Congress established the dedicated account provision in 1996. Over time, SSA and stakeholders have suggested that the dedicated account policy is complex and publicly available data on dedicated accounts are limited. The policy is costly for SSA to administer, and the agency must distinguish between misuse and misapplication. The allowable uses of dedicated account funds may be inconsistent with the child recipient’s needs and the report noted how COVID-19 exacerbated challenges.
For more than 20 years, Commissioners of Social Security, Congressional leadership, and past President budget requests from both Republican and Democrat administrations have consistently recommended modifying or eliminating dedicated accounts. This statement provides available data on dedicated accounts, past recommendations to modify or eliminate them, and administrative flexibility available to the Commissioner to make changes to dedicated accounts absent legislative action.
The Statement is included in SSA’s 2021 Annual Report on the SSI Program. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 gives Board members the opportunity, individually or jointly, to include their views on the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program in SSA’s annual report to the President and Congress. The Board or one of its members has submitted a statement every year since 1998, except for 2024 due to the lack of a quorum.