Many people who apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are not aware of the specific non-disability related rules. These are technical rules that limit eligibility for the program to people who are disabled or elderly with limited income and assets. Because Social Security’s rules can be confusing it is a good idea to learn what resources are counted and which resources are not to determine eligibility. Below are program rules for SSI set forth by the Social Security Administration.
WHAT ARE RESOURCES?
Resources are things you own such as:
- cash;
- bank accounts, stocks, U.S. savings bonds;
- land;
- life insurance;
- personal property;
- vehicles;
- anything else you own which could be changed to cash and used for food or shelter; and
- deemed resources.
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 applies 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.
WHY ARE RESOURCES IMPORTANT IN THE SSI PROGRAM?
The value of your resources is one of the factors that determines whether you are eligible for SSI benefits. 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 for what they are worth, 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.
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:
- the home you live in and the land it is on;
- one vehicle, regardless of value, if you or a member of your household use it for transportation;
- household goods and personal effects (e.g., your wedding and engagement rings);
- life insurance policies with a combined face value of $1,500 or less;
- burial spaces for you or your immediate family;
- burial funds for you and your spouse, each valued at $1,500 or less (see the SSI Spotlight on Burial Funds);
- property you or your spouse use in a trade or business, or on your job if you work for someone else (see the SSI Spotlight on Property You Need for Self Support);
- if you are disabled or blind, money or property you have set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) (see the Spotlight on PASS); and
- up to $100,000 of funds in an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account established through a State ABLE program (see the SSI Spotlight on ABLE).
