SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI), also known as ‘Title XVI,’ is a Disability Assistance program that is needs-based and does not require you to have a work history but instead provides you with the income to cover basic necessities like food, clothing and/or housing, if you are:

    • 65+ years old with or without 1+ disability(s),

    OR

    • Newborn to 64 years old with 1+ qualifying disability(s) but have also not worked for enough years to qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or not having paid Social Security taxes during the years that you did work.

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is primarily a Federally funded program. The maximum SSI Federal payment is adjusted every 1-2 years based on inflation—in 2025, for example, the maximum SSI payment is $967/month for an Individual and $1450/month for a couple, however this amount can be decreased by the value of any other income or assets that an individual or a couple may also have.

    Additionally, all states offer SSI supplements to their Federal SSI recipient residents EXCEPT in Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee and West Virginia.

  • Yes. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will retroactively go to the month after your SSI claim’s most recent filing date or, if applicable, to the month after your Protective Filing Date (PFD), regardless of when you claim your Disability Alleged Onset Date (AOD) occurred and/or when your disability(s) is adjudicated (decided) to have begun by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

  • Yes. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does limit countable resources for its beneficiaries. In 2025, for example, SSI’s total countable resources CANNOT amount to more than $2000 for an individual and $3000 for a couple, which includes all bank accounts, investments and life insurance policies.

  • The following items are NOT counted as ‘assets’ for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) purposes:

    a. Your primary residence (of any value) and its property.

    b. Your household goods, including artwork that hangs in your primary residence.

    c. Your 1 vehicle (of any value) as long as it is used for transportation.

    d. Your personal belongings, including personal jewelry.

    e. Your SNAP (food stamps) benefits.

    f. Your state and Federal Income Tax refunds.

    g. Your impairment-related work expenses, such as the cost for special transportation needs for work.

    h. Your burial plots.

    i. Your burial funds ($1500 maximum are allowed per person).

    j. Your Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) bank account ($100,000 maximum allowed).

    k. Your disaster assistance benefits, including pandemic assistance payments.

    l. Your Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) savings, which is money that is set aside for education or training that will eventually allow you to stop relying on SSI.

    m. Your Individual Development Account (IDA) savings, which is money that is set aside for education costs, purchasing a home and/or starting a business for individuals receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds.

    n. Your Support Payments made to you, for a maximum of 9 months, as long as they are:

    • Earned income tax credit payments, OR

    • Child tax credit payments, OR

    • State or local relocation assistance payments, OR

    • Crime victim’s assistance, OR

    • Grants, scholarships, fellowships or gifts used for tuition and educational expenses.

  • Probably, yes. To determine whether your spouse’s income will affect your Supplemental Security Income (SSI), first, you and your spouse must be legally married AND you must actually live together in order for their income to affect your SSI—if your marriage is not legally recognized and/or your spouse does not live with you, their income will not affect your SSI. Secondly, assuming that your marriage is legally recognized AND you live with your spouse, your SSI and your spouse’s income combined will be subject to a complex computation that will be affected by any minor (Newborn to 17 years old) children living in your home.

  • Yes. You can receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) AND work as long as you earn UNDER Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA), a monthly income amount that is adjusted every 1-2 years based on inflation—in 2025, for example, SGA is $1620/month for non-blind individuals and $2700/month for blind individuals.

    In order to avoid an audit by the Social Security Administration (SSA), it is advisable that you earn $200-300 UNDER the SGA monthly threshold.

  • No. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does not offer any opportunity, including a Trial Work Period (TWP), to earn Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) in income while remaining eligible for SSI.

  • Depending on the income/asset overage amount and/or how long you earned your income/asset overage while you were also receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), your SSI can be temporarily reduced or even terminated by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

    If your SSI is reduced or terminated, you must appeal by submitting SSA FORM 795 within 10 days (plus an additional 5 days for mailing) of the Reduction/Termination Notice date if you would like to continue receiving your full SSI amount during your appeal.

  • Yes. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) offers Medicaid, which is operated through each SSI recipient’s home state.

    a. States where SSI recipients automatically qualify (without having to apply separately) for Medicaid:

    • Alabama

    • Arizona

    • Arkansas

    • California

    • Colorado

    • Delaware

    • Florida

    • Georgia

    • Indiana

    • Iowa

    • Kentucky

    • Louisiana

    • Maine

    • Maryland

    • Massachusetts

    • Michigan

    • Mississippi

    • Montana

    • New Jersey

    • New Mexico

    • New York

    • North Carolina

    • Pennsylvania

    • Rhode Island

    • South Carolina

    • South Dakota

    • Tennessee

    • Texas

    • Vermont

    • Washington

    • Washington, DC

    • West Virginia

    • Wisconsin

    • Wyoming

    b. States where SSI recipients automatically qualify but still need to apply separately for Medicaid:

    • Alaska

    • Idaho

    • Kansas

    • Nebraska

    • Nevada

    • Oregon

    • Utah

    c. States where SSI eligibility does NOT guarantee Medicaid eligibility:

    • Connecticut

    • Hawaii

    • Illinois

    • Minnesota

    • Missouri

    • New Hampshire

    • North Dakota

    • Ohio

    • Oklahoma

    • Virginia

  • If you are incarcerated for LESS than 12 consecutive months, your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will be immediately suspended during your sentence, however your SSI can be reinstated during the month of your release from your incarceration.

    If you are incarcerated for 12+ consecutive months, your SSI will be terminated and you will be required to reapply upon your release.

  • Because Medicaid is a state-sponsored medical insurance program, the status of your Medicaid coverage while you are incarcerated will depend on your state’s Medicaid law.

    The majority of US states will immediately terminate your Medicaid coverage during your incarceration, thereby requiring you to reapply upon your release.

    California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon will suspend, rather than terminate, your Medicaid coverage during your incarceration.

    Texas will suspend or terminate your Medicaid coverage at 30 days of incarceration.

  • If you travel outside of the United States or its territories for 30+ days, your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will be automatically suspended. In order to resume your SSI, you must return to the United States or its territories and reside there for 30+ days continuously before requesting the Social Security Administration (SSA) to resume your SSI.

  • No. Medicaid coverage does not extend outside of the United States and its territories.

  • Non-US Citizens who have lawful entry into the United States or its territories, such as Permanent Residents and/or Asylum grantees, are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The majority of eligible non-US citizens are limited to receiving SSI for a maximum of 7 years.

    Non-US Citizens who have unlawful entry into the United States or its territories are not eligible for SSI.

  • Identical to any US Citizen who receives Medicaid through their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility, any non-US Citizen living in the United States or its territories who receives SSI will also be given Medicaid coverage depending on the Medicaid eligibility law of their US state of residence.