Support Government Benefits Reform!

Did you know that marriage is not equal under the law in the United States?

This is because most disabled people cannot get married without losing vital benefits like Social Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, as the asset limit is a mere $2,000 for singles and $3,000 for couples. The salary limits vary slightly by state, but they are equivalent to a starting salary. These limits apply whether or not your spouse receives services. Additionally, retirement accounts currently count as assets, which makes it impossible for people with disabilities to save up for retirement. The good news is that there is proposed legislation to fix this! The SSI restoration act and the SSI savings penalty elimination act are two of those pieces of legislation. The SSI restoration act would eliminate the marriage penalty, raise the salary and asset limit to qualify for services, and exempt retirement accounts from being counted as assets. The SSI savings penalty elimination act would also raise the salary and asset limit.Watch the video below and watch Patrice: The Movie on Hulu to learn more and take action by writing your representatives by clicking here
Note : I do not know if the qualification process described in the John Oliver video is accurate because I was a minor when I first applied for Medicaid so my qualification process was different. Additionally, he is most likely describing the qualification process for Social Security Disability ( SSDI) as opposed to Social Security income (SSI) ( the difference between the two is explained below) However, the limitations that individuals must live under when on the services are accurate.

Watch the Wheel With It Podcast episode with Ted Passon and Kyla Harris, the director and producer of Patrice: The Movie below!

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI)

Simply, SSI is for people with disabilities that have not earned the required number of work credits. SSDI is for people who have earned the required number of work credits. You can earn up to four credits per year. The number of credits you need to earn before qualifying for disability varies based on the individual's disability.

What's the advantage of being on SSDI versus SSI?

Simply, SSDI recipients are allowed to write off work-related expenses. For example, if you needed a $4000 software that made your computer at work easier to use then you could write that off as a work related expense and it would not be counted against you as income. Also, all 50 states now have special savings accounts for people with disabilities that are exempt from being counted against you as income or assets. In Virginia it's called Ablenow. Individuals on SSI are only allowed to have up to $100,000 in that account. Individuals on SSDI are allowed to have up to $550,000 in that account.

What happens when an SSI or SSDI recipient gets married?

If a person receiving SSI or SSDI. gets married, they will receive 25% less in benefits than they did as an individual. The theory is that a couple can live on less income together than they would as individuals. The asset limit for a couple is $3,000. With Social Security payments already being so low for many, this reduction would take many people's payments down to zero.

Does the marriage penalty only impact Social Security benefits?

No! Marriage & romantic partnership may mean also losing Medicare or Medicaid, Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) like Medicaid Home & Community Based Services, medical equipment like wheelchairs, and personal care attendants because in most cases, you must be receiving Social Security or food stamps to qualify for benefits like Medicaid.

How much money can you get with SSI or SSDI?

In 2025, the federal maximum monthly stipend for SSI is $967 for an individual and $1,450 for a couple An individual also cannot have over $2,000 and a couple cannot have over $3,000 in assets. These asset limits have not been changed in 35 years. To learn more about how an individual's SSI payment is calculated click here.

To learn more about how an individual's SSDI payment is calculated click here

What if you don't get 'legally' married? Can't you just move in together and act as if you're married?

Unfortunately, no. Social Security has what they call a "holding out" rule. Two individuals who live in the same household are considered married for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) purposes because they appear to be living as a married couple. However, some states do offer a workaround because they have a live-in caregiver option, which means you can put your partner down as a live-in caregiver. However, not all states have this, so the law needs to be changed at the federal level.

How can I support disabled people? What can I do to change this law?

Contact your elected officials and tell them that you support disabled marriage equality and the passage of both the SSI restoration act and the SSI savings penalty elimination act. These are two pieces of legislation in Congress that attempt to fix these issues.

I've heard a lot about Medicaid cuts on the news. Are you concerned?

