Supplemental Security Benefits (SSI)
gives cash assistance
to people with limited income and resources
who are age 65 or older, blind or disabled.
Caretakers & Parents
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Release from Prison ** Assets, Resources & Income Limits * Automatic Medi-Cal Qualification * Publications & Links * Attorney List * Medicare Information * Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans * Working while disabled * FAQ’s *
What is the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program and how can I apply?
- WHAT DOES “DISABLED” MEAN FOR AN ADULT?If you are age 18 or older we may consider you “disabled” if you have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment (including an emotional or learning problem) which:
- results in the inability to do any substantial gainful activity; and
- can be expected to result in death; or
- has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.
-
WHAT IS SUBSTANTIAL GAINFUL ACTIVITY (SGA)?
We use the term substantial gainful activity (SGA) to describe a level of work activity and earnings that is both substantial and gainful. SGA involves performance of significant physical or mental activities, or a combination of both. For your work activity to be substantial you do not need to work full time. Work activity performed on a part-time basis may also be SGA. If your impairment is anything other than blindness, earnings averaging over $1,070 a month (for the year 2014) generally demonstrate SGA.
Gainful work activity is:
work performed for pay or profit, or
work of a nature generally performed for pay or profit; or
work intended for profit, whether or not a profit is realized.
- Is SSI Title XVI?
- Resource & Income Limits
- SSI Home Page – Table of Contents on Social Security Website
- Medicaid – Medi-Cal is generally automatic.
Links & Resources
Disability Benefits 101 on SDI * SSI *
publication 10026 – Benefits for Children with Disability
SSI and SSDI – Contact Info
#Social Security Disability Benefits # 10029
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More than you ever wanted to know on SSI
Understanding SSI # 17-008 120 pages
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Benefits for #Children with Disabilities # 10026
InsuBuy International Medical Coverage –
Instant Quotes & Enrollment
Coverage for Travel - $50k Emergency under Medicare Medi Gap or MAPD Advantage may not be enough!
How does being incarcerated – Jail, #Prison affect Social Security or SSI Benefits?
How do you get benefits reinstated?
If you’re receiving SSI, your payments are suspended while you’re in prison. Your payments can be reinstated in the month you’re released. However, if your confinement lasts for 12 consecutive months or longer, your eligibility for SSI benefits will terminate and you must file a new application for benefits.
If Social Security suspends your disability or SSI benefits because you were in prison, you can request for Social Security to reinstate your benefits. You’ll need to contact Social Security and provide a copy of your official release documents before they can act on your request.
For SSI beneficiaries, benefits are terminated when the person is incarcerated for a year or more.
See our separate website on Criminal Law
Forms to Get one released from Prison
Which prison?
http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/Divisions/Facilities/StatePrisons
Is he on SSI or SSDI?
Were benefits suspended or terminated?
Was he getting benefits before?
Does the prison have a pre-release agreement with Social Security?
Please read this pamphlet from Social Security
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf
A prerelease agreement is a written or verbal agreement between an institution and SSA to cooperate in the processing of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applications under the prerelease procedure. For a complete description of prerelease agreements see SI 00520.910 – Prerelease Agreements – Institutionalization. https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0423530001
After you know your release date, notify someone at your facility that you want to start your SSI payments or Social Security benefits. The institution then will notify us if you are likely to meet the requirements for benefits. We will get an application from you several months before your anticipated release. That way, we can begin processing your application. Your benefits can start as soon as possible after your release.
If your institution does not have a prerelease agreement with the local Social Security office:
After you know your anticipated release date, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Tell the representative you are scheduled to be released from an institution and want to apply for benefits. Please have your Social Security number handy. We will set up an appointment with your local Social Security office to take your application when you are released. https://faq.ssa.gov/en-US/Topic/article/KA-02597
Social Security and Health Care Benefits for the Incarcerated
This fact sheet describes
- income support through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) programs, and
- health coverage under Medicaid – Medi Cal and Medicare, which together can enable someone with mental illness to transition successfully from jail or prison to community life.
