The Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

On August 14, 1935 in Austin, Texas, President Franklin D. Roosevelt inked his signature on the Social Security Act. It was originally implemented to resolve problems with unemployment, old age insurance, and public health and welfare. The Great Depression was the catalyst for the creation of the Social Security program, and the basic structure was very similar to Germany’s social insurance programs from the 1880s. Today, social security is mostly used for retired senior citizens starting at the age of 62. At 62, American citizens can begin to collect, but will only receive 35% of their monthly benefit due, rather than the maximum amount of 50% when they reach the full retirement age of 66. (cite) In addition, social security is dispersed to about 14 million disabled people under the age of 62, who can no longer work in the labor force for various reasons. The people who qualify as disabled are just a small percentage of those collecting compared to senior citizens, and are often not mentioned when social security issues are brought up because of their minute effects on social security distribution.

Another program was Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program it was established to provide a minimum income for the disabled, blind and older Americans. This program works to help recipients with vocational skills therefore they can seek work opportunities. This is one of the least criticized programs by the public because the recipients are physically “worthy” of their benefits (J. Marx, 2004).

A. Is Shirley Caretaker disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act in that she meets the requirements of the disabling listing for 12.04 affective disorders in 20 C.F.R. Appendix 1 to Subpart P of Part 404-Listing of impairments? With respect the answer is yes for the reasons stated in the Argument section of this brief.

The Social Security Administration is a great government administration that provides retirement and disability benefits to a large portion of the U.S. population. It was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). He created many new administration during the great depression to combat poverty such as the Works Progress Administration. Unlike the Works Progress Administration, on the Social Security Administration fights poverty through planning for the future rather than the now. The Administration themselves views themselves high as well, on their website they stated that the Social Security Administration is “one of the most successful anti-poverty programs in our nation's history”. The SSA could not have come at a better time than when it did during the great depression. It was crucial to the nation's future as to whether it would fall back down to its knees right as it got back up. The SSA protected us with retirement benefits which allow and help us plan for our retirement safely ensuring that we will have money when we can no longer work. This need for a retirement plan is exemplified by FDR’s speech to the N.Y. state legislature where he states “No greater tragedy exists in modern civilization than the aged, worn-out worker who after a life of ceaseless effort and useful productivity must look forward to his declining years to a poorhouse.” This is arguably the most useful part of the SSA.

Pursuant to Public Law 92-603, states were provided with the option of “supplementing” the federal SSI benefit. If a state choose to supplement the federal SSI benefit provided to claimant and complied with federal requirements then the state’s supplement would not be counted as income reducing the federal SSI benefit. If the state’s program did not comply with federal requirements, the state’s supplement would be counted as income resulting in a possibility of the claimant losing their SSI benefits. Thus resulting in “a greater welfare obligation (or at least, welfare problem) for the recipient's state of residence.”

The recent troubles of the Social Security Administration (SSA) along with the dismal education and employment outcomes of children with disabilities on SSI have propelled policy makers to find creative solutions to save money and slow dependence on SSI. The push for greater independence and self-sufficiency of SSI recipients have always been recognized; however, has never been more critical. In recent years, one of the largest recipients of SSI benefits are teenagers. According to the SSA 2013 Statistical Report, children 18 years and under accounted for 1.3 million SSI recipients and since 2000 has grown by approximately

The topic in regards to the disabled worker is of interest to the author. The commentary is titled “Accommodation for Disabled Workers: Knowledge of Rights a Good Start” at the Rand Corporation blog by author Kathleen Mullen. The article describes how employees quitting their jobs because of healthcare decline and applying for social security benefits. As a number of social security benefits increase it puts US funding at risk. The author knows several disabled workers that are faced with working with a health-related disability. Additionally, they are challenged to take care of their families in spite of their disability. The disabled subgroup often expresses that they feel misunderstood by the world. The disabled person is betwixt and in between.; society expects the

