Understanding Supplemental Security Income
SSI Spotlight on Resources
2008 Edition

A resourceresource is money as well as things that you own and can turn into cash. Examples of resourcesresources are property, stocks, bonds, and bank accounts.

To get SSI benefits, your countable resourcesresources must not be worth more than $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. We call this the resource limit.

Countable resourcesresources are the things you own that count toward the resource limit. Many things you own do not count.

The following things generally do not count toward the resource limit, no matter how much they are worth:

	the house you live in;
	your car, if it is used for transportation for you or a member of your household;
	life insurance policies you own with a face value of $1,500 or less per person;
	burial plots or spaces for you or your immediate family;
	a burial fund of up to $1,500 each for you and your spouse's burial expenses;
	household goods and personal effects;
	property you or your spouse use in a trade or business, or on your job if you work for someone else; and
	if you are disabled or blind, money or property you have set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self–Support (PASS). See the SSI Spotlight on Plans to Achieve Self–SupportPlans to Achieve Self–Support for more information about PASS.

There are other things you own that may not count as resourcesresources for SSI. Sometimes, you might be able to get monthly benefits even if you own things that put you over the resource limit.

For more information, see the SSI Spotlight on Getting SSI Benefits While You Try to Sell Excess ResourcesGetting SSI Benefits While You Try to Sell Excess Resources.