Modernizing the social safety net

In the 50 years since the program made its first payment, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has offered critical assistance to older adults as well as children and adults with disabilities. Today, the Social Security Administration sends SSI payments to more than 7 million people in the United States.

Despite SSI’s significance to the nation’s social safety net, advocates argue that it has not received the attention it needs from policymakers and is in desperate need of modernization. Many of its program rules have not been updated in four decades, despite dramatic changes in the country’s attitudes about and policies meant to support full community inclusion of people with disabilities.

Mathematica and the National Academy of Social Insurance convened a panel to discuss: