A new Trump administration plan would cut or end Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for as many as 400,000 low‑income disabled adults and older people who live with family members, according to advocacy groups and federal estimates.
The proposal, now moving through the federal rulemaking process, targets SSI recipients who share a home with relatives, including parents or adult children whose own low incomes qualify them for food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Under a long‑standing policy updated in the Biden era, families that already prove they are poor enough for SNAP are treated as unable to financially support a disabled loved one at home, but the new rule would reverse that approach and assume these relatives are providing support that should reduce SSI checks, according to ProPublica.
Officials plan to count the value of a disabled adult's bedroom and other in‑kind help as income and deduct it from monthly SSI benefits, even when the household is living below the poverty line.
Early Draft of the Trump Plan
Draft estimates suggest the change would cut monthly benefits by up to one‑third for many people, or roughly $300 to $330 less each month for typical recipients, and could eliminate SSI entirely for more than 100,000 people.
Advocates say those most at risk include adults with Down syndrome, severe autism, intellectual disabilities, dementia, and other serious conditions who remain in their parents' homes, as well as older Americans who moved in with adult children after losing work or savings.
Nearly 400,000 SSI beneficiaries currently live with family or friends, and many already struggle to meet basic needs on checks that are capped at $994 a month for individuals in 2026, Fool reported.
Policy analysts warn that the cuts would fall hardest on households that are already deeply poor, with typical multi‑person SNAP families supporting an SSI recipient surviving on about $17,000 a year.
Disability advocates, faith leaders, and some budget experts argue that it is both more humane and cheaper for taxpayers when disabled adults can remain with relatives instead of being forced into institutions, where public costs can reach hundreds of dollars per day.
They say trimming SSI by a few hundred dollars a month might save the government roughly $10 or $11 a day in some cases, while pushing families to the breaking point.
The draft rule is under review at the White House Office of Management and Budget, where officials are weighing edits and timing before it is released for public comment. If finalized after that comment period, the change could take effect as early as next year, though legal challenges and congressional pushback could delay or block it.
Critics describe the plan as part of a broader Trump effort to narrow disability programs, including separate proposals that would restrict how older workers qualify for Social Security disability benefits, as per American Progress.