- Our webpage on
- reinstating Part B Medicare if you lost it
- Get Quotes for Health Insurance
- Our webpage on
Entering the Community after #Jail, Prison - Incarceration # 10504
What prisoners need to know # 10133
How to Navigate California County Jails: A Guide for Inmates and Their Loved Ones
Our webpages on
#Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans (PDF) #12026
Insurance Companies get a fee from the Federal Government, when you enroll in an MAPD plan.
That's why the premium is very low or ZERO!
- Set a phone or Skype Meeting
- #Intake Form - We can better prepare for the meeting
- Get Quotes, Full Information and Enroll
#Work and Disability
Disability Benefits Brochure # 10029
We base your SSI payments on how much other income you have. When your other income goes up, your SSI payments usually go down. When you earn more than the SSI limit, your payments will stop for those months. But, your payments will start again for any month your income drops to less than the SSI limits. Be sure to tell us if your earnings drop, or if you stop working.
If your only income is SSI, and the money you make from your job, we don’t count the first $85 of your monthly earnings. Each month, we reduce your SSI benefits 50 cents for every dollar that you earn over $85.
Example: You work and earn $1,000 in a month; and your only income comes from your earnings and your SSI.
$1,000
-$85
$915 divided by 2 = $457.50
We would take $457.50 from your SSI payment.
You may be eligible for a plan to achieve self-support that allows you to use money and resources for a specific work goal. These funds don’t count when we figure out how your current income and resources affect your benefits. Learn more — Working While Disabled 10095
Also visit our website, http://www.socialsecurity.gov/work.
#Working while disabled # 10095
Red Book – – Employment Supports for those on SSI & SSDI # 64-030 60 pages HTML
SSI #Resources & Income Limits
The Aged & Disabled Medi-Cal program uses SSI countable income rules as well as a few extra rules you should know. For more information, visit or webpage on the SSI program, the Medi-Cal section of the Disability Benefits 101 website. CA Health Care Advocates Archive
Countable resources are the things you own that count toward the resource limit. Many things you own do not count.
- Have less than $2,000 in Countable assets for an individual ($3,000 for a couple).
- Have less than $1,271 - 123% of FPL in countable monthly income for an individual ($1,719 for a couple). ca health advocates.org ADFPL * AB 715 Fact Sheet * Western Poverty Law *
- Share of Cost if income is too high, but you qualify on asset test?
HOW DOES DEEMING WORK FOR A CHILD?
The term deeming means – identifies the process of considering another person’s income and resources to be available for meeting an SSI claimant’s (or recipient’s) basic needs of food and shelter. SSA.gov *
If a child is under age 18, not married, and lives at home with parent(s) who do not receive SSI benefits, we may consider a portion of the parents’ income and resources as if they were available to the child. We may also count a portion of a stepparent’s income and resources if the child lives with both a parent and a stepparent (or an adoptive parent and a stepparent). We also do this when a child is temporarily away at school, returns home during weekends, holidays or during the summer and remains subject to parental control.
We make deductions from deemed income for parents and for other children living in the home. After we subtract these deductions, we use the remaining amount to decide if the child meets the SSI income and resource requirements for a monthly benefit.
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For more information, see the SSI Spotlight on Deeming Parental Income and Resources. |
WHEN DOES DEEMING NOT APPLY?
Deeming from the parent stops when a child attains age 18, marries, or no longer lives with a parent. Deeming does not apply, and we may pay up to $30 plus the applicable State supplement when:
a disabled child receives a reduced SSI benefit while in a medical treatment facility; and
the child is eligible for Medicaid under a State home care plan; and
deeming would otherwise cause ineligibility for SSI benefits.
Also, we do not consider the income of a parent for deeming purposes if the parent receives a Public Income Maintenance payment (PIM) such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and his or her other income was used to compute the PIM payment.
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See SSI AND ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER GOVERNMENT AND STATE PROGRAMS for information on TANF. |
If either child or parent is temporarily absent from the household (less than 60 days), the rules about deemed income still apply. ssa.gov/ssi child-ussi
In–Kind Income is food or shelter that you get for free or less than its fair market value.
