Financial Eligibility Requirements
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What are the financial eligibility requirements?
There are two types of financial eligibility requirements: resources and income.
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Resources are money or property you currently have (cash, bank account, and things you own, such as a car).
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Income is the money you have coming in each month, either earned or unearned.
SSI does not count some types of resources and income. If you have too many countable resources or too much countable income, you will not be eligible for SSI. The benefits you receive from SSI are reduced the more income you have.
What are the resource limits ?
Your countable resources (cash, bank accounts, etc.) cannot be more than $2,000 for an individual, or $3,000 for a couple. If you are a sponsored noncitizen, you may have to count the resources of your sponsor.
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The home you live in (no matter how much it is worth), and the value of a car you own (up to a market value of $4,500) are not counted as resources.
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If you need your car for your job, medical treatment, transportation of a disabled person, or to do daily activities, it is not counted as a resource, regardless of its value.
Check with SSI for a list of other resources that are not counted when determining financial eligibility.
What income is counted?
There are two kinds of income, earned income and unearned income, which are counted in determining your income eligibility for SSI.
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Earned income comes from work, including wages, salary, tips, and income from self-employment.
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Unearned income comes from non-work sources such as Social Security benefits, child support, alimony, Veteran’s Administration benefits (VA), workers compensation, and gifts.
The following income limits apply in 2009 and 2010:
| |
2009 |
2010 |
| Individual whose income is from wages |
$1,433 |
$1,433 |
| Individual whose income is not from wages |
$694 |
$694 |
| Couple whose income is from wages |
$2,107 |
$2,107 |
| Couple whose income is not from wages |
$1,031 |
$1,031 |
SSI does not count some types of income in determining financial eligibility. These include:
- the first $20 of total income received in a month
- the first $65 of earned income and ½ of earned income over $65 received in a month
- the value of food stamps
- most food, clothing, or shelter provided by nonprofit agencies
- home energy assistance
Check with SSI for other types of income that are not counted.
SSI computes your benefit amount by subtracting your countable income from the maximum SSI payment amount for your living situation category. If you are a sponsored noncitizen, you may have to count your sponsor's income as well as your own. The more countable income you have, the lower your SSI benefit will be.
If your countable income is over the SSI maximum payment level for your household situation, you cannot receive SSI. The SSI maximum payment levels are shown in the Benefits section.
Are there special financial eligibility rules for noncitizens?
There are special financial eligibility rules for sponsored noncitizens who apply for SSI.
If you are a sponsored noncitizen:
- and you entered the U.S. on or after December 19, 1997
- and your sponsor signed an affidavit of support as a condition of entry
THEN the income and assets of your sponsor (and spouse, if living with the sponsor) are counted as if they were your own. This is called sponsor deeming.
Your sponsor's income and assets (minus certain deductions) are added to your own income and assets, whether or not your sponsor actually gives you any financial help. Your combined incomes must be within the income limits, and your combined assets must be within the asset limits, for you to be eligible for SSI.
Certain noncitizens are not required to have affidavits of support, or for other reasons are not subject to deeming for SSI. These include:
- Refugees
- Asylees
- Noncitizens with deportation withheld
- Certain battered noncitizens
- Indigent noncitizens who would be without basic shelter or food if they did not get SSI
- Noncitizens with 40 or more qualifying work credits
Sponsored noncitizens who entered the U.S. on or after 12/19/97 with an affidavit of support must continue to use deeming indefinitely for SSI, even if they become blind or disabled. The deeming requirement stops only if:
- you become a citizen
- your sponsor dies
- you are no longer applying for LPR status and you leave the country.
(Note: Sponsored noncitizens who entered the U.S. before 12/19/97 were only required to use deeming for a period of 3 or 5 years, depending on their date of entry.)
Sponsor deeming is complicated and the rules are subject to change. Your Social Security representative will explain the deeming rules that apply to you.
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