Public Benefits

Advocates are warning that a little-noticed proposed rule change could result in hundreds of thousands of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, many of them children, losing benefits.

While crowdfunding through such outlets as GoFundMe or Kickstarter can be a quick and effective way of raising money for a person with specials needs, it could also have a negative impact on the beneficiary’s access to government benefits.

This year's cost-of-living increase for Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance recipients is just 1.6 percent, a sharp drop from last year's 2.8 percent increase. ...

The Department of Health and Human Services will now give states the option to obtain a portion of their federal Medicaid funding via so-called "block grants," although beneficiaries with disabilities should not be directly affected.

The deadline is Tuesday, May 5 for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who did not file tax returns the past two years and who have dependent children under age 17 to request $500 per child COVID-19 relief checks this year.

ABLE accounts are a game-changer for families with special needs, but there has been confusion about how the accounts work. Here are answers to basic questions about what ABLE accounts can and can't accomplish for the special needs family.

With the Student Earned Income Exclusion, students on SSI may be able to earn additional income without jeopardizing their eligibility for benefits. ...

New federal regulations set to take effect April 1, 2020, may make it significantly harder for many with disabilities to obtain food stamps. The new rules do not include any analysis of their potential impacts on people with disabilities.

Student loan officials from seven states and the District of Columbia are calling on the federal government to automatically discharge the student loan debt of people with disabilities who are eligible. ...