Under the SSI program, each eligible person living in his/her own household and having no other countable income is provided in 2004 a monthly Federal cash payment of $564 ($846 for a couple if both members are eligible). Since 1975, these Federal SSI benefit rates have been increased by applying the same cost-of-living adjustment that has been applied to benefits under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. In addition to setting a Federal benefit standard, the legislation establishing SSI also permitted individual States to supplement the Federal payment with an additional monthly amount. As described in section III, these State supplementation payments can be either voluntary at the option of the individual States or, in certain cases, mandatory under requirements in effect when the SSI program began.
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