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Categorical Eligibility & Immigration Status

  • age: sixty-five or over;
  • blind: central vision acuity no better that 20/200 in the better eye with corrective lenses or limited to a visual field of 20 degrees in the better eye;
  • disabled adult : a person age eighteen or older who is not able to engage in “Substantial Gainful Activity”* due to a medically determinable mental or physical impairment, which has lasted or is expected to last at least twelve months or result in death;
  • disabled child : a person under age eighteen who has a medically determinable mental or physical impairment that meets medical criteria or function limits resulting in marked and severe function limits and which has lasted or is expected to last at least twelve months or result in death.

*Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) in general, is earnings of more than $1170 per month in 2017 (net of impairment-related work expenses). The monthly SGA amount for statutorily blind individuals for 2017 is $1950. SGA for the blind does not apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, while SGA for the non-blind disabled applies to Social Security and SSI benefits. Applicants who exceed this amount will be considered to be engaging in SGA and will not be eligible for benefits.

Immigration Status

An SSI applicant or recipient must either be a citizen of the United States or have Qualifying Alien Status.

Note that despite being citizens, residents of Puerto Rico are NOT eligible for SSI (more information on residency and other territories)

Eligibility depends on the immigrant’s status and date of entry into the US (those who entered prior to 8/22/96 would fall under more generious rules).

The three basic groups of immigrants who ARE eligible for SSI:

    • Non-citizens who enter AFTER 8/22/96 must be:
      • a legal permanent resident who has 40 quarters of work/coverage AND has lived 5 years in the US with that status
        • "Borrowing" quarters from a parent or spouse - to reach the 40 quarters requirement, an LPR may count quarters from a parent when the LPR was under 18, or a spouse during their marriage (if the marriage continues, or the spouse is deceased). BUT for a quarter earned after 12/31/96 to count, the parent or spouse must have been earning enough that they would not be eligible for SSI, TAFDC ("TANF" in other states), and/or Medicaid, and/or certified to receive SNAP/food stamps. Learn more: LAPR with 40 Qualifying Quarters of Earnings- POMS
      • OR refugees, asylees and persons granted withholding of deportation within the first 7 years of that status,
      • OR honorably discharged veterans and active duty armed services personnel who are qualified aliens, and their spouses and unmarried dependent children.
    • Non-citizens receiving SSI on 8/22/96 - all non-citizens who were receiving SSI on this date are grandfathered into the SSI program, as long as their status is at least PRUCOL (Permanently Residing Under Color of Law) and they remain otherwise eligible
    • Non-citizens who entered prior to 8/22/96 if they were lawfully residing on 8/22/96 AND are now Qualified Aliens AND are now disabled or blind (regardless of age)

 

More information- see SSI Spotlight and see the easy reference grids

Applicants must have resided in the United States for at least thirty days. A recipient who leaves the US for a full calendar month loses SSI eligibility and is not eligible again until she has remained in the country for thirty consecutive days.

Appeal rights

Financial Eligibility

Income

  • The following are NOT counted as income for the SSI program (not a complete list):
  • 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;
  • the value of food stamps;
  • income tax refunds;
  • home energy assistance;
  • assistance based on need funded by a State or local government;
  • small amounts of income received irregularly or infrequently;
  • interest or dividends earned on countable resources or resources excluded under other Federal laws (effective July 1, 2004);
  • grants, scholarships, fellowships or gifts used for tuition and educational expenses (effective June 1, 2004);
  • food or shelter based on need provided by nonprofit agencies;
  • loans (cash or in–kind) that have to be repaid;
  • money someone else spends to pay recipient’s expenses for items other than food or shelter (e.g., someone else pays recipient’s telephone or medical bills);
  • income set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self–Support (PASS). See Plans to Achieve Self–Support for more information.

WHEN is income counted? Generally in the month of receipt. One exception: Net earnings from self-employment are determined on an annual basis and allocated equally over all 12 months of the tax year.

In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM)
If an SSI recipient is receiving “in-kind support and maintenance” in the form of free or subsidized food (after 9/30/24 - food will no longer be considered; more below) and/or shelter from others, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will treat that support as unearned income and reduce the individual’s benefits by as much as one-third. ISM determinations are made on a monthly basis. Advocacy guide: In-Kind Support and Maintenance in the SSI Program, from Justice In Aging

Rules change as of September 30, 2024- SSA will no longer include FOOD in ISM calculations. Under this final rule, SSA no longer consider food expenses in ISM calculations. Instead, SSA will consider only shelter expenses ( i.e., room, rent, mortgage payments, real property taxes, heating fuel, gas, electricity, water, sewerage, and garbage collection services). Read the final rule: Federal Register: Omitting Food From In-Kind Support and Maintenance Calculations.

