Your 2019 Supplemental Security Income Guide

Everything you need to know about applying for SSI in 2019. Supplemental Security Income or SSI for short is a federal program that is administered by the Social Security Administration office. This program will provide support for those people in need. You can be eligible for Supplemental Security Income if you are one of the following:

  • Disabled or blind or over the age of 65
  • Lawful resident or a United States citizen
  • Limited financial resources and income

What Exactly is Supplemental Security Income?

As we previously stated that SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income. In 2019, the Supplemental Security Income is a benefit up to $771 a month for one person or $1,157 for a couple. Keep in mind these will be the maximum monthly benefit payments.

But what waits, Supplemental Security Income is for the low-income and disabled families?

Yes. This is very correct.

But, now that we got that out of the way, you are probably wondering what constitutes as income. Well, this is where it can get quite sticky.

When it comes to what the Social Security Office constitutes as income, you will want to read through the following:

Earned Income

Your earned income is going to be your wages either from self-employment, w-2 job, sheltered workshop payments, honoraria, and certain royalties.

Unearned Income

Your unearned income is going to be income that you didn’t earn through a job. It’s going to be income from your unemployment benefits, Social Security benefits, state disability payments, pensions, dividends, interest income, and cash you receive from your family and friends.

In-Kind Income

Your in-kind income is going to be your shelter or food that you get for free or far below the fair market value.

Deemed Income

Your deemed income is going to be the part of the income that your spouse or your parents or even your sponsor makes. The Social Security office will use this to help calculate your Supplemental Security Income benefits.

What Income Will Not Count Towards the ‘Countable Income’?

There is going to be a strict requirement of what income that will not be included when they are looking at your countable income. This income will consist of the following:

  • Your first $20 of your income each month
  • Your first $65 of earnings
  • Your Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits
  • Your income tax refunds
  • Your home energy assistance
  • Your assistance from the local or state government
  • Your infrequent income
  • Your dividends or interest
  • Your scholarships, grants, gifts, or fellowships that are used for your educational and tuition expenses
  • Your shelter or food that is provided to you by a nonprofit agency
  • Your income that is put into the Plan to Achieve Self-Support
  • If you are under the age of 22, your earnings up to $7,550 per year

Will I Qualify for Nevada SSI?

First, we already went through the requirements above. If you fit into one of the above criteria, you can always take the short questionnaire to ensure that you will qualify for Supplemental Security Income prior to filling out the application.

How Can I Apply for Supplemental Security Income Benefits?

You can apply for Supplemental Security Income benefits through a few different avenues. These avenues are listed below:

  • You can apply through the Disability Benefits official website. You will need to first do the disability application and then, if you are eligible for Supplemental Security Income it can be done through that application as well.
  • You can apply by calling 1-800-772-1213 and make an appointment to speak to a representative. You can either make your appointment for over the phone or in person in your Social Security office.

When Should I Apply for Supplemental Security Income?

You will want to apply as soon as you can, so you do not lose your benefits. You should know that the Social Security Office will not pay you your benefits prior to the effective date of your application, that you submitted.

Let’s say you call your local Social Security Office to make an appointment to fill out the application and you end up filing within 60 days of your call, the Social Security Office has the chance to use the date of the call as your effective date of your application.

Now, if you do not keep your appointment or you do not contact your local Social Security Office to reschedule your appointment, the Social Security Office will reach out to you. If they cannot reach you to reschedule your appointment, then they will mail out a letter to you. The letter will state that you have 60 days from the date on the memo to fill out an application, to use the original contact date as your effective date on your Social Security Income application.

If you are being housed in a public institution, but you will be released here in a short few months, you will typically not be eligible to get Supplemental Security Income until you are out. However, you can apply prior to you being released, so you can get your benefits quicker than waiting to apply after you are released. To find out the procedure, you will want to check out the pre-release procedure handbook.

If you are in foster care, you will be eligible to apply for Supplemental Security Income benefits once you reach the age of 18. You will more than likely need health services along with the income support that Supplemental Security Income can help you with to transition out to being on your own.

Can I work and Still Receive Supplemental Security Income?

In short, the answer is yes. Yes, you can. The goal is to help disabled people work, so they can gain some independence without having to fully depend on Supplemental Security Income.

What is Work Incentives?

One of the main things about the Supplemental Security Income program is to help individuals who have disabilities to ultimately achieve their independence by allowing them to take advantage of the employment opportunities out there.

The work incentive employment will support those who are blind and disabled who receive Supplemental Security Income to get a job and work, but also not putting them at risk of them receiving their Supplemental Security Income benefits along with their Medicaid benefits.

There will be some incentives that will allow the Social Security office to not count towards your resources or your income.

However, you should know that you can take advantage of all the work incentive programs. It will all be dependent on the type of income you are getting.

For more in-depth information about work incentives, you will want to visit the handbook.