Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Receipt and Access to Homeownership for People with Disabilities

People with disabilities disproportionately face barriers to homeownership, many of which are associated with costs. One related, but unexplored barrier to homeownership in the United States (U.S.) is the role of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) policy. SSI is a means-tested federal program in the U.S. that provides monthly income to those who are blind or disabled. Recipients may not own assets totaling more than USD 2000 (or 3000 per married couple). While homes are excluded from this assessment, the strict cap on savings generally means that SSI recipients who do not already own a home when they begin to receive benefits cannot accrue sufficient savings to qualify for a mortgage. Using data from the 2019 American Community Survey, this analysis explores the relative importance of SSI receipt in predicting rate of homeownership by using logistic regression to examine the effect of having a disability and receiving SSI on the odds of homeownership. Marginal effects identify the average predicted probabilities of homeownership to demonstrate the extent to which SSI receipt is related to each category of disability and race differently, suggesting that this policy may be related to a lower rate of homeownership for people with disabilities.