Proposed SSI Cuts: Trump Moves to Roll Back SNAP Protection
Proposed SSI cuts are going largely unnoticed, even as OBBBA’s work requirements and restrictions on immigrant access to food assistance dominate the headlines.
The Trump Administration is advancing a rule that would slash Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for nearly 400,000 of the nation’s poorest people — elderly, blind, and severely disabled individuals who cannot be gainfully employed and who already live on the edge of poverty.
The new GOP megabill, the OBBBA, has received intense attention because it tightens SNAP and Medicaid eligibility. But in its shadow, a more mean-spirited change threatens SSI beneficiaries: rolling back protections that prevent food and shelter from being treated as “income.”
What Is SSI — and Why Do Proposed SSI Cuts Matter?
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is the nation’s last-resort safety net. It provides modest monthly cash benefits to elderly, blind, or severely disabled people who have almost no income or savings and cannot be gainfully employed.
Unlike Social Security retirement or disability insurance, SSI isn’t tied to past work. It exists to keep those who cannot work from falling into homelessness and total destitution. In 2025, the maximum federal SSI benefit is just $967 a month — far below the poverty line, but often the difference between survival and despair.
Any proposed SSI cuts strike directly at the poorest of the poor, leaving people with no other resources to fall back on.
What Is In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) in SSI?
SSI includes a rule called In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM). If a beneficiary receives food or shelter from someone else, SSI counts that support as if it were cash income — leading to SSI cuts of up to one-third of the benefit.
The penalty can be severe: benefits reduced by about $300 a month, simply because a person has a roof overhead or shares meals with family. For someone surviving on less than $1,000, this cut is crushing.
The Biden Administration’s 2024 Update to Prevent SSI Cuts
Recognizing the unfairness of ISM penalties, the Biden Administration updated SSI regulations in 2024. Before then, only households receiving TANF cash assistance were exempt from the ISM penalty. Biden expanded the definition to include SNAP households.
That update meant SSI beneficiaries living in SNAP households would no longer face SSI cuts for food and shelter provided by their families. The rule acknowledged the obvious: if a household is poor enough to qualify for food stamps, it cannot realistically “support” someone else.
Trump’s Proposal: SNAP Households Face SSI Cuts Again
The Trump Administration now proposes to undo that protection. By removing SNAP from the definition of a “public assistance household,” SSI beneficiaries in SNAP households would once again face SSI cuts.
That means if a disabled person lives with parents who qualify for food stamps, SSI will treat their meals and housing as income and reduce their benefits. Nearly 400,000 people — elderly, blind, or disabled individuals who cannot work — would see SSI cuts or lose eligibility entirely.
A Real-Life Example of Proposed SSI Cuts
Take Sarah, a 32-year-old woman with Down Syndrome. She receives $967 a month from SSI, already below the poverty line. She lives with her parents, who both work low-wage jobs at a big-box retailer like Walmart — jobs that pay so little the family still qualifies for SNAP.
Under Biden’s rule: Sarah keeps her full benefit. Because the household receives SNAP, her meals and housing aren’t treated as income.
Under Trump’s proposal: SNAP no longer counts. Sarah’s food and bedroom are once again treated as income, and her SSI is cut by one-third — leaving her with less than $700 a month.
This example shows how the proposed rollback directly translates into SSI cuts for working-poor families already on the edge.
More Red Tape, More Hardship
The rollback doesn’t just slash benefits. It also creates more red tape. Beneficiaries facing SSI cuts would have to report household living arrangements, who pays for food and shelter, and any changes.
The Social Security Administration, already understaffed, would be flooded with paperwork. That means more delays, more errors, and more families trapped in overpayment clawbacks or sudden SSI cuts they can’t absorb.
The Bottom Line on Proposed SSI Cuts
While OBBBA has drawn attention for its work requirements and restrictions on immigrants’ access to food aid, the Trump Administration is quietly advancing another attack on vulnerable households: devastating SSI cuts.
The Biden Administration’s 2024 update was a modest but vital reform that protected SSI beneficiaries in SNAP households. Undoing it punishes elderly and disabled people for sharing food or housing in families already struggling to survive.
These proposed SSI cuts won’t save meaningful money for the federal government — but they will cause lasting harm to nearly 400,000 people. A true safety net should keep people from falling — not punish them for eating at the family table.
This analysis is provided by David Jonathan Taylor, an Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorney in Washington, DC. At Right Size Law PLLC, we focus on protecting clients as they age and ensuring their financial and personal security is not undermined by shortsighted policy changes.
📞 Protect Your Future Against SSI Cuts
If you are worried about how proposed SSI cuts or other policy changes could affect you or a loved one, now is the time to plan.
Contact David Jonathan Taylor, Elder Law and Estate Planning Attorney in DC, at Right Size Law PLLC to discuss strategies for protecting your benefits, your home, and your financial security.