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Disabled people tried to play by the rules. It cost them their federal benefits

These disabled people tried to play by the rules. It cost them their federal benefits By Joseph Shapiro Saturday, June 8, 2024 • 5:01 AM EDT The thing that got Karen Williams into trouble was that she tried to do the responsible thing and bought a life insurance policy that would pay for her funeral.

Burrell and Williams talked about how their own parents and grandparents purchased burial insurance, putting aside small amounts — sometimes just 50 cents a month — to hand the agent who regularly knocked on the door and initialed their savings book to note the payment. The kindness of family and friends can put someone’s SSI benefits at risk — often in bizarre ways, says Debora Wagner, an attorney who studies overpayments at Cornell University’s K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability. An even more burdensome rule will end in September: the requirement that someone who gets an SSI check needs to report every month if anyone — including a parent or a friend — paid for their food, gave them groceries, invited them home for Thanksgiving dinner, or took them out for a meal to celebrate their birthday.

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