Webinar explores how inaccurate private data leads to loss of SSI benefits

By Linda Williams

Last month, my colleague Nelson Santiago and I developed and presented a new Consumer Action webinar in our series addressing topics of particular utility for the staff of community-based organizations working with low- and moderate-income consumers and underserved communities. This webinar, “How Inaccurate Data Leads to Loss of SSI Benefits: What advocates should know,” alerted participants to a critical flaw in the eligibility verification process that is causing Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants and recipients to be denied benefits.

As a single mother of a disabled child who had his SSI benefits terminated for two years as he went through the appeals process, I know firsthand the pain and financial strain as I struggled to pay his rent to keep him off the street. That’s why I am especially proud to present this vital information in our new webinar. While the Social Security Administration (SSA) appeals process is a slow one, I am confident that other families with a disabled loved one who have had their benefits suspended can find help from trusted community-based organizations well situated to provide help navigating the SSA bureaucracy.

The SSI program, created by Congress in 1972 and administered by the SSA, is a strictly need-based, means-tested program that provides cash payments to disabled children, disabled or blind adults ages 18 to 64, and individuals who are 65 or older without a disability who meet the financial qualifications. The 2021 monthly maximum federal SSI payment is $794 for individuals or $1,191 for a couple, although some states may supplement this amount.

Kate Lang, an attorney on Justice in Aging’s economic security team, joined Sarah Bolling Mancini, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), as the featured speakers at Consumer Action’s webinar, during which they discussed Justice in Aging and NCLC’s joint report “Mismatched and Mistaken: How the Use of an Inaccurate Private Database Results in SSI Recipients Unjustly Losing Benefits.”

In addition to providing the more than 450 attendees with an overview of the SSI program, including the individual income and assets that could limit program eligibility, Lang and Mancini explained that the SSA routinely uses a number of data-matching programs to help them find applicants and recipients who are ineligible for benefits. In 2018, the SSA started using a data set from LexisNexis, called Accurint for Government, to determine whether SSI recipients had unreported real property that could disqualify them. The problem with using this database, the team noted, is that it is filled with inaccuracies. As a result, SSI recipients have had their benefits unjustifiably suspended. Further, the suspension notices sent by the SSA do not give recipients sufficient information to allow them to present a meaningful defense. In some instances, SSI recipients’ benefits were cut off even though they filed a timely appeal.

During the presentation, the speakers offered numerous recommendations for ways the SSA should address the problem. The webinar has been posted to Consumer Action’s YouTube channel, garnering over 400 views since Nov. 3. Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss any of our webinars and videos.