Bibliography
Supplemental Security Income # 11125
- Publication 3966, Living and Working with Disabilities
SSI-Related Programs & Coverage Groups
Income & Assets Chart
Our web pages on:
- Aged and Disabled Federal Poverty Level Program
- Part D Rx Low Income Subsidy – LIS – Extra Help
- Hospice Coverage – Medicare
Will a settlement affect Government Benefits - Too high resources & income?
Is Medi-Cal #automatic for SSI – Supplemental Security Benefit beneficiaries – recipients?
***Yes, according to
- Nolo.com *
- Disabilty Secrets.com *
- CA Health Care Advocates *
- Western Poverty Law Center
- See our webpage on DAC Disabled Adult Children & Pickle Amendment
- Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) and Medicaid – Medi-Cal are needs-based programs.
Many individuals receive SSI due to poverty and others receive SSI due to disability.
Medicaid Medi-Cal benefits can cover items like prescription medication, transportation, and home-based care.
What if you are claimed as a dependent on someone else’s taxes?
See Table of Contents on SSI Home Page
See our page on definition of household.
Links & Resources
Disability Benefits 101 on SDI * SSI *
Our webpage on
- DAC Disabled Adult Children *
- SSI Supplemental Security Benefits
- SSDI Social Security Disability Insurance
- SSI in CA Factsheet
#My Medi-Cal
How to get the Health Care You Need
24 pages
Smart Phones - try turning sideways to view pdf better
- Medi Cal Explained CHCF
- 10 Essential Health Benefits
- Our Webpage onMedi Cal Benefits
- Western Poverty Law - Exact Legal Rules on Coverage for Low Income Californian's
Nolo Social Security, Medicare, Medi Cal & Government Pensions
Our Webpage on
COVID 19
#Disability SSI & SSDI Publications, Resources & Links
- Disability Benefits #10029
- SSI Child Disability Starter Kit (for children under age 18)
- Adult Disability Starter Kit(for children age 18 or older)
- Benefits For Children under 18 With Disabilities
- Other Disability Publications
- Social Security Handbook
- Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI For Children-- 2019 Edition
- Western Poverty Law Center - Coverage for Low Income California's DAC Program Page 84 - Non Magi Medi-Cal 3.71
- Our webpage on SSI & Medi Cal
- ObamaCare - Mental Health - One of 10 Essential Benefits
- New Jersey 2 page explanation
- ssa.gov Section 1634
- Social Security Disability Planner: Benefits for A Disabled Child
- Pickle Amendment Screening Q & A
- The State Council on Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) is established by state and federal law as an independent state agency to ensure that people with developmental disabilities and their families receive the services and supports they need.
Social Security Publications relating to Disability, SSI, SSDI
- What you need to know to get Social Secuirty Disabiltiy Benefits # 10153
- Disability Benefits # 10029
- Reviewing your Disability Publication # 10068
- How Social Security decides if you are still disabled # 10053
- Check list for what’s needed on the application 001
- Appeals Process 10041
- Medicare # 10043
- Supplemental Security Income # 11125
- CA State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP)
- Benefits for Children with Disabilities #10026
- Benefits for Children # 10085
- How to get a benefit verification letter # 10552
- The Red Book – Employment Support for SSDI and SSI
- Working while disabled 10095
- Ticket to Work Program
- Publication 3966, Living and Working with Disabilities
- Publication 907, Tax Highlights for Persons with Disabilities
- How International Agreements can help you # 10180
- Social Security for Foreign Governments # 10566
- MORE Social Security Publications on their website
- Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability We do have a reference copy in our office
- Sleepy Girl Guide to Social Security Disability
- What must I do to Qualify?
- What is Social Security's eligibility process
- Where is Social Security's home page for disability
- Can I get a Disability "Starter Kit?
- Tell me more about the Ticket to Work Program which gives you more choice in obtaining the services one needs to be able to go back to work and achieve your employment goals.
