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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Ortiz y Pino

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

3/01/2007

HB

SHORT TITLE Income Benefits for Certain Disabled Persons

SM 47

ANALYST McOlash

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Memorial 47 requests the U.S. Congress to remove the penalty associated with being a

married individual with a disability receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits.

It also requests that copies of the memorial be sent to each member of New Mexico’s

Congressional Delegation.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

NFI

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides benefits to income eligible people who are blind,

disabled or aged. The program guarantees eligible people with a subsistence level of income

which may be supplemented by the state. A person’s benefit level depends upon the individual’s

living arrangement. Eligibility for SSI is important for many people with disabilities since it

automatically entitles them to eligibility for Medicaid.

Under the SSI program, the amount of benefits granted depends upon the marital status of the

individuals seeking assistance. Married couples in which both individuals are disabled and

Senate Memorial 47 – Page

2

applying for benefits receive a lower rate of benefits than unmarried disabled individuals. In

New York, the amount of SSI that an unmarried disabled individual living alone received in

2001 was $617 per month. An unmarried disabled individual living with others received $553

per month. A married disabled couple living alone received $900 per month or $450 each.

Generally, the monthly amounts allocated to a disabled couple are divided equally and paid

separately to the two individuals.

Two individuals are considered to be an eligible couple if both are eligible for benefits, are

married (or the equivalent of married) and have lived in the same household as husband and wife

within the past six months. If an individual is married to (or the equivalent of married to) an

individual who is also receiving disability benefits, then that individual will receive less

assistance. Congress based this rule on the reasoning that two people living together can live

more economically than if they lived alone. However, if this was truly the rationale than married

eligible couples should each receive $553 per month which is the SSI rate for people living with

others instead of only $450 each per month. Yet, individuals who are married receive $153 less

per month than those who are unmarried. This difference in benefit rates between married and

unmarried persons is termed the marriage penalty. Unfortunately, there is no way to get around

this marriage penalty.

Senate Memorial 47 mentioned that differences in treatment of individuals with disabilities also

relates to social expectations that individuals with disabilities could not fully participate as equal

members of their communities and could not develop loving relationships with others.

Individuals with disabilities wish to marry and live as full community members and also hold

religious and moral beliefs that preclude them from living together as husband and wife without

being married.

BM/mt