2007 Annual Report of the SSI Program

V. APPENDICES (Cont.)

F. INVOLVEMENT OF SSI RECIPIENTS IN OTHER PROGRAMS

In this appendix we present statistics on participation by SSI recipients in other programs based on data from the Supplemental Security Record (SSR), the main administrative file for the SSI program. Data summarized from the SSR are representative of the overall SSI recipient population since the information is generally based on a 100-percent extract; however, information on previous participation in other programs by SSI recipients is based on a 10-percent extract from the SSR. Data from the SSR are presented below. Since the amount of an individual's income is used to determine both the eligibility for, and the amount of his/her SSI benefit, it is necessary for the SSR to contain information on participation by SSI recipients in certain other programs which may provide countable income to the SSI recipient. A significant number of SSI recipients are Social Security beneficiaries whose total countable income, including OASDI benefits, is less than the Federal benefit rate plus the amount of applicable Federally-administered State supplementary payment. A smaller number of SSI recipients participate in other programs and receive income such as Worker's Compensation benefits or disability cash benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

SSA does not maintain complete information in its administrative files concerning the involvement of SSI recipients in other assistance programs, because under the law payments from such programs are excluded from countable income attributable to the individual. We do, however, have some data with regard to entitlement to benefits under two other programs—Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (which replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)) and State Interim Assistance Reimbursement—at the point that the individual applied for SSI benefits. TANF (and AFDC previously) is a State program funded under Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act. Interim assistance is assistance a State gives to SSI applicants in cash or vendor payments for meeting basic needs while they are awaiting the outcome of the SSI eligibility determination process.

Table V.F1 presents percentages of SSI recipients who (1) concurrently receive payments from certain other selected programs or (2) have previously been enrolled in TANF/AFDC or received Interim Assistance Reimbursement.

1 SSI recipients or the households of SSI recipients may participate in more than one of these programs.

2 Less than 0.05 percent of SSI recipients in this gender/age grouping participate in the program.

Note: Total numbers of recipients do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

There are other potential sources for information on SSI recipients when that information is not available on the SSI administrative files. One source in particular is the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a U.S. Census Bureau sample survey that collects information such as the source and amount of income, program participation and general demographic characteristics for the U.S. civilian noninstitutionalized population. Data from the SIPP were last presented in the 2005 SSI Annual Report. The SIPP is being phased out, and the Census Bureau has started planning for a replacement survey called the Dynamics of Economic Well-Being System (DEWS). SSA staff are participating in the DEWS planning process to ensure that data needed for studying the characteristics and behavior of SSI recipients are collected.