- Where can I get more disability information?
- Can I get an estimate of my retirement benefits? Sample Calculation
- Nolo.com Disability Benefits
Medicare Coverage
- Can I get Medicare After 2 years on Social Security Disability #10029?
- Learn More @ * Medicare Interactive *
- I'm already on SSDI, where can I get more information?
- Can we see a sample response to a website visitors questions?
- Do I automatically get Medi - Cal? (Medicaid?)
- bet tzedek.org Free Legal Aid
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Basics.
webcast— download the slides here, read the Chapter Summary here, or view the recording here.
Here are additional NCLER resources that you may find helpful:
- Webcast: Legal Basics: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Deeming
- Chapter Summary: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Deeming
- Issue Brief: Supplemental Security Income: In-Kind Support and Maintenance
- Webcast: Access to Public Benefits for Older Immigrants
- Webcast: Advanced Training: SSI Overpayment: Walk Through a Case
- Chapter Summary: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Older Adults: Post Eligibility Tips
- Practice Tip: SSI Resource Transfer Penalty
- Issue Brief: Social Security Reconsideration Appeals
- IRS Sends Second Round of Stimulus Payments
- More NCLER Economic Security Trainings
You can find additional training materials on the NCLER Website.
Main Social Security Page, Disability Page and related pages
6 Steps to apply for Social Security #Disability
- Video
- SSI Child Disability Starter Kit (for children under age 18)
- Adult Disability Starter Kit(for children age 18 or older)
- What you need to know to get Social Secuirty Disabiltiy Benefits # 10153
- Disability Benefits # 10029
- Reviewing your Disability Publication # 10068
- How Social Security decides if you are still disabled # 10053
#Medicare10050 and You 2021
Everything you want to know - Read Along
Your Medicare Benefits # 10116
- Enroll in Blue Cross
- Learn about UHC United Health Care
- Enroll in Blue Shield
- Don't like computers? Prefer a printed version be mailed to you? Audio MP 3
- Use our scheduler to Set a phone, Skype or Face to Face meeting
Can i get DSI [sic] SDI State Disability Insurance and SSI at the same time?
i am working and getting my SSI at same time. if i become disabled can i get DSI [sic] at the same time?
Check back in a day or two after we review your question. In the meantime, see SSI’s brochure Working while disabled # 10095, above
21 comments on “SSI – Medi-Cal automatic qualification”
i lost my medical [Medi-Cal] card that i got with my ssi https://medi-cal.healthreformquotes.com/eligibility/aged-and-disabled/ssi/ssi/
how do i get a new card?
We’ve answered that question before on this page https://medi-cal.healthreformquotes.com/contact-info/#stolen
My brother and sister-in-law are on Medi-Cal…
Can they both get SSI…they have no other income except SS?
I don’t quite understand your question. If they are disabled and qualify for SSI, then Medi-Cal is automatic.
What do you mean by SS income? Please be specific.
Maybe you are asking if SSI has income limits, as opposed to Medi-Cal. Check these links for Income Limits.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-11125.pdf
https://socialsecurity.healthreformquotes.com/ssi/resource-and-income-limits-ssi/
I am a menifee ca resident receiving ssi..
when my wife receive her ssi this jan 2020, i now received a letter informing me my medi-cal will be stopped jan 31, 2020.. ..
why is this ?
My guess would be that you are over the MAGI Income Limit 138% for Medi Cal.
Do you qualify for an exemption under the Pickle Amendment?
Please send us a copy of the letter and your latest tax return. We are prohibiting from accepting hearsay evidence.
I lost Medi-Cal card for my disabled autistic 23 year old son, how do I get a duplicate card?
Medi Cal’s FAQ’s say you need to contact the county office
What county are you in?
See our Contact Page for Medi Cal. Our pages also include links to the online websites where you can also get an ID card.
Did Medi Cal assign you to a private insurance company? Then you would check their website.
