Antisocial Security : Older couples find that marriage or sharing a residence can lead to a reduction in their monthly benefits.

An election year seems like a good time to re-examine the issue of Social Security. Many experts say it was never intended to provide a person’s sole income during retirement. Nevertheless, for many elderly, it is the only game in town.

And although it is better than nothing, sometimes those most dependent upon a Social Security pension suffer from bureaucratic restrictions.

Consider the situation of 81-year-old Jimmy Consolo, the afghan king of Simi Valley, who was the subject of a recent column.

Consolo and his wife, Ruth, like many senior citizens, are retired, disabled and live on a fixed income. They each receive regular Social Security insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. They are both over 65 and they qualify for the Medicare federal health care program. And because they receive SSI, they are automatically eligible for Medi-Cal. And their rent is federally subsidized through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Consolos filed for divorce in June, 10 days after their first wedding anniversary, because they received a letter stating their combined monthly Social Security income would be reduced $120 as a result of their marriage.

Ruth, who is 69, moved three doors down to another apartment. Now they live 100 feet apart and visit. “But it’s just not the same. I get lonely and frightened at night,” Jimmy Consolo said.

“And I miss hearing him holler what he wants for breakfast,” Ruth Consolo said.

But Jimmy rejected my suggestion of post-divorce cohabitation. “Living together is the same as getting married. I heard they’re gonna pass a law on that too,” he said.

We checked with the Social Security Administration.

“Some people are strictly roommates,” said Manuel Carrillo, staff assistant in the Los Angeles district office. “But if people hold themselves out as a couple, introduce themselves as husband and wife to their circle of friends, use the same bank account, or assume the same name--we consider them a couple.”

Roy Aragon, public affairs specialist for the Social Security Administration in Los Angeles, said Jimmy and Ruth each receive a monthly check at the individual payment rate of $665--or a total of $1,330 per month. By remaining a couple, their SSI benefits will be redistributed between them and reduced. And they would receive one monthly check for $1,210--the maximum “couples rate.”

The rationale is that two people living together have fewer expenses than two people living separately.

“There were no relationship problems at all before,” said Consolo’s son, Vincent Michael Consolo. “They gave comfort and companionship to each other. The divorce was generated by purely economic survival reasons.”

In other words, they panicked. And now the cost of the second household probably exceeds the $120 a month they hoped to retain.

“This is probably a typical situation with old people dealing with paperwork and government entities,” said Consolo’s son. “They get worried, frustrated, and anxious--especially when Social Security is the only thing they have. As a consequence, the decisions they make may be good or bad for them.”

Then there is the emotional toll, which another Ventura County resident knows a lot about.

“What the government does to people is horrible,” said the 73-year-old woman, who declined to be identified. “It puts us in all kinds of horrible situations because older people just don’t want to live together as partners. If they have any real intentions, they want to be husband and wife.”

Sarah is not romantically involved with the man she lives with. But the living arrangement also caused her to lose her SSI benefits. A widow since 1979, Sarah had been taking care of older people in their homes until her last employer entered a nursing home and left Sarah without a job or a place to live.

Then the Home Share Program of Ventura County matched her with an elderly man whose sight was failing. The arrangement is strictly platonic. Each person has a separate bedroom and bath.

“I had a dad who said all I had to do was learn to cook and take care of a house,” Sarah said. Ironically, she now ekes out a living by cooking and driving.

She had to sell her car in 1989 because she couldn’t afford the repairs, insurance and gasoline. In 1990, her SSI was cut because she receives room and board for her services, even though she gets no salary. Now she is entitled to only her Social Security payment of $640, the maximum allowed. But, of that, she gets only $574. “The difference goes to pay for Medicare insurance,” she said. But she still has to pay for supplemental health insurance, prescription medications and visits to the ophthalmologist or dentist.

“My buying power has been reduced drastically--clothing, toothpaste, mouthwash. I have five grandchildren and birthdays come up. So what am I going to do?”

* FYI

For general information about your benefits, call the Social Security national toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213.