Since our election of President Obama in 2009 through September of 2013, 5.9 million people have been added to the Social Security Disability program (Finger, 2013.) That compared to the less than 2.5 million jobs created during this same period demonstrates a problem (Finger, 2013.) According to the Social Security Administration, Social Security Disability benefits have reached 10.9 million (Finger, 2013.) A record one in fourteen workers is now on the “Social Security Disability payroll” (Finger, 2013.) According to Congressional Research estimates, this program costs the taxpayers $128.9 billion in 2011 and was in a deficit of $25.3 million (Finger, 2013.) Funded by the 1.8% payroll tax and making up nearly 18% of

     Several federal agencies today support and administer the various Social Security programs. The programs associated with Social Security include Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI), Medicare, Unemployment Compensation, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). For people who have worked for a living, OASDI and Medicare provide support during their older years and when they have stopped working. Unemployment Compensation provides temporary financial help during periods between jobs. SSI provides income to people who cannot work for various reasons. The OASDI

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is provided to people aged 65 or older and the disable. During the 1990’s, many of the SSI recipients were people with disabilities. However, after new legislation, many of the disable recipients were dropped, majority being children. Some of those children were mentally handicap, had multiple impairments, personality disorders, arthritis, burns, etc. Eligibility was tighten by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 so that only the most restrictive medical diagnosis were accepted. Illegal and legal immigrants were denied supplemental security income until they became citizens and found work in the United States. Many people were not pleased with the changes and they even

Social Security is a system that is prevailing in several nations for their citizens’ welfare, which was initiated in the US in 1930’s. It is interesting to see how it has transformed in the hands of some of the US presidents. Ever since it was originated, it has been on the ramp getting modified constantly in such a way that it meets the needs of the Americans.

Originally, it only covered people working in the commerce and industry. If said person died, their husbands or wives (usually wives) and children could not collect their benefits. No matter how high or low of benefits were racked up. Over time, this started to change, by 1939, spouses and young children of those who have passed could receive uncollected benefits. 4 In 1940, the financing of social security changed mildly but it made a big difference. There was now a trust fund and a difference in size of the financial reserves so how the social security benefits were disbursed was handled much better. Retired workers could now receive their benefits much faster and the social security tax rate was postponed to 1942. Social security did not see any more big changes until 1950 when coverage was extended to numerous workers in industries that were previously not covered for Social Security Benefits. They continued to extend benefits to different kinds of workers for the next five years; by 1955 90% of workers were available to receive Social Security Benefits. Another big thing that happened in the 1950 was the new benefits that were extended to people with disability. At the beginning of the program, only people 50 years and older were able to collect benefits. Over the course of the 1950's though, the stringent laws were lessened and more people could rece--ive the disability

Welfare programs have evolved over the past few decades; however, some of the programs were not always for the greater of the nation. The United States welfare programs began when Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act IN 1935 (Moffitt 2015). The act consisted of three programs within in it: “Social Security, the Unemployment Insurance (UI) … [and] the Aid to Dependent Children (ADC)” (Moffitt 2015). The programs have certain requirements that have to be met for citizens to qualify for them. Social Security requires work in the last 10 years and earnings of, at minimum, $1,200 per quarter. UI backing is established by either unemployment or employment as well as earnings from the last year. Ironically, the poorer individuals tend to have erratic employment histories and little salaries, and they are seldom able to be qualified for these programs (Moffitt 2015). The applicants eligible for the program have usually kept a job consistently, but the income is what is putting them in the

I understand how everyday cost of food, medicine, and utility bills make it tough to make ends meet, especially for those with a fixed income. Under current law, the COLA is based on the percent change in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, for the third quarter of the previous year to that of the current year. The COLA becomes effective in December and is payable in January of the following year.

The Social Security System is in need of a new reform; our current system was not designed for the age stratification we have at this time. The U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy states, “The original Social Security Act, signed into law on August 14, 1935, grew out of the work of the Committee on Economic Security, a cabinet-level group appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just one year earlier. The Act created several programs that, even today, form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs.” Social Security was modeled to aid the elderly citizens, however during the