No! While some other advocates may disagree, I personally think that these cuts will pave the way for long-lasting and common-sense reform, as they are only cutting people who are no longer alive. When President Trump took office for his second term, millions of people were marked alive in the system but were, in fact, deceased. Those payments are what they're cutting. We recognize that hearing of cuts of any kind can be scary for the disability community, as Medicaid and other services are often their lifeline. But we encourage you to hang in there! We are closely watching the Medicaid cuts to make sure that there is no disruption to vital services for people that need them. This is my opinion and not the opinion of people that worked on Patrice: The Movie

What's the progress on these reforms? Are we making any headway?

Yes! With the popularity of Patrice: The Movie, this conversation has become more and more prevalent. In fact, there was recently a congressional hearing on the growth of the welfare state where elected officials and experts finally talked about how in most cases things like asset limits and marriage penalties do more harm than good for the people who actually need the services.

Note that some of these questions and answers were adapted from a post on the Patrice the movie Facebook page. I have verified their accuracy.

Below is the statement released by the Social Security administration less than 24 hours after the release of Patrice The Movie on Hulu (copied directly from their website)

All of us at the Social Security Administration want to recognize Patrice Jetter, Garry Wickham, and everyone involved in Patrice: The Movie, a documentary that focuses on the couple’s concerns about losing their disability benefits if they got married.
Our agency stands ready to assist Congress as it works to address outdated laws and to strengthen programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that serve millions of people with disabilities throughout the country. Enacted 50 years ago, the SSI program provides payments to people with disabilities and older adults who have limited income and resources.
Congress imposes limits on SSI applicants and recipients, including asset limits for individuals and married couples that have not been adjusted since 1989. As applied today, that partial 1989 update can make it difficult for SSI recipients to save money and can cause other hardships, as the movie emphasizes.
The movie also highlights how changes to the asset limit and related marriage rules can only be made by Congress because those have been set by statute. For decades, there has been Congressional interest in updating SSI asset limits. Back in 2003, for example, a committee in Congress wanted to update limits (from $2,000 to $3,000 for individuals and from $3,000 to $4,500 for couples) and index those amounts for inflation, and there have been more recent legislative efforts as well. Again, we stand ready to provide expertise to Congress as it discusses and debates this issue.
While only Congress can make some changes, to the extent possible by law SSA is taking steps to update SSI policies administratively to simplify rules, reduce burdens, and better support people with disabilities. For example, as announced earlier this year, today is the effective date for three SSI enhancements that are estimated to lead to new or increased SSI payments for hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities.
The agency no longer includes food assistance from friends and family in calculating eligibility (in-kind support and maintenance). This could increase monthly SSI payments by about $131 per month for over 90,000 people and allow more people to qualify for SSI benefits.
The agency expands the rental subsidy exception to SSI applicants and recipients nationwide, which was previously applied in only seven states. This could increase monthly SSI payments by about $132 per month for about 41,000 people and allow more people to qualify.
The agency expands the definition of a “public assistance household” by adding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to the types of public assistance listed and by no longer requiring that all household members receive public assistance to be considered a public assistance household. These two changes could result in increased SSI payments to about 277,000 people and allow more people to qualify, while also reducing reporting burdens for individuals living in public assistance households.

Watch the PBS American Experience episode about the The Americans with Disabilities Act called Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act below featuring some of the people who played a key role in the passage of the ADA. (the fight for government benefits reform is briefly mentioned at the end)

{I doubt} that the 1960s approach to welfare has made it easier for our country’s poor children to achieve their dreams. But {we} are deluding ourselves if we fail to acknowledge that it did accomplish something else: it prevented a lot of suffering, and made it possible for people like (my grandmother) and those with disabilities to access food and medicine and things like adaptive equipment and personal care attendants when they were too poor, too old, or too sick to buy it themselves. This ain’t nothing. To me, the fundamental question of our domestic politics over the next generation is how to continue to protect our society’s less fortunate while simultaneously enabling advancement and mobility for everyone. We can easily create a welfare state that accepts the fact of a permanent American underclass, one where family dysfunction, childhood trauma, cultural segregation, and hopelessness coexist with some basic measure of subsistence. Or we can do something considerably more difficult: reject the notion of a permanent American underclass.
- Vice President JD Vance in his book Hillbilly Elegy (bold parts added by me)