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S.S.I. Recipients Forfeit Benefits When Traveling Abroad, J. Michael Dougherty Jr.

University of Baltimore Law Forum

On December 11, 1978, in Califano v. Aznavorian, 99 S.Ct. 471 (1978), the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of §1611(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §1382(f)). Though §1611(f) denies benefits to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients for any month that the recipient spends entirely outside of the United States, the Court concluded that the provision was not an impermissible burden on the right of international travel as guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.