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SSI and Age 18 Redeterminations - 2011
by Lucy Miller & Susan O’Mara
What is the Age-18 Redetermination?
Passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193) in 1996 required that all Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who turn 18 years of age must have their eligibility reviewed as if they were applying for adult SSI for the first time, without consideration of previous disability determinations. This review process is called the “age-18 redetermination” and it is performed because the childhood definition of disability varies greatly from the adult standard in the SSI program - with the adult standard being more stringent. Because of the way in which age-18 redeterminations are conducted, an individual can be determined ineligible for SSI benefits as an adult even though there has been no change in medical condition or ability to function since being found eligible for childhood SSI benefits.
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