SNAP, SSI, and Economic Security of Older Adults

• In Event: Administration of the Safety Net

Abstract

Both the SSI and SNAP programs provide critical assistance in reducing economic insecurity among older nondisabled low-income adults. In this study, we examine how programmatic policy changes affecting SNAP and SNAP-SSI joint receipt of benefits by older nondisabled adults have affected their participation in those programs and, in turn, whether the changes in participation induced by those policies have affected outcomes for home and vehicle ownership, food hardship, and other variables, with particular attention to how the results differ across household asset levels. We find strong effects of several program policies on older nondisabled adult SNAP and SNAP-SSI participation, but the effects of different policies differ markedly by a household's level of liquid assets. The increases in program participation resulting from the policies reduce material hardship for all households and lead higher-asset households to reduce their holdings of illiquid assets.

Authors

• Xi Yang, University of North Texas

• Robert Moffitt, Johns Hopkins University