SSI Eligibility

• Low income and few resources determine SSI eligibility, and recipients must disclose financial condition and living arrangements. You may have resources such as your home and furnishings that do not count in the calculations. Resources that count are bank accounts, stocks, bonds and cash, along with property in addition to your home and extra vehicles. Income comes from four sources. Earned income is what you make at a job; unearned income is interest, Social Security, veterans' benefits and that kind of income that does not require your work. In-kind income comes from exchange or trading work for a place to live, for example. Your living arrangements may affect your deemed income. Deemed income is money that benefits you, but you do not earn it.
  
  

Living Arrangements

• If you live with someone and pay less than your fair share of food or housing costs, Social Security may reduce SSI benefits to reflect the change. If you live where someone else pays the rent or expenses, you must report the assistance for SSI benefits. You may live in a homeless shelter for six months of any nine-month period and collect full SSI benefits. Food and shelter limits are about one-third of your benefits, so you do not lose more than that amount under any of your household living arrangements reporting. Presumed maximum value for SSI calculations is one-third of your federal benefit rate plus $20.
  
  

State Supplements

• Some states supplement SSI benefits, and Social Security administers these state supplements. In those states, Social Security defines living arrangements for SSI benefits provided by state supplements in codes A, B, C and D. Code A encompasses most SSI recipients. Code B includes individuals living in a household with another person who is not a child or spouse, and who does not receive SSI. Deemed income reduces the SSI standard payment by as much as one-third for Code B. Code C is for children living with parents, and there is no benefit reduction if parents' income was included in original computations. Code D covers individuals in a public or private institution with Medicaid paying more than 50 percent of the care. This living arrangement may reduce the SSI federal amount to $30.
  
  

When Changes Apply

• Whether your state supplements your SSI payment or not, you are required to report changes to Social Security within 10 days of the end of the month in which living arrangements change. Failure to report changes timely may result in penalties or loss of benefits. Reported changes affect your SSI benefits check two months forward. If you notify Social Security of changes in June, your September check will reflect the new rate for your SSI. Supplemental Security Income benefits in 2911 are $674 for the federal payment, and some states supplement the payment amount.