I think I understand what Perna is saying, but I'm not clear on it, so I'll put it in my own words: What you get from the federal government in SSDI or SSI has nothing to do with where you live. The SSA, which is federal, doesn't care whether you live in NYC or some town in Mississippi. Making the money go far enough is your problem, not theirs, which is why some people (like myself) choose to live in a part of the country where the cost of living is low. I grew up in a rich state, where all my family still are. I might like to go back there, but I have to consider that my SSDI check would get me a lot less bang for the buck there, than it does here in the Southwest.

However, rich states tend to add some money to the supplemental security income that the feds provide for poor elderly/disabled people (who are poor either because they get no SSDI, or because their SSDI is very small.) Also, the feds give more generous housing subsidies to poor people living in expensive parts of the country than in poorer parts. I get a housing subsidy. If I were to move back to the expensive state where I grew up, I would get a larger housing subsidy.