More than 350 blind people could be cut off from a special state fund under legislation being considered by Missouri lawmakers. In testimony to a House budget panel, Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, said the state should impose new financial limits on the state’s Blind Pension Fund program and remove any recipient who has a driver’s license from receiving the benefit.
“We want to make sure it goes to the right people,” Wood said.
The state’s Blind Pension Fund was established in the 1920s as a social safety net for the visually impaired. Last year, monthly payments of about $730 per month were paid out to an average of 2,874 recipients.