Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act

Marriage Equality for Disabled Adults Act

This bill eliminates certain marriage-related criteria for individuals entitled to Social Security child’s benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Specifically, the bill removes the requirement that individuals receiving Social Security child’s benefits be unmarried. Those eligible for Social Security child’s benefits generally include the minor children of eligible or deceased workers and disabled adult children (the disabled adult children of such workers for whom the onset of disability occurred before age 22). Under current law, child beneficiaries generally lose their benefits upon marriage to an individual who is not also eligible for Social Security benefits.

With respect to SSI, the bill removes the requirement that couples who present themselves as married in their community be considered married for purposes of SSI eligibility. The bill also exempts SSI recipients who are disabled adult children, or who marry disabled adult children, from the general requirement that the income or resources of an SSI recipient’s spouse be considered in an eligibility determination.

Further, married disabled adult children and their spouses who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid in a state if they were unmarried must remain eligible for Medicaid regardless of their marriage.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov