Social Security Administration to expand access to benefits under major overhaul

The Social Security Administration is poised to bring in new rules which will make it easier for qualifying Americans to access certain benefits - and increase payments for some. 

The change will apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a means-tested program which provides monthly checks for more than 7 million disabled Americans and seniors over 65.

The new rules will expand the definition of what qualifies as a public-assistance household - the first change since 1980. 

Currently, food assistance may count as unearned income for those receiving SSI, meaning their payments could be slashed or their eligibility affected. 

Those that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, payments, will be included in the definition of public-assistance household under the new rules which are set to go into effect on September 30. 

The new policy will also expand the definition to take in households where not all members receive public assistance, which was previously a requirement. 

A public-assistance household will now be defined as one with both an SSI applicant or beneficiary, as well as at least one other member who receives one or more forms of means-tested public income maintenance payments, CNBC reported. 

'By simplifying our policies and including an additional program geared towards low-income families, such as the SNAP, we are removing significant barriers to accessing SSI,' Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley said in a statement.

'These changes promote greater equity in our programs.'

Currently, the maximum monthly SSI benefit is $943 per individual, and $1,415 for an individual and eligible spouse. 

The definition of a public-assistance household has not been updated in decades, Darcy Milburn, director of Social Security and healthcare policy at non-profit The Arc, told CNBC. 

'I would characterize this as just good policy and commonsense changes to update this definition,' Milburn said. 

With the change, more Americans could qualify for SSI, or current beneficiaries may see higher payments. 

It comes after the Social Security Administration announced earlier this week it is expected to run short on funds by 2035.

An aging population is pushing up the cost of the Social Security program as a smaller share of people are paying into it, and spending is outpacing income.

The latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees found that the program will only be able to pay out full benefits for the next 11 years - which is one year later than previous estimates. 

Social Security is financed mainly through payroll taxes that are taken out of paychecks - which are then used to pay retirement and disability benefits. 

If the trust funds which the Social Security Administration relies on are depleted, it does not mean that payments will suddenly disappear. 

Instead, the Trustees forecast that beneficiaries will face a cut to their monthly checks - losing 17 percent of their current benefits. 

This could be significant for millions of disabled Americans, and those who rely on Social Security as their sole income in retirement. 

However it is a slight improvement on last year's estimates, which forecast that funds could be depleted by 2034 - at which point only 80 percent of scheduled benefits would be able to be covered. 

It comes as experts are also warning about a growing group of financially vulnerable Americans known as 'ALICE's.

An ALICE - or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - is someone who makes enough money at their job to disqualify them from government assistance, but struggles to cover daily expenses.

The term was coined by non-profit United Way in its United for ALICE program. It classifies ALICEs as Americans who make more than the Federal Poverty Level of $15,060 for an individual or $31,200 for a family of four, but are not able to make ends meet. 

Around 29 percent of US households are ALICE, according to latest data from United for ALICE, while 13 percent are below the Federal Poverty Level.

Many ALICEs are workers whose salary is not enough to cover basic needs, meaning they could be forced to sacrifice healthcare in order to be able to cover rent payments, for example.