34 6% increase to SSI monthly benefits, otherwise known as Supplemental Security Income. I have all the details and what you need to know right here in the topic, so let’s get right into it. Alright, now, this topic is specifically focused on SSI, otherwise known as Supplemental Security Income. Now, I do know that there are a lot of you right here in the community receiving other fixed income benefits like Social Security, retirement, SSDI, Survivors, VA, and RRB. However, I do want to specifically focus on SSI just because the vast majority of SSI beneficiaries are receiving the exact same amount on an ongoing monthly basis, which is the maximum of $841.
However, when it comes down to all of these other benefits like retirement, SSDI, survivors, VA, and RRB, the vast majority of beneficiaries are getting a different amount each and every month. Therefore, the numbers are very different for virtually everybody. So, if you’re one of these other beneficiaries, I do have a lot of other dedicated topics right here on the channel for you, and I will have many more dedicated topics over the coming days and weeks. But in this topic, let’s talk about SSI, Supplemental Security Income, and a 34.6% raise to your monthly benefits. Let’s get right into it.
I am your one and only daily advocate and I’m very much dedicated to you and this community to continue doing all the research and breaking it all down into these short topics so you can stay updated with what is actually going on right now. Especially as it pertains to money. Benefits New bills Piece of legislation Reform checks Programs Stimulus Raises to benefits. And so many other things that continue to pop up right here. Right now. Especially as announced by Congress. The administration The President lawmakers, Or any of these new builds or things that are continuously popping up as it pertains to your monthly benefits. let’s get into it and discuss where is this 34.6% potential raise coming for your monthly benefits? All right, let’s talk about it, because SSI is a very big program.
This program actually sends out monthly benefits to about 8 million beneficiaries every single month. And there are a lot of people that are being added to this on a regular basis. There are a lot of people that are relying on these benefits. And realistically, it’s not enough if you’re an SSI beneficiary, you know exactly what I’m talking about. These benefits at one point may have been something that you could have scraped by on a monthly basis.
It maybe would have covered all of your living expenses, things like that. But in today’s environment, there’s no way. These benefits are way behind the times. They need to change these benefits, and ultimately they need to raise these in a pretty big way, and that’s also what they’re actually talking about. So there are a number of lawmakers out there who want to reform the SSI program, raise benefits, as well as do a bunch of other things to the program that would actually result in a pretty substantial raise to these benefits ongoing, which would actually be a pretty amazing thing for about the 8 million beneficiaries who rely on these benefits for the vast majority of your income.
Now, one more thing about SSI, if you’re somebody receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits, you know that your income is pretty much nothing other than your SSI benefits, because that’s kind of the nature of this program, is you don’t really have the ability to go out and get any other sources of income, because if you do, they pretty much say, sorry, you’re not eligible anymore. You’re able to kind of sustain your own, and you’re not eligible to receive benefits anymore. So kind of one of the unfortunate parts about this program is that it doesn’t really allow you to get any assistance from other people. Maybe just a teeny tiny bit, but something as simple as getting a bag of groceries from a friend or a family member, a neighbor, or something like this, you’re supposed to report that. So, I mean, seriously, that’s how strict this program is.
So anyway, it’s kind of an unfortunate situation, but this is what we have to deal with right now. But luckily, there are some lawmakers out there who want to change this program and actually implement a 34.6% raise to these monthly benefits. That’s massive, right? Just put it this way here in 2022, which by the way, I’m writing this topic in 2022, if you happen to be watching it in 2023 or sometime after this year, then of course the numbers might be different. But in this year, 2022, the cost of living adjustment, again, just as a quick example here was 5.9%.
Just imagine, so it’s basically 6%, right? Just under 6%. Just imagine, multiplying that by six more times, which will bring you up to just about the 34.6% raise. So it will almost be six times more than the cost of living adjustment from this year in 2022. So just to kind of put that into perspective, right, it’s massive.
So anyway, this would be pretty good. It’d be very life-changing for a lot of people that receive SSI monthly benefits. And again, unfortunately, at this point, we have to wait for Congress to act. But there’s increased talk about this, and there are more lawmakers coming out because of the current environment that we’re in right now, saying we’ve got to get something done on this and we got to get something done soon. So anyway, at least somebody out there is working for us and trying to get something done on this.
But here’s what it comes down to. There are many lawmakers that want to reform this program, because back in the inception of this program, back in the early 70s, this program has undergone virtually zero reform. Therefore, it’s living in old times, right? It’s living from the days back in when this program was actually accepted years ago, right? About 50 years ago was when this program was actually brought to the table by President Richard Nixon at the time.
