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ACTION NEEDED: TELL YOUR SENATORS TO LET PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SAVE MONEY AND GET MARRIED WITHOUT PENALTY!

TELL YOUR SENATORS TO LET PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SAVE MONEY AND GET MARRIED WITHOUT PENALTY!

Since 1989, people with disabilities have been unable to save more than $2,000 in assets without losing their Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Furthermore, if they want to get married, their combined asset limit becomes $3,000 instead of $4,000 for two unmarried individuals. These outdated rules are unfair and discriminatory, and they disincentivize savings and the lifetime commitment of marriage.

A new bipartisan bill, the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (S. 4102), has been introduced in the Senate that would raise the asset limits for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for couples. By raising the SSI asset limits, this new bill will enable SSI beneficiaries to save more money for emergencies and their future without jeopardizing their benefits. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act will also eliminate the marriage penalty for SSI recipients since the amount for a married couple is double the amount for an individual instead of a reduced amount. This bill would index these limitations to inflation annually so increases in asset limitations would occur more regularly.

Time is running out in this Congress but we still have a real opportunity to make this important change to the SSI asset limitations. Please call or email your Senators and ask them to cosponsor the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (S. 4102). Please also share your story on how the extremely low current SSI asset limitation and disincentive to get married impacts you and your family.

Thank you for your advocacy efforts!

The NDSC Policy & Advocacy Team

Call your Members of Congress:

Call the Capitol Switchboard at: (202) 224-3121 (voice) or (202) 224-3091(tty) and ask to be connected to your Senators.
You can use this easy tool to find your members of Congress.

Thank you for your advocacy efforts!

The NDSC Policy & Advocacy Team

We encourage you to stay engaged in our advocacy efforts by: (1) Registering for NDSC Action Alerts- click "Quick Sign Up"; (2) Subscribing to the NDSC Policy & Advocacy Newsline; (3) Joining our national grassroots advocacy program, the National Down Syndrome Advocacy Coalition and (4) "liking" NDSC Policy & Advocacy on social media.

Easy Call Script

Hello, this is [Name]. I’m a resident of [Town, State].

I am contacting you to ask you to cosponsor and support the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (S. 4102). Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a vital lifeline for people with disabilities, who want to work, save for the future, and increase their independence. This bill has bipartisan support and would increase the SSI asset limitation from $2,000 to $10,000 per individual. It would also eliminate the SSI asset limitation marriage penalty. Currently, married couples on SSI can only save $3,000; this bill would enable them to save $20,000 together so there would be no penalty for getting married. There are countless stories of people with disabilities across the United States who want to marry their life partner but are unable to do so because of the current SSI asset limitation marriage penalty. We now have a chance to fix these outdated and discriminatory rules by passing the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act. We hope we can count on your support!

Thank you!

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ACTION NEEDED: TELL YOUR SENATORS TO LET PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SAVE MONEY AND GET MARRIED WITHOUT PENALTY!

SSI Savings Elimination Act

Subject: SSI Savings Elimination Act

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