Rules change as of September 30, 2024 - Defines a public assistance household as one where at least one other member of the household receives a public assistance benefit (versus the prior definition that requires all members of the household to receive a public assistance benefit). If an SSI applicant or recipientlives in a “public assistance” household SSA does not need to evaluate whether other household members are providing the SSI recipient with in-kind support. This means that SSA will not reduce their SSI benefit due to in-kind support from other household members. This is because it is assumed that everyone in a public assistance household needs their own income to meet their own needs. Previously, public assistance benefits included SSI, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and General Assistance (GA) / General Relief (GR). Also as of September 30, 2024, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is included in the definition of a public assistance benefit. 

Rules change as of September 30, 2024 - If an SSI individual's landlord is their parent or adult child and pays rent equal to or greater than the “Presumed Maximum Value,” SSA will assume that the rent is charged under a "business arrangement" and will not reduce the SSI benefit. Previously, in most states, if an SSI individual is a renting from a parent or adult child, SSA would ask questions to determine if the landlord is charging the SSI individual less rent than what they would charge someone else. As a result, SSA could reduce the SSI benefit by up to the “Presumed Maximum Value,” currently $334.33 in 2024 for an SSI individual (one-third of the SSI federal benefit rate + $20).

 

Deeming

    Deeming is when the income or resources of one person are considered available to the individual applying for or receiving SSI. Deeming applies at application and also at any change in circumstance that would lead to deeming such as when an SSI recipient gets married.

    Deeming applies only to three relationships:

    1. Spouse to Spouse
    2. Parent to Child (under 18)
    3. Immigrant sponsor to immigrant

    The formula for determining the amount of the income and resources available to the individual is different in each relationship and is evaluated regardless of actual availability.

    • Spouse to Spouse deeming- Spousal deeming applies only when one spouse is categorically eligible for SSI (based on age, disability, or blindness) and the other is not. The income and resources of an ineligible spouse living in the same household are deemed to the SSI applicant/recipient.
      • Resources- the same $3,000 limit that applies when both spouses are SSI eligible applies.
      • Income deeming includes a complicated calculation that allows certain income to be excluded and factors-in any children in household who do not receive SSI. More information: see Legal Basics: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Deeming, Justice in Aging, December 2018.
    • Parent to Child (under age 18) deeming. A parent’s income and resources may deem to a child when: the child is under 18 and eligible for SSI and living with a parent who is not eligible for SSI. The income and resources of a parent living in the same household are deemed to the child.
      • The resource limit for a child is the resource limit for an individual: $2,000. Parental resources count
        toward the child’s resource limit if the parent’s resources exceed $2,000 (if the child is living with one parent) or
        $3,000 (if the child is living with two parents).
      • NOTE: special waiver may apply for children who were formerly institutionalized. (POMS SI 01310.201 SI 0130.210)
      • More information below: Children's Eligibility- Parental Deeming.
    • Sponsor to Immigrant deeming. Not all immigrants are sponsored. Deeming applies only to some sponsored immigrants, primarily those whose sponsors signed affidavits of support on or after December 1997. These “new affidavits” provide for sponsor deeming to continue until naturalization, or until the immigrant has 40 quarters of covered employment, whichever comes first. Earlier affidavits of support provided for sponsor deeming for only a three year period.
      • If sponsor-to-immigrant deeming applies, then it applies whether the immigrant is living with the sponsor or not.
      • For those with 'new affidavits' there are exceptions to sponsor-to-immigrant deeming, including for those who have been battered or subject to extreme cruelty in the US (can be exempt for up to 12 months) and for immigrants who would be unable to obtain food and shelter in the absence of the SSI payment (often called the “indigence exception”).
        • Indigence exception- The immigrant must be living apart from the sponsor. The immigrant will be found to be unable to obtain both food and shelter if the immigrant’s total income is less than the federal benefit rate and resources are under the applicable SSI resource limit. The indigence exception is granted for a 12-month period, which can be renewed.
      • When applicable, sponsor-to-immigrant deeming formulas are similar to spouse-to-spouse deeming. See Legal Basics: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Deeming, Justice in Aging, December 2018.


      • Sources and for More Information

Same-Sex married couples- in Massachusetts the income of both members of married same-sex couples living together is counted. More information on our LGBT page.

Advocacy note: an SSI recipient named on a bank account that belongs to someone else should not count as a resource for the SSI recipient. See SSI Benefits and Ownership of Joint Bank Accounts- MGH Community News, July 2018

Children's Eligibility - Parental Deeming

Some (possibly all) of a parent's income is not counted in determining SSI eligibility for children (and their benefit amount). Only the amount "deemed" available to the child is counted.

Income NOT Deemed

Examples (not a complete list):

  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (called TAFDC in MA)
  • Department of Veterans Affairs' pension
  • foster care payments for an ineligible child and
  • income used to make court–ordered support payments.

EARNED Income Deeming (Wages)

More than one half of the parent’s earned income is disregarded (the first $65 plus one-half of whatever earnings remain) and an allowance is made for each parent and each non-disabled minor child (under 21) in the household for their living expenses (the allowance amount changes yearly).  

