Senate gives initial approval to Sen. Tipping bill to assist those living on supplemental income

AUGUSTA — On Monday, June 12, the Senate gave unanimous initial approval to a bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Tipping, D-Orono. LD 1666, “An Act to Modernize the State Supplement to Supplemental Security Income by Updating the State Supplement and Removing Marriage Disincentives,” would raise the Supplemental Security Income Supplement (SSI) and remove certain disincentives from the program.

“Maine has been behind on SSI for quite some time, and now we have the chance to change that,” said Sen. Tipping. “In 1974 the federal monthly SSI payment was $140 for an individual. In 2023 it’s $914 for an individual, which has not kept up with inflation. This legislation would provide much needed relief to those who rely on SSI. I am glad my colleagues see the importance of this bill and have chosen to stand with those in need.”

Supplemental Security Income is a federal means-tested program that provides cash payments to children with disabilities, adults with disabilities, and people age 65 and up who are U.S. citizens. SSI was created by the federal Social Security Amendments of 1972 and began operation in 1974.

LD 1666 would raise the state SSI supplement to $65 per month for an individual, bringing it back to where it was in 1974 as a proportion of the federal contribution. It also would remove the penalty for marriage for people receiving the state supplement. Currently, when both members of a married couple receive SSI, their payments are not the sum of the two individuals’ payments. Instead of being double a single person’s SSI payment, the SSI payment for the couple is just 1.5 times a single person’s payment. Two unmarried individuals who each receive $922 per month (SSI plus the state supplement), would have a collective household income of $1,844 per month. However, if they chose to marry, the same couple would instead receive only $1,383 per month.

This bill awaits further votes in the Senate and House.