Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2026
A BILL
To amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to update eligibility for the supplemental security income program, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Update in eligibility for the supplemental security income program
Update in general income exclusion— Section 1612(b)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking “$240” and inserting “$1,892 (increased as described in section 1617(d) for each calendar year after 2026)”.
Update in earned income exclusion— Section 1612(b)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)(4)) is amended by striking “$780” each place it appears and inserting “$6,149 (increased as described in section 1617(d) for each calendar year after 2026”.
Update in resource limit for individuals and couples— Section 1611(a)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(a)(3)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “$2,250” and all that follows through the end of the subparagraph and inserting “$20,000 in calendar year 2026, and shall be increased as described in section 1617(d) for each subsequent calendar year.”; and
in subparagraph (B), by striking “$1,500” and all that follows through the end of the subparagraph and inserting “$10,000 in calendar year 2026, and shall be increased as described in section 1617(d) for each subsequent calendar year.”.
in the section heading, by inserting “; inflation adjustment” after “benefits”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(d) In the case of any calendar year after 2026, each of the amounts specified in sections 1611(a)(3), 1612(b)(2)(A), and 1612(b)(4) shall be increased by multiplying each such amount by the quotient (not less than 1) obtained by dividing—
“(1) the average of the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI–E, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor) for the 12-month period ending with September of the preceding calendar year, by
“(2) such average for the 12-month period ending with September 2026.”
Sec. 3 Update in supplemental security income benefit amounts and repeal of marriage penalty
In general— Section 1611(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(b)) is amended to read as follows:
“(b)
“(1) The benefit under this title for an individual who does not have an eligible spouse shall be payable—
“(A) for calendar years 1974 through 2026, at the rate of $1,752 (or, if greater, the amount determined under section 1617), and
“(B) for calendar years after 2026, at the rate equal to the annual poverty guideline for the calendar year preceding such calendar year (as updated annually in the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981) as applicable to a single individual,
“(2) The benefit under this title for an individual who has an eligible spouse shall be payable—
“(A) for calendar years 1974 through 2026, at the rate of $2,628 (or, if greater, the amount determined under section 1617), and
“(B) for calendar years after 2026, at the rate equal to twice the rate described in paragraph (1)(B),”
Conforming changes to cost-of-Living adjustments— Section 1617(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382f(a)(1)) is amended by striking “(a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(A), (b)(1), and (b)(2)” and inserting “(a)(1)(A) and (a)(2)(A)”.
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to calendar years after 2026.
Sec. 4 Support and maintenance furnished in kind not included as income
by inserting “(other than support or maintenance furnished in kind)” after “all other income”; and
in subparagraph (A)—
by striking “or kind”;
by striking clause (i) and redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively; and
in clause (ii) (as so redesignated), by striking “and the provisions of clause (i) shall not be applicable”.
Conforming amendments—
Section 1611(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (6) and redesignating paragraphs (7) through (10) as paragraphs (6) through (9), respectively.
Section 1612(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(a)(2)) is amended—
in subparagraph (F), by inserting “and” at the end;
in subparagraph (G), by striking “; and” and inserting a period;
by moving subparagraph (G) 2 ems to the right; and
by striking subparagraph (H).
Section 1621(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382j(c)) is amended to read as follows:
“(c) In determining the amount of income of an alien during the period of 5 years after such alien’s entry into the United States, support or maintenance furnished in cash to the alien by such alien’s sponsor (to the extent that it reflects income or resources which were taken into account in determining the amount of income and resources to be deemed to the alien under subsection (a) or (b) of this section) shall not be considered to be income of such alien under section 1612(a)(2)(A).”
Sec. 5 Exclusion of retirement accounts from resources
Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (16), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
in paragraph (17), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by inserting after paragraph (17) the following new paragraph:
“(18) any qualified retirement plan or eligible deferred compensation plan (as such terms are defined in sections 4974(c) and 457(b), respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).”
Sec. 6 Repeal of penalty for disposal of resources for less than fair market value
Section 1613(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(c)) is amended to read as follows:
“(c) Notification of medicaid policy restricting eligibility of institutionalized individuals for benefits based on disposal of resources for less than fair market value
“(1) In general—At the time an individual (and the individual’s eligible spouse, if any) applies for benefits under this title, and at the time the eligibility of an individual (and such spouse, if any) for such benefits is redetermined, the Commissioner of Social Security shall—
“(A) inform such individual of the provisions of section 1917(c) providing for a period of ineligibility for benefits under title XIX for individuals who make certain dispositions of resources for less than fair market value, and inform such individual that information obtained pursuant to subparagraph (B) will be made available to the State agency administering a State plan under title XIX (as provided in paragraph (2)); and
“(B) obtain from such individual information which may be used by the State agency in determining whether or not a period of ineligibility for such benefits would be required by reason of section 1917(c).
“(2) Provision of information to state medicaid agencies—The Commissioner of Social Security shall make the information obtained under paragraph (1)(B) available, on request, to any State agency administering a State plan approved under title XIX.”