UNEARNED Income Deeming

Unearned income defined:

Unearned Income includes Social Security benefits, pensions, State disability payments, unemployment benefits, and cash from friends and relatives.

Some common types of unearned income are: 

  • Support and alimony payments; 
  • Rental income;
  • The value of food or shelter that someone gives you, or the amount of money they give you to help pay for them (there are exceptions for certain sources of this aid); 
  • Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits; 
  • Railroad retirement and railroad unemployment benefits; 
  • Annuities, pensions from any government or private source, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance benefits, black lung benefits and Social Security benefits; 
  • Prizes, lottery winnings, settlements and awards, including court-ordered awards; 
  • Proceeds of life insurance policies; 
  • Gifts and contributions; 
  • Inheritances in cash or property and
  • Strike pay and other benefits from unions.

How Unearned Income is Handled

The first $20 of unearned income, as well as any unearned income the child may have, is disregarded and an allowance is made for each parent and each additional non-disabled minor child (under 21) in the household for their living expenses.

NOTE: SSA treats child support payments differently from other sources of unearned income. One-third of child support paid by an absent parent for the benefit of the disabled child is not counted.

Note on Non-Parents & Deeming

  • Grandparents raising grandchildren: their income is not deemed to the child.
  • Step-parents- if married to the parent and in the home their income is deemed. If the child is living only with the stepparent due to the death, divorce or abandonment of the home by the natural parent, the stepparent’s income and resources are no longer deemed to the child. Some funds the step-parent provides towards the child’s care, however, may count as in-kind income and so may reduce the benefit amount. This reduction is capped at one-third of the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR). “In no case can ISM [in-kind support and maintenance] alone cause a child to be ineligible for SSI benefits.” ( http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-10800.pdf )

At Age 18

  • Deeming stops the month after the child turns 18 and the young adult is now evaluated under the adult SSI rules.
  • Note that while the parent’s income and resources will no longer deem to the now adult child, if the parent helps to pay the food or shelter costs for the now adult child, the adult child’s SSI benefit may be reduced due to receipt of in-kind support and maintenance.

 

Assets/Resources

A resource is any of the following owned by you (or your spouse, if any): cash, liquid assets, and real or personal property that can be converted to cash to obtain food and shelter. If you have the right, authority, or power to liquidate the property, it is considered a resource.

The following "resources" are NOT counted (partial list- full list at: §2156)

  • An individual's home, regardless of value. This exclusion applies to a home owned by the individual or the individual's spouse if it is the principal place of residence. A home includes any adjacent land and related buildings on it;

  • Household goods and personal effects regardless of value;

  • One vehicle, regardless of value, if you or a member or your household uses it for transportation, regardless of value

  • Property of a trade or business without limit;

  • Non-business property of a reasonable value that is needed for self-support;

  • Resources of a blind or disabled individual that are needed to carry out an approved plan for achieving self-support (see §2177) or PASS program;

  • Life insurance up to $1,500 in cash surrender value (see §2159)

  • Burial spaces and certain burial funds up to $1,500 as explained in §2160 and §2161;

  • Housing assistance as provided in 20 CFR §416.1238;

  • Refunds of Federal income taxes and advances made by an employer relating to an earned tax credit as provided in 20 CFR §416.1235;

  • Payments received as compensation for expenses incurred or losses suffered as a result of a crime for nine months following the month of receipt;

  • Grants, scholarships, fellowships or gifts provided for tuition, fees or other necessary educational expenses for 9 months after the month of receipt (effective 6/1/04).

  • State annuities for certain veterans (effective 9/1/08).

NOTE: An eligible couple gets the same resource exclusions as an eligible individual. However, the resource limit is higher for an eligible couple.

The following are NOT considered resources:

  • Any property right that has a legal restriction preventing its sale or liquidation;

  • Home energy or support and maintenance assistance (see § 2139);

  • Restricted allotted land owned by an enrolled member of an Indian tribe if the individual cannot sell, transfer, or otherwise dispose of the land without the permission of others;

  • Except for cash reimbursement of medical or social services expenses already paid by the individual, cash received for medical or social services that is not income under § 2130(A) and (B);

    • Note: This exclusion applies only for the calendar month following the month of its receipt. Cash retained until the first moment of the second calendar month following its receipt is a resource at that time.

  • Retroactive in-home supportive services payments to ineligible spouse and parent, but only for the month following receipt.

  • Death benefits an individual will use to pay the deceased's last illness and burial expenses for the first month following the month of receipt. This only applies for one calendar month following receipt; and

  • Certain gifts of domestic travel tickets if excluded from income and not converted to cash.

WHEN are resources counted?

Countable resources are established for each month using their value as of the first moment of the month. We do not consider any change in the value of countable resources, or any conversion of a resource from an excluded to a non-excluded form (or vice versa), until the beginning of the following month.

Exceptions:

Additional assets may be retained under certain programs such as the PASS program (work incentive program) and for children and certain adults disabled before age 26, under the new ABLE Act. Also see Able Act- additional information.

For Those Already Receiving SSI

 

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