I went from SSI TO SSDI as a disabled adult child or whatever its called
i was disabled before 22 years old. i got ssi at 20
my dad retired fully last December – next thing you know they moved me from SSI TO SSDI
It’s my understanding that SSDI is a better program to be on than SSI, mainly that it pays more income.
While SSI provides automatic enrollment in Medi-Cal, SSDI gives you automatic enrollment into Medicare, after 2 years.
Check our Medi-Cal eligiblity pages, Western Poverty Law, the Guide to Medi-Cal Programs and our resources page.
Here’s Nolo Press – Disability Secrets on the difference between SSDI and SSI.
What about this document on the pickle amendment on the SCDD State Council on Disability Website?
See our write up on the Pickle Program
I’m in California. How much do I get on SSI?
SSI/SSP Rates
Effective January 1, 2020
The Non-Medical Out of Home Care (NMOHC) Payment Standard will be as follows:
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): $783
State Supplementary Payment (SSP): $423.37
Total NMOHC Payment Standard: $1206.37
Amounts are double for SSI/SSP couples.
The NMOHC Payment Standard includes the following components:
Room and board: $520.37
Care and supervision: $549 maximum
Amount payable for basic services: $1069.37
Personal and incidental needs allowance (must be provided to the recipient): $137
If your SSI case is reviewed by the SSA and you tell them that an asset is or was not yours, do they investigate the person you claim owned the asset?
Can they get information on other people to pursue investigating them, or do they have to get a court order or such to pull another person’s info to check their status?
If the other person is also receiving SSI benefits, do they automatically have access and the right to look into them?
In essence are you throwing the other person under the bus and prompting an investigation into them?
First off, I don’t know if I should be insulted that I’m being asked this question. I don’t know if you are asking me to be an accessory to a crime. Tax Evasion? Even if it’s not a “crime” is it moral and ethical? I’m mandated to take ethics to renew my license. I resent that Covered CA mandates that I help people enroll in Medi Cal without any compensation.
Let’s take a look at the 23 page application for SSI.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION–PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Failure to report any change within 10 days after the end of the month in which the change occurs could result in a penalty deduction.
The Social Security Administration will check your statements and compare its records with records from other State and Federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, to make sure you are paid the correct amount.
We have asked you for permission to obtain, from any financial institution, any financial record about you that is held by the institution. We will ask financial institutions for this information whenever we think it is needed to decide if you are eligible or if you continue to be eligible for SSI benefits. Once authorized, our permission to contact financial institutions remains in effect until one of the following occurs:
(1) you or your spouse notify us in writing that you are canceling your permission,
(2) your application for SSI is denied in a final decision,
(3) your eligibility for SSI terminates, or
(4) we no longer consider your spouse’s income and resources to be available to you. If you or your spouse do not give or cancel your permission you may not be eligible for SSI and we may deny your claim or stop your payments.
I declare under penalty of perjury that I have examined all the information on this form, and on any accompanying statements or forms, and it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.
I understand that anyone who knowingly gives a false or misleading statement about a material fact in this information, or causes someone else to do so, commits a crime and may be sent to prison, or may face other penalties, or both.
Everyone has to live somewhere, and a home does not count as an asset for SSI purposes. S0, if someone is receiving SSI benefits and a family member gives – gifts them a home or buys one in the SSI recipients’ name or the money to buy said home, does that gift count as income or count against them in any way?
WHAT RESOURCES DO NOT COUNT FOR SSI?
For SSI, we do not count:
the home you live in and the land it is on;
household goods and personal effects (e.g., your wedding and engagement rings); https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-resources-ussi.htm
2) What to Purchase: Recipients of SSI need to plan spend-downs carefully. Here are some suggestions for what an individual could buy to spend down a lump sum:
Buying a home or paying off a mortgage, if the SSI recipient is on the title or has a lifetime agreement to be a tenant of the home. Additionally, home repairs, maintenance, remodeling or adding accessibility features could all be approved expenses. https://www.tcnf.legal/how-to-avoid-being-cut-off-ssi-benefits-when-you-get-a-sum-of-money/
SSI brochure
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-11011.pdf