H.R. 7828 — Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2026

This section designates the Act as the "Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2026" and includes a table of contents.

This section revises eligibility criteria for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which provides monthly cash benefits to low-income aged, blind, or disabled individuals (and couples). Specifically, it (1) increases the general income exclusion to $1,892 (from $240), (2) increases the earned income exclusion to $6,149 (from $780) each place it appears, and (3) increases the resource limit to $20,000 for an eligible individual and spouse (from $3,000) and to $10,000 for an eligible individual without a spouse (from $2,000), with such resource limits applying in calendar year 2026. The section also establishes annual inflation adjustments after 2026 to these income exclusions and resource limits based on the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E).

This section revises Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit rates—monthly cash payments to low-income aged, blind, or disabled individuals—for calendar years after 2026 (from rates based on a $1,752 annual amount for individuals without an eligible spouse and $2,628 for those with an eligible spouse, both subject to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) under current law) by (1) tying the rate for individuals without an eligible spouse to the annual federal poverty guideline for a single individual for the prior calendar year, and (2) setting the rate for individuals with an eligible spouse to twice that amount (thus repealing the marriage penalty, under which the couple rate is less than twice the single rate); and (2) excluding SSI benefit rates from COLAs. The amendments apply to calendar years after 2026.

This section excludes support and maintenance furnished in kind (i.e., noncash items such as food or shelter provided by others) from countable income under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. (As background, SSI provides monthly cash benefits to low-income aged, blind, or disabled individuals; under current law, in-kind support and maintenance is generally counted as unearned income at a presumed maximum value of one-third of the federal benefit rate plus $20, or its actual value if lower, thereby reducing SSI benefits.) It makes conforming amendments by (1) eliminating SSI benefit reduction rules related to such in-kind support; (2) removing statutory provisions on its valuation; and (3) limiting the income exclusion for sponsored aliens to support and maintenance furnished in cash by the sponsor during the five years after the alien's entry into the United States. (Thus, SSI recipients receiving in-kind support will generally have higher countable income exclusions and thus higher benefits, while sponsored aliens' exclusion is narrowed to cash only.)

This section excludes from countable resources for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility purposes any qualified retirement plan (as defined in IRC §4974(c), i.e., IRAs, 401(k)s) or eligible deferred compensation plan (as defined in IRC §457(b), i.e., certain plans for state/local government and tax-exempt organization employees). (Thus, SSI applicants and recipients may retain such accounts without them counting toward the program's $2,000 individual or $3,000 couple resource limit.)

This section repeals the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) penalty for disposal of resources for less than fair market value. Instead, it requires the Commissioner of Social Security to notify SSI applicants (and eligible spouses) at application and redetermination of Medicaid ineligibility periods under section 1917(c) for institutionalized individuals who dispose of resources for less than fair market value, obtain relevant information from such individuals, and share it with state Medicaid agencies on request.

This section revises exclusions from countable income and resources for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program—cash payments to low-income aged, blind, or disabled individuals—as follows: (1) in the exclusion under section 1612(b)(19), replaces prior language with a specification that any refund of state income taxes made by reason of a state earned income tax credit (as defined by the Secretary) is excluded from income; and (2) in the exclusion under section 1613(a)(11), (A) adds that any refund of state income taxes made by reason of a state child tax credit (as defined by the Secretary) is excluded from resources, and (B) replaces prior language with a specification that any refund of state income taxes made by reason of a state earned income tax credit (as defined by the Secretary) is excluded from resources.

This section excludes the value of any Indian general welfare benefit (as defined in section 139E of the Internal Revenue Code)—previously includable—from both unearned income (adds new paragraph (27) to 42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)) and resources (adds new paragraph (19) to 42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)) for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility and payment calculations. (Thus, tribal general welfare payments to SSI recipients or their spouses will not reduce SSI benefits or disqualify recipients due to excess income or resources.)

This section eliminates the requirement under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for dedicated accounts holding past-due benefits paid to representative payees of beneficiaries determined to be disabled due to drug addiction or alcoholism (previously required under former section 1631(a)(2)(F) of the Social Security Act). (As background, dedicated accounts restricted such funds to specific uses such as housing, utilities, medical treatment, or addiction rehabilitation to prevent misuse.) It (1) strikes related exclusions from countable income (former section 1612(b)(21)) and resources (former section 1613(a)(12)); (2) makes conforming amendments to redesignate subparagraphs and update cross-references in sections 1631(a)(2) and 1613(a)(17); and (3) excludes amounts transferred from existing dedicated accounts from income or resources for SSI eligibility or any other federal, state, or local program financed with federal funds. (Thus, representative payees may use such past-due benefits more flexibly, subject to general representative payee standards.)

This section modifies the rules for determining marital relationships under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program by revising section 1614(d) of the Social Security Act to require that two individuals determined to be married under Title II (section 216(h)(1)) be considered married for SSI purposes from the later of that determination date or their SSI application date. (SSI provides needs-based cash assistance to low-income aged, blind, or disabled individuals, with spousal status affecting the deeming of income and resources between spouses.) It also makes conforming amendments to Title XVI to replace gender-specific terms with gender-neutral language: (1) in section 1611(e)(3), "a husband and wife" with "two married individuals" and "such husband and wife" with "such married individuals"; (2) in section 1614(b), "the husband or wife of" with "married to" and "husband and wife" with "married"; and (3) in section 1631(b)(1)(A)(i), "husband or wife" with "spouse".

This section extends the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program—cash benefits for low-income aged, blind, or disabled individuals—to Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa by striking prior restrictions in Section 303(b) of the Social Security Amendments of 1972. It makes conforming amendments as follows: (1) revising the definition of "State" in Section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)) to explicitly include those territories for title XVI (SSI); (2) eliminating territorial payment limitations under Section 1108 (42 U.S.C. 1308) by striking subsection (a), relevant section heading language, and specified paragraphs; (3) treating U.S. nationals the same as citizens for SSI eligibility under Section 1614(a)(1)(B) (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a)(1)(B)); and (4) including those territories in the geographic definition of the "United States" for SSI under Section 1614(e) (42 U.S.C. 1382c(e)). The section further authorizes the Commissioner of Social Security to waive or modify any SSI statutory requirement for those territories as needed to adapt the program locally.