AARP Hearing Center
Andy Markowitz,
The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are strengthening a long-standing joint effort to help low-income older Americans, people with disabilities and those with impaired vision get federal help to better afford food.
The initiative, announced on Dec. 8, aims to help more people who apply for or receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a monthly cash benefit administered by Social Security, to also enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) run by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).
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An updated memorandum of understanding between the two agencies “will improve efficiency, helping to advance food and nutrition security and reduce the hurdles families face to obtain the government assistance they need,” according to a news release.
“Partnering with USDA to test more efficient ways to apply, share information, and help SSI families apply for SNAP assistance makes it easier for people to obtain the services they need,” acting Social Security Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi says in a statement.
Under the agreement, which dates to 1977 and has been renegotiated every five years, Social Security employees can notify people applying for or getting SSI that they are eligible for SNAP and in some cases help them apply. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, provides monthly food aid to more than 41 million people, or about one in eight U.S. residents.
SSA and USDA officials say the updated pact lays the groundwork for them to test-drive new ways to make it easier for SSI applicants to sign up for SNAP, including broader use of digital forms and telephone “signatures.” Typically, people applying for the food aid must go through a SNAP office in their state.
“Right now, I think, in many cases, they’re working with a paper-based system,” says Stacy Dean, deputy undersecretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services. “We really want to work to expand services to these low-income seniors so that it’s easier for them to apply and to obtain SNAP benefits through an SSA office.”
Social Security will share more data with FNS about how many SSI recipients participate in SNAP and when and why nonparticipants don’t make it through the application process.
Older adults missing out
SSI provides monthly benefits to more than 7.5 million U.S. residents who have disabilities, are vision-impaired or are 65 and older and have very low incomes and limited financial resources. In 2023, the maximum federal SSI payment will be $914 a month for an individual and $1,371 a month for a married couple if both spouses qualify for the program.