So the deal is here’s what they want to do is they want to raise benefits to 100% of the Federal Poverty line. Here’s what that would result in a 34.6% raise to monthly benefits. That’s what that would actually translate into. So as of right now, the SSI program is paying about 74.6% of the Federal Poverty Line. So that’s where benefits are currently sitting.
The Federal Poverty Line as of right now comes out to $1,132 each and every month. Well, $841 is about 746% of the federal poverty line. In order to bring benefits up to the Federal Poverty Line, they would need to raise them by 34.6% just to bring them up to the Federal Poverty Line, which would also be a raise of $291 each and every month. That’s just to bring things up to the Federal Poverty Line. However, if they drag their feet on this and if they kick this out further into 2023, again, the Federal Poverty Line does adjust each and every year.
And again, that’s probably going to adjust higher by a few hundred dollars next year, once again. So last year in 2021, just to put it into perspective, because I kind of give you an idea where we came from. Last year. In 2021, the Federal Poverty Line was $12880. This year it’s $13,590, a difference of $710.
Well, next year in 2023, it’s likely that the Federal Poverty Line will once again increase by a few hundred dollars. Maybe it’s another $700. Maybe it’s 500, maybe it’s 300. Maybe it’s $1,000. Not really sure what it’s going to be.
But the fact of the matter is we do know that the Federal Poverty Line is going to be raising once again because in general, it does raise each and every year. Now, here’s what’s interesting about it as well. If Congress continues to kick the can down the road on this thing and drag their feet on potentially offering a permanent raise and adjustment to benefits if they happen to do it next year, guess what? It’s just going to translate into an even bigger raise when they finally get this done. So at the end of the day, even though that everybody needs more money right now for SSI beneficiaries, I guess one silver lining, if we’re looking for any kind of silver lining in this whole situation, is if they drag their feet on this and they kick it out until 2023, it just means that the monthly benefits would even be higher.
Because then yet again, once we take that federal poverty line, whatever it happens to be, and we figure it out on a monthly basis, that just means that the benefits would be even higher ongoing on a monthly basis. But again, realistically, it’s not going to translate into much, maybe $40 a month, maybe $50, maybe $80, maybe probably not even $100 realistically, because that would be $1,200 that the federal Poverty line would need to raise. This is probably not going to, right? However, it might rise by 600, 800, 700, 900, maybe something like that in next year, in 2023. So I guess like I said, if we’re looking for a silver lining, that could possibly be it.
But at the end of the day, we also need that raise and lifting the benefits up to the Federal Poverty Line sooner than later. That is what is most important right now. One more cool thing about this and then I’ll let you go on this topic, but I want to point this out as well. Each and every year in the event when these benefits are raised up to the Federal Poverty line, here’s what’s kind of cool about it. Each and every year when they announced the annual cost of living adjustment, guess what?
Your Braise would be even higher each and every year because that number is a percentage. When we run calculations on percentages, the bigger the base number is that we’re calculating from that just means that the raise would also be higher because 5% of 1000 is way more than 5% of 500. Is that going to make sense? Right? Just for an example.
So anyway, kind of hope that makes sense, but a little bit of encouraging information that’s out there now in regards to SSI, Supplemental Security Income, and a potentially massive raise to benefits in the amount of 34.6%, possibly even more if they drag their feet on this. And then again, one more way that benefits would actually be raised even higher as we get those annual costs of living adjustments. So a lot of things here that are potentially looking pretty good and could raise SSI benefits by a substantial margin going forward. So of course, as I do get more information on any of this information or any other programs like Social Security, retirement, SSDI survivors, SSI, VA, RRB, low income, low income, seniors, older adults, people with disabilities, anybody like this. Of course, I’ll continue to break it down and bring it to you right here in these topics. but this is what’s going on right now and of course, we need to wait for these lawmakers to actually do something and they’re actually working on some other things in regards to social security retirement SSDI and SSI benefits so considering SSI is also administered by the social security administration hopefully they’ll throw that one into the mix as well and offer some reform on that one at the same time simultaneously along with some of these other reform programs that are currently out there so anyway as I do get more details, of course, I’ll be right here for you breaking it down letting you know what’s going on and how it’s going to impact your monthly benefits your monthly income and of course the SSI program as a whole so again thanks so much for visiting our site. i’ll catch you again later on the next topic.
