Bill Text: NJ AR83 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges US Congress to enact legislation allowing individuals with disabilities to retain federal disability benefits upon marriage.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee [AR83 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-AR83-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman TENNILLE R. MCCOY
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Quijano and Speight
SYNOPSIS
Urges US Congress to enact legislation allowing individuals with disabilities to retain federal disability benefits upon marriage.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging the United States Congress to enact legislation allowing individuals with disabilities to retain federal disability benefits upon marriage.
Whereas, The Social Security Administration (SSA) manages retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits, provides Social Security numbers, and is responsible for enrolling individuals in Medicare; and
Whereas, The SSA administers two disability related programs known as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI); and
Whereas, SSI is a needs-based program that provides monthly benefits to individuals with limited income and resources, regardless of their work history, who are blind, age 65 or older, or have a qualifying disability; and
Whereas, SSDI provides monthly payments, based on an individual's work history and Social Security taxes paid, to individuals with disabilities that stop or limit their ability to work; and
Whereas, While SSDI and SSI have different work and financial rules in order to qualify, both benefits are intended to provide financial support to individuals who are disabled; and
Whereas, The most recent "Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program", issued by the SSA, revealed that disability benefits were paid to over 8.9 million people; and
Whereas, In New Jersey, approximately 11.2 percent of the population has a disability; and
Whereas, Recently, the SSA 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; and
Whereas, Patrice, who lives in Hamilton Township, and Garry, who lives in Princeton, are one of many couples who have disabilities and cannot live together or get married because, due to current federal statutes, the disability benefits they depend on would be terminated if they were to marry; and
Whereas, Congress imposes limits on SSI applicants and recipients, including asset limits for individuals and married couples that have not been adjusted since 1989; and
Whereas, As applied today, the partial 1989 update can make it difficult for SSI recipients to save money and can cause other hardships, as the movie emphasizes; and
Whereas, The movie also highlights how changes to the asset limit and related marriage rules can only be made by Congress because those have been set by federal statute; and
Whereas, For decades, there has been Congressional interest in updating SSI asset limits. In 2021, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee considered a bill that aimed to raise the asset limit cap from $2,000 to $3,000 for individuals and from $10,000 to $20,000 for couples. The bill also aimed to index the caps to inflation, so that the asset limits would be adjusted annually; and
Whereas, While Congressional action is needed to raise the asset limit cap, to the extent possible by law, the SSA has taken administrative steps to update SSI policies to simplify rules, reduce burdens, and better support people with disabilities; and
Whereas, On September 30, 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; and
Whereas, Along with the public statement, the SSA enacted three SSI enhancements that are estimated to lead to new or increased SSI payments for hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities: no longer including food assistance from family and friends in calculating eligibility; expanding the rental subsidy exception to all SSI applicants and recipients nationwide; and expanding the definition of public assistance housing by adding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program to the types of public assistance used for eligibility and no longer requiring all household members receive public assistance to be considered a public assistance household; and
Whereas, Marriage is a formally recognized union of two individuals as partners in a personal relationship, and the Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed to all citizens; and
Whereas, 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; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The General Assembly respectfully urges the United States Congress to take action to enact legislation concerning SSI and SSDI that would allow individuals with disabilities to retain their federal disability benefits upon marriage.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the New Jersey Congressional delegation.
STATEMENT
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.
