Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Supplemental Security Income, commonly known as SSI, pays monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are blind, age 65 or older or have a qualifying disability.  Children with disabilities or who are blind may also get SSI. 

Many people who are eligible for SSI may also be entitled to Social Security benefits.   An application for SSI is also an application for Social Security benefits. However, SSI and Social Security are different in some ways.

• Social Security benefits may be paid to you and certain members of your family if you are “insured” meaning you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes. Unlike Social Security benefits, SSI benefits are not based on your prior work or a family member's prior work.
• SSI is financed by general funds of the U.S. Treasury--personal income taxes, corporate and other taxes. Social Security taxes collected under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) or the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) do not fund the SSI program.
• In most States, SSI recipients can also get medical assistance (Medicaid) to pay for hospital stays, doctor bills, prescription drugs, and other health costs. SSI recipients may also be eligible for food assistance. In some States, an application for SSI also serves as an application for food assistance.
• SSI benefits are paid on the first of the month.
• To get SSI, you must be disabled, blind, or at least 65 years old and have "limited" income and resources.
• In addition, to get SSI, you must also:
  • be either a U.S. citizen or national, or a noncitizen in one of the certain alien classifications granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS);
  • reside in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands; and
  • not be absent from the U.S. for a full calendar month or 30 or more consecutive days.

• Both programs pay monthly benefits.
• The medical standards for disability are generally the same in both programs for individuals age 18 or older. For children from birth to the attainment of age 18 there is a separate definition of disability under SSI. The medical standard is based on the severity of your disability; financial need is not considered at this step in the eligibility process.
• The Social Security Administration runs both programs.

For additional information, go to the Social Security Administration site.

You can use the Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) to find Social Security benefits you may be eligible to receive. It is not an application for benefits.   Visit the Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool here.

Once you have completed the eligibility screening questionnaire, you will be provided with a list of benefits for which you may be eligible. Print that page for your records before going to the application site.

You can schedule an appointment with a local Social Security office to file an application for SSI. Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, or contact your local Social Security office.  To find your local office, go here.

You will need to provide a lot of information when you file an application for SSI. Go here for a checklist that will help you get together the information you will need to provide when you apply.  

If you were turned down for SSI, you have to the right to ask SSA to reconsider its decision.  If you ask SSA to reconsider, it will look at the evidence and information in your file plus any new evidence they get or you submit.  To appeal, you must fill out a “Request for Reconsideration” form, which you can get at your local office, by calling their toll-free phone number or find one online here.

SSA must receive the form within 60 days plus 5 days of the date you received the notice of  denial, or you must have a good reason if you request reconsideration late.

The best way to appeal to make sure SSA gets all the paperwork on time is to go to your local office. To find your local office, go here. 

Social Security must notify you in writing before they lower or stop your benefits. You may fight this by asking them to reconsider the decision. You must fill out a Request for Reconsideration form, which you can get at your local office, by calling their toll-free phone number or get the form online here. 

SSA must receive your Request for Reconsideration within 60 days plus 5 days of the date on the notice, or you must have a good reason if you request reconsideration late. In order to keep getting the same benefits while the appeal is decided, you must request reconsideration within 10 days of the date on the notice.

The best way to appeal to make sure SSA gets all the paperwork on time is to go to your local office. You can find your local office here. 

Social Security will look at all the evidence used in the first decision, plus any new evidence that they get or that you submit. Someone who did not take part in the first decision will decide your case.  Social Security will send a letter telling you their decision. Read the letter carefully.

You can ask for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).  You must fill out a form called A Request for Hearing by Administrative Law Judge.    You can find the form here.

SSA must receive the Request for a Hearing  within 60 days plus 5 days of the date on the notice, or you must have a good reason if you request for hearing is late.

You can file the hearing request at your local office or you can fill it out and send it by certified mail it to your local SSA office.  You can find your local office here. 

If Social Security believes that you got benefits when you were not supposed to get them, they must tell you in writing before they take any money from your check.  You may fight this by asking them to reconsider the decision.  You must fill out a Request for Reconsideration form, which you can get at your local office, by calling their toll-free phone number or find the form online here.

SSA must receive the request within 60 days plus 5 days of the date on the notice, or you must have a good reason if you request reconsideration late. In order to keep getting the same benefits while the appeal is decided, you must request reconsideration within 10 days of the date on the notice.

You may also ask SSA to forgive or “waive” the overpaid amount.  To request a waiver, you must fill out a called a Request for Waiver of Overpayment Recovery. You may ask this at any time, even after Social Security starts collecting the overpayment from you.

The best way to appeal or to request a waiver and to make sure SSA gets all the paperwork on time is to go to your local office. You can find your local office here.