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Income Requirement for Supplemental Security Income
To qualify for Supplemental Security Income benefits, you need to have a disability that keeps you from working. You also have to be living on little income and resources. Unfortunately, you need to live on next to nothing to qualify for this program. This article discusses the exact income requirements for receiving SSI benefits.
The Coye Law Firm wants to help you get disability benefits from the program you qualify for. Call our offices to discuss your case with a disability lawyer. If you don't meet the requirements for one program, our experienced disability attorneys or staff members can let you know if you qualify for another.
Income Qualifications
The Social Security Administration wants to know about your income if you want SSI assistance.
The term "income" includes:
- Earned income (wages, self-employment earnings, royalties, honoraria, and sheltered workshop payments)
- Unearned income (other Social Security benefits, pensions, State disability payments, unemployment benefits, interest income, cash gifts from friends or relatives)
- In-kind income (food or shelter you get for less than its fair market value or for free)
- Deemed income (income of your spouse or parents whom you live with, or your sponsor if you are a noncitizen)
The following items do not count as income:
- the first $20 of most income received in a month
- the first $65 of earnings and one-half of earnings over $65 received in a month
- income tax refunds
- value of food stamps
- home energy assistance
- need-based assistance funded by a state or local government
- small amounts of income you receive irregularly or infrequently
- interest or dividends earned as countable resources
- resources excluded under Federal laws
- food or shelter based on need and provided by nonprofit agencies
- loans that you have to repay
- money someone else spends to pay your expenses for items other than food or shelter
- disaster assistance
- certain exclusions on Indian trust fund payments paid to Americans Indians who are members of federally recognized tribes
- income set aside under the PASS program
- for students under age 22, earnings up to $1,640 per month up to the maximum $6,600 per year
- the value of work expenses that a blind person incurs in order to work
Once they determine your countable income, the Social Security Administration deducts that amount from the federal standard benefit rate. For 2010, the standard benefit rate is $674.
Consider the following example to estimate your monthly benefit check. A person's gross wages for the month are $400. According to the SSA's calculation rules, the math would look something like this:
$400
-$20 (since the first $20 is not counted)
= $380
$380
-$65 (since the next $65 is not counted)
= $315
$315 / 2 = $157.50 is your countable income
Now, you have to subtract your countable income from the federal benefit rate.
$674
- $157.50
= $516.50 is the amount you will see on your benefits check.
If you have questions about what counts as income and how your benefits are calculated, contact the Social Security Administration online or by calling 1-800-772-1213. A representative can discuss your specific claim.
The Coye Law Firm wants to help disabled people and their families claim all of the disability benefits they are entitled to. This guide can help you estimate your benefits check and it is not intended to be a precise calculator. For help with your denied disability claim and benefits, call our offices and schedule a free consultation.
