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Understanding Supplemental Security Income
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WHAT ARE RESOURCES?Resources are things you own such as:
WHAT ARE DEEMED RESOURCES?Sometimes we "deem" a portion of the resources of a spouse, parent, parent’s spouse, sponsor of an alien or sponsor’s spouse as belonging to the person who files for SSI. We call this process the deeming of resources. If a child under age 18 lives with one parent, $2,000 of the parent's total countable resources does not count. If the child lives with 2 parents, $3,000 does not count. We count amounts over the parents’ limits as part of the child's $2,000 resource limit.
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WHY ARE RESOURCES IMPORTANT IN THE SSI PROGRAM?The value of your resources is one of the factors that determine whether you are eligible for SSI. However, not all resources count for SSI. If the value of your resources that we count is over the allowable limit at the beginning of the month, you cannot receive SSI for that month. If you decide to sell the excess resources, you may receive SSI beginning the month after you sell the excess resources. You may even be able to receive benefits while you try to sell the excess resources in certain situations.
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WHAT IS THE RESOURCE LIMIT?The limit for countable resources is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. |
WHAT RESOURCES DO NOT COUNT FOR SSI?For SSI, we do not count:
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WHAT ARE INSTALLMENTS?When an individual is eligible for past–due SSI benefits, Social Security must first reimburse the State if you received any monetary Interim Assistance, while you were waiting for your SSI decision. If the remaining past–due benefits are large, we must pay them in installments. The installment payments are made in no more than three payments, at six month intervals. There is an exception that allows the amount of the first and second payment to be increased because of certain debts. There are also two exceptions that would permit payment of all unpaid benefits due an individual to be paid in one lump–sum:
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WHAT OTHER RESOURCES DO NOT COUNT FOR SSI?
EXCEPTION:Cash reimbursement of expenses already paid for by the person is counted under the regular income and resources rules.
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WHAT IF I WANT TO SELL A RESOURCE?If you are trying to sell real property or other resources that put you over the resource limit, you may be able to get SSI benefits while you are trying to sell them. When you sell the resource, you must pay back the SSI benefits you received for the period in which you were trying to sell the property or other resource. We call these "conditional benefits." You must sign a "conditional benefits agreement", and we must accept that agreement before a conditional payment period can begin. You can get the agreement form from your local Social Security office.
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WHAT HAPPENS IF I GIVE AWAY OR SELL A RESOURCE?If you, your spouse, or a co–owner give away a resource or sell it for less than it is worth, you may be ineligible for SSI benefits for up to 36 months. How long you are ineligible for SSI benefits depends on the value of the resource you transferred.
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THIS INFORMATION IS GENERAL. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE. |
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