January 1, Massive Supplemental Security Income Cuts: 100K+ Removed, Unclear Reasons, States Impacted Most

Over 100,000 people have been removed from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in the past year, according to data from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The number of people claiming SSI benefits dropped by 119,395 between May 2023 and May 2024.

SSI benefits are eligible for adults and children with disabilities, or who are blind, with little to no income. Majority of SSI claimants, around 6.1 million of the 7.2 million, fall into this category, while the other 1.1 million are in the 65 and over category.

Interestingly, more disabled or blind recipients were no longer collecting the benefit in 2024, with a total drop of 140,034. The overall number of claimants in the 65 plus category rose from 1,099,669 to 1,120,308 – an increase of 20,639.

The reason behind the decline in the number of disabled or blind SSI recipients is not yet clear. The SSA has been contacted for comment on this issue.

Some states saw a significant drop in SSI claims. California, with the highest number of claimants across all 50 states, had a decrease of 16,573 SSI claims between May 2023 and 2024. Over 17,000 of these were considered blind or disabled.

Texas saw 14,587 fewer SSI claims in May 2024 compared to May 2023. Other population-dense states, such as New York, also experienced a drop in the number of SSI claimants.

In contrast, some states’ SSI claimant numbers remained relatively stable. For example, North Dakota only saw a 17-person decrease in SSI recipients between 2023 and 2024.

Last month, the SSA announced a major change to the way it makes decisions regarding claims for SSI and Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. It will remove a number of obsolete or seldom performed jobs from a list used to determine whether an applicant for disability benefits can perform that job based on their abilities. An SSA spokesperson confirmed that the changes became effective as of June 22, 2024.

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