In a broad move this past week, The Supplemental Security Income Reformation Committee has decided that the time has come to redefine what it means to be in 'financial need.'
(prHWY.com) September 27, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- In a broad move this past week, The Supplemental Security Income Reformation Committee has decided that the time has come to redefine what it means to be in 'financial need.'
It is important that people understand the difference between
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs are before we get too far into this, however, to make sure that point is getting across correctly - SSDI is for disabled people who have worked long enough and paid enough into the Social Security tax pool, while SSI is for disabled people who are in the aforementioned category of having 'financial need.'
"What we've found," said SSIRC chairman Randy Dalton, "is that since the economy has been in slow decline for a while now, is that the measuring stick for who has financial need and who doesn't is changing at a rate that doesn't match with our current system. In case you haven't noticed, food is more expensive, housing is more expensive, everything is more expensive, really, and the amount of money that people are making is going down at the same time."
All this math adds up to the fact that people who weren't necessarily considered 'needy' now definitely are.
"By doing a set of interviews, we've found that people with disability, especially those who have families that depend on them, are struggling to be even at the lowest end of the health and safety spectrum when it comes to finances," said analyst Jerry Collins.
"This segment of the population has slowly slipped through the cracks, as they have had even less opportunities than non-disabled people to figure out some way to get enough income."
The actual value changes that the SSIRC will be moving toward are not currently known, but more studies are in place. The idea will be to combine the statistics from country-wide interviews with cost-of-living diagnosis that are being conducted in major cities everywhere, as well as determining how costs are affected in smaller communities.
"The idea will be to benefit as many people as logically possible," says Dalton. "Government programs are supposed to help the people out, and that is what our committee has set out to do with this redefinition. It doesn't make any sense any other way, so the quicker we get through our work, the sooner we can figure out how to alleviate the stress on people."
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