Trump's Proposed Social Security Rule Could Cut Benefits for Nearly 400,000 Americans

Many people think of Social Security in the context of retirement plans. But Social Security doesn't only pay retirement benefits. The program also provides benefits to people with little income or financial resources through Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Congress created the SSI program in 1972, with the first benefit payments issued in January 1974 to provide financial support to low-income seniors and people with disabilities. As of August 2026, about 7.31 million people were receiving SSI payments, according to the Social Security Administration's latest data.

But now, a new proposal from the Trump administration could significantly reduce monthly benefits for hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans who rely on SSI, and the consequences could be horrendous if the proposed rule becomes law.

What the proposed rule would change

The Trump administration has proposed a rule that would reverse a Biden-era protection for SSI recipients.

Under the proposal, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would no longer count toward the definition of a public assistance household. As a result, many disabled adults and older adults who live with family members could lose a safeguard that currently helps prevent reductions in their SSI benefits.

In 2024, the Social Security Administration (SSA) estimated that the expanded definition of a public assistance household to include SNAP would result in a total increase in federal SSI payments of $15 billion between fiscal years 2024 and 2033. Reducing access to benefits by changing that definition could save the program a lot of money.

Some beneficiaries could see smaller checks

Under the Biden administration's expanded definition of a public assistance household, households qualified even if only one member was eligible for a qualifying public benefit, including SNAP. Trump's proposal seeks to remove SNAP from the list of eligible programs and revert to a stricter policy in which every member of a household must receive public assistance to qualify.

For SSI beneficiaries living with family, this change could have severe consequences. If the new rule goes into effect, any assistance an SSI recipient gets from family, such as shelter or shared meals, could be counted as unearned income. 

That unearned income could reduce SSI payments, even if the family's income is low enough to qualify for food benefits.

Some payments could drop by $300 a month

Right now, the maximum federal SSI benefit stands at $994 per month for an eligible individual. According to estimates tied to the proposal, some beneficiaries could see their monthly checks reduced by roughly one-third. That would lower a maximum monthly payment from $994 to approximately $663 – a decrease of about $331 per month.

For people already living near or below the federal poverty line, losing that amount could make it significantly harder to pay for necessities such as rent, utilities, transportation, medications, and food.

The proposed rule could remove about 277,000 current recipients from SSI and prevent another 109,000 people from qualifying in the future, according to Newsweek. That means around 400,000 Americans could ultimately be affected if the proposal takes effect.

The SSA has argued that the proposal is necessary to maintain consistency within the SSI program and protect its long-term viability.

Why SSI recipients shouldn't panic yet

SSI recipients may be concerned about the proposed changes, but benefits won't change immediately. As of October 2026, the proposal has not become a final rule — or even been published in the Federal Register as a proposed rule.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is still reviewing the proposal. That means a public comment period has not yet begun. If the proposal is published as a formal notice of proposed rulemaking, the public would have an opportunity to weigh in before any final rule could take effect.

For now, current SSI rules remain in place, including the provision that allows SNAP to count toward the public-assistance-household definition.

Bottom line

Critics of looser SSI guidelines say they disincentivize recipients from trying to go out and make extra money. But the reality is that many SSI recipients are limited in their ability to work. In 2024, for example, 84% of people receiving SSI payments qualified for them because of a disability or blindness.

Losing a large chunk of SSI payments could be extremely detrimental to the people who rely on that income. And the new rule could put an additional financial strain on vulnerable Americans who rely on family assistance.

However, the proposal is still only a proposal. If critics and policymakers voice their concerns, Trump's new rule may not go any further. In fact, if there's enough backlash, the proposal could be withdrawn completely. That could spare hundreds of thousands of people from seeing their critical SSI checks reduced.

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