Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Released: 2014-01-23T00:00:00

Background and Eligibility

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, Title XVI of the Social Security Act, was enacted in 1972 and implemented in 1974 to assure a minimum cash income to all aged, blind, or disabled persons. SSI is provided to eligible aged or disabled individuals or couples who have limited income and resources. For adults, disability is defined as the inability to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA) by reason of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment expected to result in death or last at least 12 months. In general, the worker must be unable to do any kind of work that exists in the national economy, taking into account age, education, and work experience. A child under the age of 18 may qualify as disabled if he or she has an impairment that results in "marked and severe" functional limitations. Adults aged 65 or older may qualify for SSI benefits without being disabled.

SSI is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and operates in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. To qualify for SSI, a person must be a citizen of the United States or a "qualified alien" and either a resident of the United States or the Northern Mariana Islands, a child of a person in the military stationed outside the United States, or a student temporarily abroad. Other requirements related to residence in certain public institutions, absence from the United States, filing for other potential benefits, and fugitive felon and probation/parole violator status also apply. In December 2013, the SSI program had more than 8.3 million recipients, who received over $4.6 billion in benefit payments. Of these recipients, more than 1.3 million were children under the age of 18, almost 5.0 million were adults between the ages of 18 and 64, and just over 2.1 million were adults aged 65 or older.

SSI Benefits

The maximum federal SSI payment, referred to as the federal benefit rate, is $721 per month for an individual living independently and $1,082 for a couple living independently in 2014. All but six states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands supplement the federal SSI benefit with additional payments. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have state supplements that are either partially or wholly administered by the SSA, and 34 states self-administer their supplements. Federal SSI benefit maximums are adjusted annually using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) to reflect changes in the cost of living. After a 1.7% increase in 2013, a 1.5% COLA was applied for 2014.

Most SSI recipients have other income; their countable income is subtracted from the federal benefit rate to determine their SSI eligibility and payment amount. In calculating countable income, SSI provides for certain income exclusions (e.g., the first $20 of monthly unearned income; the first $65 plus one-half of remaining monthly earned income). In December 2013, the average monthly federally administered SSI payment was $630.98 for children under the age of 18, $546.38 for adults aged 18 to 64, and $425.09 for adults aged 65 or older.

SSA generally sends the monthly SSI payments directly to the recipient. However, SSA assigns representative payees to (1) minors, (2) individuals incapable of physically or mentally managing their own benefits, and (3) individuals declared legally incompetent by a court.

SSI recipients living alone or in households in which all members receive SSI benefits are also automatically eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In most cases an SSI recipient is eligible for Medicaid.

Income and Asset Limits

The SSI program generally counts all types of income in determining eligibility and payment amounts. In some cases, the income and resources of non-recipients are counted in determining SSI eligibility and benefit amounts. This process is called "deeming" and is applied in cases in which an eligible child lives with an ineligible parent, an eligible individual lives with an ineligible spouse, or an eligible non-citizen has a sponsor. In general, an SSI recipient can have assets, with the exception of a home, car, and household items, worth no more than $2,000 and beneficiary-couples can have countable assets worth no more than $3,000.

Funding

Federal SSI benefits and administrative costs are paid from federal general revenues and state supplements are paid from state funds. For FY2013, the net cost of the SSI program (including administrative expenses and benefit payments) was 53.2 billion. Funding for the SSI program is provided by Congress in the annual Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill.