ASSEMBLY AGING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 168

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 17, 2025

      The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Resolution No. 168.

      As amended by the committee, this resolution respectfully urges the United States Congress to enact legislation allowing individuals with disabilities to retain federal disability benefits upon marriage. 

      The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two disability related programs known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).  SSI is a need-based program that provides financial assistance to disabled individuals, as well as seniors, with limited income and resources, regardless of their work history.  SSDI provides benefits, based on an individual's work history and Social Security taxes paid, to individuals with disabilities that stop or limit their ability to work.

     The SSA recently recognized Patrice Jetter and Garry Wickham, subjects of “Patrice: The Movie”, a documentary that focuses on the couple’s concerns about losing their disability benefits if they were to get married.  The movie highlights how changes to the asset limit and related marriage rules can only be made by Congress because those have been set by statute. 

     In 2024, the SSA issued a public statement acknowledging that some of the policies enforced by the administration are antiquated and should be updated to reflect the modern day needs of individuals living with disabilities and receiving disability benefits.  Along with the public statement, the SSA enacted three SSI enhancements, highlighted in the resolution, that are estimated to lead to new or increased SSI payments for hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities. 

     In order to implement effective changes to the SSA’s policies concerning SSI and SSDI, Congress should take action to enact legislation concerning these two programs that would allow individuals with disabilities to retain their federal disability benefits upon marriage.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amendments include language in the preamble to specify the enhancements implemented by the SSA estimated to lead to new or increased SSI payments for individuals with disabilities.

      The committee amendments update statistics cited in the resolution relating to the percentage of New Jerseyans with disabilities.

      The committee amendments make various technical corrections involving grammar, syntax, and punctuation.