3,000 for couples), the SSA officials are being instructed to “accept the individual’s reasonable allegation regarding how much assistance was retained and how the funds were held.” SSA employees should not be requiring further documentation to be submitted in these situations, says the National Center on Law & Elder Rights.