Despite action in 2022 related to marriage equality (with passage of the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act), there continues to be a discriminatory policy that penalizes certain individuals with SMA and other disabilities who want to get married. 

Under current law, individuals with disabilities who qualify for Social Security benefits through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program or as a Disabled Adult Child (through their parents' Social Security eligibility) are penalized when they marry.  The marriage penalties include:

• When two SSI beneficiaries marry, their combined monthly SSI benefit and asset limit are reduced by 25%,
• A SSI beneficiary who marries a non-SSI beneficiary could lose or see cuts to their SSI benefits based on the assets and income of their non-SSI spouse (also known as spousal deeming), and
• DAC beneficiaries will lose their DAC benefits if they marry someone not receiving DAC or other social security benefits.

Since healthcare (Medicaid/Medicare) is often tied to these programs, these individuals also risk losing their access to care and in-home and community supports (i.e., PCAs) that they may need to live independently. 

Tell Congress to stop this discriminatory practice by passing legislation to end the Social Security marriage penalty that exists for people with disabilities. 

ACT NOW!

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