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Information about all aspects of finances affected by a serious health condition. Includes income sources such as work, investments, and private and government disability programs, and expenses such as medical bills, and how to deal with financial problems.
Information about all aspects of health care from choosing a doctor and treatment, staying safe in a hospital, to end of life care. Includes how to obtain, choose and maximize health insurance policies.
Answers to your practical questions such as how to travel safely despite your health condition, how to avoid getting infected by a pet, and what to say or not say to an insurance company.

Summary

The SSI benefit you will receive is the difference between what you earn and the total of federal and state SSI benefits.

If you receive an overpayment, expect to have to pay it back. It is preferable to report the overpayment. You can ask waiver of repayment, and/or a period of time over which to pay it back.

Changes must be reported to Social Security on a timely basis -- or you can incur penalties. Keep in mind that Social Security learns about reportable information on its own by computer cross-matching with any or all federal, state or local agencies and with financial institutions.

SSI encourages a return to work. A return to work must be reported.

In order to determine whether you continue to qualify for SSI, Social Security will periodically conduct:

  • A Redermination to examine your income and resources (assets).
  • A Continuing Disability Review to determine whether you are still disabled as defined by the law.

It is possible to get an advance on next month's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment for urgent needs. To learn more, see: Emergency Advance Payments.

SSI benefits can be suspended for a variety of reasons.

If you don't want to handle the SSI benefit, you can appoint a Representative Payee to do it for you.

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Amount Of Benefit

If your income (as income is defined for purposes of SSI) is below the basic SSI benefit, you will receive the difference each month between what you received as income and the benefit amount. If your state has a supplemental payment, it is paid in addition to the Federal Benefit Rate.

The federal payment is referred to as the "federal benefit rate" (FBR). The amount varies from year to year.

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SSI: Benefit Amount

How And When SSI Payments Are Made

Payments can be:

  • Mailed to you
  • Deposited directly into a bank account
  • Sent to your account via Electronic Funds Transfer

Either direct deposit or electronic transfer are the safest methods so you don't have to be concerned about payment disappearing from your mail box.

SSI payments are made on the 3rd day of each month. (If you also receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the payment will be received at the same time.)

Events Which Must Be Reported To The Social Security Administration

The following common events must be reported to Social Security because they impact your entitlement to benefits or the amount of the benefits:

  • Every change in status
  • Change of address
  • Change of income
  • Change in resources that exceed allowable levels
  • Eligibility for other benefits
  • Death of certain people
  • Change of marital status or living arrangements
  • Medical improvement
  • Extended admission to a hospital
  • Work activity. Note: If you only receive SSI benefits, work activity may trigger a Continuing Disability Review (see below).

Changes must be reported when an event happens, but no later than the 10th day of the following month.

If Social Security asks for a report, the response must be received by social security within 30 days of the request.

Penalties For Failure To Report On A Timely Basis

Fines can be imposed ranging from $25 to $100. If fraud is involved, benefits can be suspended and civil monetary penalties may be imposed to a maximum of $5,000 for each statement or misrepresentation.

Redeterminations About Your Financial Condition

Social Security will periodically conduct what they refer to as a "redetermination" -- a re-screening of your financial situation to confirm that you still qualify for SSI based on income and resources and that payments are in the proper amount.

The length of time between scheduled redeterminations varies. Deciding exactly when redeterminations will be scheduled and what forms you will be sent to complete is based on "computer profiling". The program is apparently based on the complexity of your finances and other factors. A redetermination may come as early as three months or as late as five years after the initial award or the last redetermination.

A redetermination may be conducted in person or by mail or by telephone.

A return to work may trigger a redetermination if you are receiving SSI. A return to work is not supposed to trigger a review if you are receiving SSDI.

If you do not complete the forms you are sent within the time period stated in the cover letter, your payments will be cut-off.

If it turns out that you lost eligibility due to an increase in income or resources, Social Security will not only terminate your benefits, you will be requested to repay all benefits given to you after the loss of eligibility. See Overpayment.

Note that there are also likely to be reviews to determine whether you continue to be disabled. See: Continuing Disability Review below.

Continuing Disability Reviews

Periodically Social Security will review your medical records to determine if you are still disabled in accordance with their standards. The review is virtually identical to the process that declared you disabled in the first place. The review consists of a complete review of your medical condition.

There will be forms for you to complete and your doctors will again be asked to submit copies of their records.

How frequently Social Security does a review is based on the severity of your condition at the time you were approved for benefits. In cases where Social Security foresees a possible recovery, reviews may be conducted one, two to three years after approval.

More serious conditions may not be reviewed for at least seven years or more.

The estimated time until the first Continuing Disability Review will usually be given in the Notice of Award letter. However, you should be aware that Social Security is often backlogged and frequently misses the date given.

Most people find Continuing Disability Reviews to be very scary procedures, fearing that the wrong statement will result in a termination of benefits. You should know going into such a review that currently approximately 90% of people who have a Continuing Disability Review are permitted to continue to receive benefits.

Note: Continuing disability reviews are another reason to make sure you report all of your symptoms at every visit to your doctor, and that the symptoms are recorded each time.

To learn more, see: Continuing Disability Review.

Before an investigator attempts to interview you, it may be worthwhile to read: Dealing With Investigators.

Return To Work

Social Security provides incentives to help you return to work. To learn more, see SSI: Incentives To Return To Work.

Before you return to work, it is advisable to understand what happens to your SSI and other benefits. To learn more, see: SSI: Return To Work

Overpayment

An overpayment occurs when the Social Security Administration makes a payment that the recipient was not supposed to receive.

Whether you or Social Security discover the overpayment, it is important to treat overpayments from Social Security seriously and as if you will have to repay the extra money. You may be able to obtain a waiver and not have to pay the money back. If the amount of the overpayment is less than $500, a local Social Security office has the authority to grant a waiver.

If you can't get a waiver, you may be able to get an extended period of time over which to repay the money.

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Overpayments

Suspensions Of SSI Benefits

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits can be suspended for a variety of reasons. There are rules regarding reinstatement of benefits.

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SSI: Suspension of Benefits

Representative Payee

If you don't want to handle the SSI benefit, or can't, you can appoint a Representative Payee to handle the money for you.

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Representative Payee