SSI Eligibility for Young People

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) gives money each month to people who have disabilities, or are blind, and who have low income and low resources. If you qualify, you may get up to $943 in monthly benefits. If you get SSI benefits, you also qualify for Medicaid automatically.

To get SSI, you have to meet certain rules. Some rules are the same, regardless of your age. For example, you must be a U.S. citizen or qualified alien. However, other rules depend on your age. The biggest changes involve:

• How SSI decides whether you have a disability.
• Whose income and resources are counted when SSI decides if they are low enough for you to get benefits.

These rules are explained in four parts:

• SSI if you are younger than 18
• If you get SSI and are turning 18 soon
• SSI if you are already 18 or older
• SSI rules that help you go to school, work, and save money

If you have questions after reading about the rules, talk to a benefits planner.

SSI if You Are Younger than 18

If you are under 18, SSI says you are a child and have a disability if:

• You have a physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments
• Your impairments cause severe limitations in your daily life, and
• Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months.

Not everybody with a disability automatically gets benefits. You must also have no other way to pay for basic expenses like food, rent, and utilities. If you are under 18, SSI decides whether you need help by looking at the money you and your parents earn and the resources you and your parents have, including savings accounts, stocks, and real estate.

Note: You can open an ABLE account where over time you can save up to $100,000 in resources and not have them counted by SSI. Learn more about ABLE accounts.

Child Support

If you live with one parent and get child support from your other parent, SSI counts two-thirds of the child support as income. Sometimes child support comes in the form of shelter, instead of a check. In that case, SSI will figure out how much money that support is worth and count two-thirds of it as income. In the case of shelter, your benefits amount can be reduced by at most $314.33/month.

If You Get SSI and Are Turning 18

If you get SSI and then you turn 18, you will be considered an adult for the program, not a child. This means that when SSI decides whether you have a disability, SSI will not use their definition of disability for children. Instead, SSI will use their adult definition of disability, which looks at your ability to work, not just your physical or mental limitations. As a result, some people stop getting SSI benefits after they turn 18.

To check whether your disability meets their standards for adults, during the first year after you turn 18, SSI will do a review called the SSI Age-18 Redetermination.

They will say you have a disability if:

• You have a physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments
• Your impairments limit your ability to work, and
• Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months.

SSI may also look at your work and school records to see if you are able to work and may even talk to your teachers, counselors, or employers.

Possible Results of the Age-18 Determination

If your disability does not meet Social Security's adult definition of disability, you will keep getting SSI benefits for two months, but then they will end. In this situation, you have two options if you still want to get SSI:

1. You can appeal. When SSI sends you the letter telling you that your benefits are ending, you have 10 days to request an appeal. During the appeal process, you can ask that SSI continue your benefits until they make a decision. Learn more about appeals in DB101's SSI article.
2. If you are in an employment support program, like Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), an Individualized Education Program (IEP), a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), or any other program approved by SSI that will help you get a good job in the future, you can apply to continue benefits through a special rule called Section 301.

If SSI says that your disability does qualify and that you will continue to get benefits after turning 18, these are things that could impact the amount you get each month:

• Parent-to-child deeming ends. SSI will stop counting your parents’ income and resources when considering your eligibility for benefits, which may help you get a higher benefit than before you were 18.
• If you or your family gets child support for your living expenses, SSI will now count all of it as income. This may cause your benefits to go down.
• Your living situation: If you live alone or pay your fair share of expenses as a roommate with others, your benefits amount may be higher than if you live with others who help pay for your shelter.
• In-kind support and maintenance: If someone else helps pay for your food or rent, your benefit amount may be reduced by up to one-third ($314.33). This is called a Value Third Reduction (VTR).

SSI if You Are Already 18 or Older

If you are 18 or older and did not get SSI before turning 18, SSI says you are an adult and have a disability if:

• You have a physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments
• Your impairments limit your ability to work, preventing you from earning Substantial Gainful Activity ($1,550 per month if you’re not blind), and
• Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months.

Note: If you are blind, you could be able to earn more than $1,550 per month.

Not everybody with a disability automatically gets benefits. You must also have no other way to pay for basic expenses like food, rent, and utilities. If you are 18 or older, SSI decides whether you need help by looking at your income and how many resources you have, including savings accounts, stocks, and real estate.

SSI's income limit depends on your living situation, including whether you are married, whether somebody helps pay for your housing, and other factors. Read about different income limits in DB101's SSI article.

SSI's resource limit is $2,000 for individuals. Some resources don’t count towards SSI’s resource limit, like the home you live in and one vehicle. Social Security has a complete list of excluded resources.

Additionally, you can open an ABLE account where you can keep up to $100,000 in resources and not have them counted by SSI. Learn more about ABLE accounts.

If you have a disability, your income is below your income limit, and your resources are below the limit, you will qualify for SSI. The exact amount you get in SSI benefits will depend on your living situation, your income, and whether you qualify for special SSI rules that can help you earn or save more money without reducing your benefits.

SSI Rules that Help You Go to School, Work, and Save

SSI and many other government benefit programs have limits on how much income and savings you can have. If you go over the limits, you can't get benefits. This can make working and saving seem scary, because you might be afraid you'll lose your benefits.

That's why there are special rules and programs, like the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE), Plans to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), and ABLE accounts that can help you earn and save money without losing your SSI benefits.

Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE)

SSI has rules called exclusions that let you make some money without having your SSI benefits go down or stop. The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) is a major exclusion: it lets students earn up to $2,290 per month, and up to $9,230 per year, without having those wages be part of their countable income!

To qualify for the SEIE, you must be under 22, working, and regularly attending school. That usually means you have to go to school more than:

• 8 hours a week for college students
• 12 hours a week for grades 7-12
• 12-15 hours a week for employment training

If you drop out of school, you will not qualify for the SEIE, and your SSI benefits will be smaller than they would be if you stayed in school. Stay in school! You’ll get more money thanks to the SEIE, and when you graduate you’ll get a higher paying job thanks to your degree.

Plans to Achieve Self-Support (PASS)

Usually, if you have too many resources or too much income, you stop qualifying for SSI. A PASS is a way to go over these limits without losing your benefits.

To set up a PASS, you must qualify for SSI, have a specific work goal, and have expenses that you need to pay to reach your goal, such as school tuition, transportation, books, and services. You must also show that after you start putting money into your PASS, you’ll still have enough money left over to pay for your basic living expenses.

Once you've got your PASS set up, any money you put into it does not count as income or resources for SSI. In this way, a PASS lets you earn more and save more without having your SSI benefits go down. You can also put unearned income into your PASS, which means that you can start saving even if you don’t have a job yet. Note: You cannot put your SSI benefits into your PASS.

Learn more about PASS in DB101's Building Your Assets and Wealth article or contact a PASS specialist.

Learn more about SSI young people who work by watching the short video below.

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