The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two different disability programs. One of those is the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and the other is the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) one. You must be disabled and have a financial needs if you want to successfully apply for the latter.
SSI applicants must generally be disabled, blind or at least 65-year-old if they wish to qualify for benefits. Those aren’t the only requirements that someone who is hoping to receive SSI must meet though. All applicants wishing to receive these monthly disability payments must also be either lawful residents of this country or U.S. citizens. Any applicant must be able to demonstrate that they bring in very little income and have limited financial resources as well.
The SSA bases its award decisions, in large part, on a single person’s or couple’s income. The threshold for earnings for 2020 is $783 for married individuals and $1,175 for married couples. The SSA generally classifies everything from Social Security benefits, payments to earnings to noncash assistance as income.
If you make more than the above-referenced amounts each month, then you may not qualify to receive SSI benefits. This is especially the case if you have other “countable resources” too.
The SSA also takes into account how many financial assets such as property and stocks and bonds that you may have because they can be easily turned into cash. The federal agency doesn’t seem to care about the car you drive, your home or other household goods that you may own though.
Individual applicants that have more than $2,000 worth of countable resources or couples than have resources with a value of $3,000 plus may have their application for SSI denied.
You must have worked a certain amount of time and have had Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FIC) taxes taken out of your paychecks to qualify to receive SSI.
The requirements to receive SSI are quite varied. An applicant may very well meet all existing financial need requirements but not have a well-documented disability that allows them to qualify for benefits. An attorney here in Oklahoma City can be your advocate to help you recover the benefits that you need to help you meet your financial obligations.