(2) Eligibility for the Supplemental Security In-
come program requires the applicant to have very 
few assets that are available for the individual’s use. 
However, certain necessary assets, such as the per-
son’s primary residence, and certain government 
benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, are 
excluded from the asset test. 
(3) The value of a traditional defined benefit 
plan that will eventually provide the former worker 
with periodic payments does not count against the 
asset limit for the Supplemental Security Income 
program, allowing a person who becomes disabled to 
qualify for Supplemental Security Income and Med-
icaid benefits while maintaining the right to receive 
a pension at retirement age. 
(4) Americans are increasingly dependent on 
defined contribution plans such as 401(k) and indi-
vidual retirement accounts to provide for retirement 
security. Assets saved in such plans count against a 
person’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income 
benefits. 
(5) Persons with disabilities are thus discour-
aged from accumulating any retirement savings dur-
ing periods of time when they are able to work, be-
cause if their medical condition deteriorates or they 
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otherwise lose their job, they will have to liquidate 
their retirement accounts and pay penalties in order 
to qualify for Supplemental Security Income and 
Medicaid benefits. 
(6) The current treatment of retirement assets 
discourages savings and work for disabled persons. 
(b) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—The purpose of this 
Act is to encourage retirement savings for all and promote 
work and self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities by 
disregarding up to $75,000 in retirement accounts when 
determining eligibility for benefits under the Supplemental 
Security Income program. 
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF LIMITED VALUE OF RETIREMENT 
PLANS UNDER THE SSI PROGRAM. 
(a) RESOURSE EXCLUSION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1613(a) of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)) is amend-
ed— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (14); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (15) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (15) the 
following: 
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‘‘(16) the value of any plan, contract, or ac-
count, described in section 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 
408, 408A, 457(b), or 501(c)(18) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, established for the benefit of 
the individual, to the extent the aggregate value of 
all such plans, contracts, and accounts so established 
does not exceed $75,000 (in the case of calendar 
years prior to 2009) and the amount determined 
under section 1617(d) for the calendar year (in the 
case of calendar years after 2008).’’. 
(2) ANNUAL COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT.— 
Section 1617 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382f) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(d)(1) The Commissioner of Social Security shall, 
on or before November 1 of 2008 and every calendar year 
thereafter, determine and publish in the Federal Register 
a dollar amount for purposes of section 1613(a)(16) for 
the succeeding calendar year. The amount determined 
under this subsection shall be the amount in effect in the 
calendar year in which the determination is made or, if 
larger, the product of— 
‘‘(A) $75,000, and 
‘‘(B) the ratio of— 
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‘‘(i) the Consumer Price Index for the cal-
endar year before the calendar year in which 
the determination is made to 
‘‘(ii) the Consumer Price Index for 2007, 
with such product, if not a multiple of $100, being round-
ed to the next higher multiple of $100 where such product 
is a multiple of $50 but not of $100 and the nearest mul-
tiple of $100 in any other case. 
‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘Con-
sumer Price Index’ for any year means the arithmetical 
mean of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earn-
ers and Clerical Workers (CPI–W) issued by the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor for the 
12 months in such year.’’. 
(b) INCOME EXCLUSION.—Section 1612(b) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(22); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (23) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(24) the interest or other earnings on the re-
sources of the individual that are excluded by reason 
of section 1613(a)(16).’’. 
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(c) NO REQUIREMENT TO ACCELERATE RETIRE-
MENT PAYMENTS.—Section 1611(e)(2) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1382(e)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(except, in 
the case of a person who has not attained 65 years of 
age, payments from a plan, contract, or account referred 
to in section 1613(a)(16))’’ after ‘‘1612(a)(2)(B)’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to benefits for calendar months 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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