Sec. 7 Clarifying the treatment of certain state tax credits
Title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a) is amended—
in section 1612(b)(19), by striking “and any payment” and all that follows through “credit)” and inserting “and any refund of State income taxes made to such individual (or such spouse) by reason of a State earned income tax credit (as defined by the Secretary)”; and
in section 1613(a)(11)—
in subparagraph (A), by inserting “, and any refund of State income taxes made to such individual (or such spouse) by reason of a State child tax credit (as defined by the Secretary)” before the semicolon; and
in subparagraph (B), by striking “and any payment” and all that follows through “credit)” and inserting “and any refund of State income taxes made to such individual (or such spouse) by reason of a State earned income tax credit (as defined by the Secretary)”.
Sec. 8 Treatment of tribal general welfare payments
in paragraph (25), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (26), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(27) the value of any Indian general welfare benefit (as defined in section 139E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received by such individual (or such spouse).”
Resource exclusion— Section 1613(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)), as amended by section 5 of this Act, is amended—
in paragraph (17), by striking “and” at the end;
in paragraph (18), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(19) the value of any Indian general welfare benefit (as defined in section 139E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) received by such individual (or such spouse).”
Sec. 9 Elimination of dedicated accounts for certain past-due benefits
In general— Section 1631(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph (F).
Conforming amendments—
Relating to payments and procedures— Section 1631(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)), as amended by subsection (a), is amended—
by redesignating subparagraphs (G), (H), and (I) as subparagraphs (F), (G), and (H), respectively;
in subparagraph (B)(vii)(I), by striking “subparagraph (I)” and inserting “subparagraph (H)”;
in subparagraph (D)—
in clause (i), by striking “subparagraphs (E) and (F)” and inserting “subparagraph (E)”; and
in clause (ii), by striking “subparagraph (I)” and inserting “subparagraph (H)”;
in subparagraph (E), by striking “subparagraph (H)(ii)” and inserting “subparagraph (G)(ii)”; and
in subparagraph (G)(i)(II), as redesignated by subparagraph (A), by striking “subparagraph (I)” and inserting “subparagraph (H)”.
Exclusions from income—
In general— Section 1612(b) of the Social Security Act is amended—
by striking paragraph (21); and
by redesignating paragraphs (22) through (26) as paragraphs (21) through (25), respectively.
Conforming amendment— Section 1613(a)(17) of such Act is amended by striking “section 1612(b)(26)” and inserting “section 1612(b)(25)”.
Exclusions from resources— Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act, as amended by section 5, is amended—
by striking paragraph (12); and
by redesignating paragraphs (13) through (18) as paragraphs (12) through (17), respectively.
Treatment of amounts transferred from dedicated accounts— Amounts transferred from an account established on behalf of an individual as described in section 1631(a)(2)(F) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)(2)(F)) (as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act) into another account of the individual as a result of the amendments made by this section shall not be taken into account as income or resources of such individual for purposes of determining the eligibility of such individual or any other individual for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of such benefits or assistance, under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), under any other Federal program, or under any State or local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
Sec. 10 Elimination of installment payment requirement
Section 1631(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1383(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (10).
Sec. 11 Extension of period of exclusion of certain payments from countable resources
Section 1613(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)(7)) is amended by striking “9 months” and inserting “21 months”.
Sec. 12 Modification of rules to determine marital relationships
In general— Section 1614(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(d)) is amended by striking “except that” and all that follows through the end of the subsection and inserting “except that if two individuals have been determined to be married under section 216(h)(1) for purposes of title II they shall be considered (from and after the date of such determination or the date of their application for benefits under this title, whichever is later) to be married for purposes of this title.”.
in section 1611(e)(3)—
by striking “a husband and wife” each place it appears and inserting “two married individuals”; and
by striking “such husband and wife” and inserting “such married individuals”;
in section 1614(b)—
in the first sentence, by striking “the husband or wife of” and inserting “married to”; and
in the second sentence, by striking “husband and wife” and inserting “married”; and
in section 1631(b)(1)(A)(i), by striking “husband or wife” and inserting “spouse”.
Sec. 13 Extension of the supplemental security income program to Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa
In general— Section 303 of the Social Security Amendments of 1972 (86 Stat. 1484) is amended by striking subsection (b).
Conforming amendments—
Definition of state— Section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)) is amended by striking the 5th sentence and inserting the following: “Such term when used in title XVI includes Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.”.
Elimination of limit on total payments to the territories— Section 1108 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1308) is amended—
in the section heading, by striking “; limitation on total payments”;
by striking subsection (a); and
in subsection (c), by striking paragraphs (2) and (4) and redesignating paragraphs (3) and (5) as paragraphs (2) and (4), respectively.
United States nationals treated the same as citizens— Section 1614(a)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(1)(B)) is amended—
in clause (i)(I), by inserting “or national,” after “citizen”;
in clause (i)(II), by adding “; or” at the end; and
in clause (ii), by inserting “or national” after “citizen”.
Territories included in geographic meaning of the United States— Section 1614(e) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(e)) is amended by striking “and the District of Columbia” and inserting “, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa”.
Waiver authority— The Commissioner of Social Security may waive or modify any statutory requirement relating to the provision of benefits under the Supplemental Security Income Program under title XVI of the Social Security Act in Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa, to the extent that the Commissioner deems it necessary in order to adapt the program to the needs of the territory involved.
Sec. 14 Effective date
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st calendar month that begins after the 1-year period that begins with the date of the enactment of this Act.