What You Need To Know When You Get SSI

Contacting Social Security

Visit our website
Our website, www.socialsecurity.gov, is a valuable resource for information about all of Social Security’s programs. At our website you also can:

• Apply for benefits;
• Find the address of your local Social Security office;
• Get forms to request important documents, such as a Social Security Statement, a replacement Social Security or Medicare card or a letter to confirm your benefit amount; and
• Find copies of our publications.

Call our 1-800 number

In addition to using our website, you also can call toll-free at 1-800-772-1213. We can answer specific questions and provide information by automated phone service 24 hours a day. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

We treat all calls confidentially. We also want to make sure you receive accurate and courteous service. That is why we have a second Social Security representative monitor some telephone calls.

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This booklet explains some of your rights and responsibilities when you receive Supplemental SEcurity Income benefits. We suggest you take time now to read this booklet and then put it in a safe place so you can refer to it in the future.

If you get Social Security retirement or survivors benefits, you also should read, What You Need To Know When You Get Retirement Or Survivors Benefits (Publication No. 05-10077). If you get Social Security disability benefits, you should read, What You Need To Know When You Get Disability Benefits (Publication No. 05-10153). You can get these and other publications from Social Security and they are available online at our website.

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Before we begin paying you SSI, we will send you a letter telling you when your payments start and how
much you will get. (This booklet may have been enclosed with such a letter.)

Your first SSI payment will be made for the first full month after you applied or became eligible for SSI. The amount may not be the same every month. The amount depends on your other income and living arrangements. We will tell you in advance whenever we change the amount of your payment.

Your first, second and third monthly amounts will be based on your first month’s income. Sometimes a type of income in the first month is not received in the second month. We call this “nonrecurring income.” When this happens, the SSI benefit for the second and third month is based on the countable income from the first month, minus the nonrecurring income.

After that, your SSI amount usually is based on your income from two months before. For example,
a woman living in California gets a $500 Social Security widow’s payment and a $270 SSI payment. In June, she buys a lottery scratch-off card and wins $200 and reports that to the Social Security office. That means in August, her SSI payment will be reduced to $70. In this example, her SSI payment will go back to $270 in September.

Your federal SSI payment will increase each year to keep up with the cost of living. These increases usually will be in your January payment, which you will receive at the end of December.

If you disagree with any decision we make about your SSI, you have the right to ask us to look at your case again. Whenever we send you a letter about your SSI, we will tell you what to do if you disagree. For more information, see the publication,Your Right To Question A Decision Made On Your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Claim (Publication No. 05-11008).

You have the right to have an attorney or anyone else represent you. This does not mean you must
have an attorney or other representative. (But we will be glad to work with one if you wish.)

There are rules about who can represent you and what your representative can do. If you want more
information, refer to the publication, Your Right To Representation (Publication No. 05-10075).

If you did not sign up for direct deposit when you applied for SSI, we strongly encourage you to sign up
for direct deposit now. Direct deposit is a simple, safe and secure way to get your payments. Contact your
bank to help you sign up. Or you can sign up for direct deposit by contacting us.

If you do not have a bank account, you may want to consider an Electronic Transfer Account. This low-cost
federally insured account lets you enjoy the safety, security and convenience of automatic payments.
You can get more information about this program by contacting us or visiting the website at
www.eta-find.gov to locate a bank, savings and loan or credit union near you.

Your SSI checks are U.S. government checks. They usually come in the mail on the first of the month.
Your check must be cashed within 12 months after the date of the check or it will be void.

If the first of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you will get your check on the banking
day before.

To be safe, you should cash or deposit your check as soon as possible after you receive it. You should not
sign your check until you are at the bank or place where you will cash it. If you sign the check ahead of
time and lose it, the person who finds it could cash it.

If your check is lost or stolen, call us right away. Your check can be replaced, but it takes time.

If your check does not come on the usual day, it should arrive within the next few days. Call us if you
do not receive your check by the fourth mail day of the month. We will find out what happened and see
that you get your check.

Most of the time your SSI will be for the correct amount. But, if you receive more money than usual,
you should call or visit your Social Security office. You must return any extra money you are not supposed
to get even if it is not your fault that you got it.

If you ever get a check you are not supposed to receive, you should take it to any Social Security
office. Or, you can mail the check back to the U.S. Treasury Department at the address shown on the
envelope in which it came. You should write VOID on the front of the check and enclose a note telling
why you are returning the check.

If you have direct deposit and receive a payment you should not have gotten, call or visit your Social
Security office. We will tell you how you can return it.

The law requires that we look at every SSI case from time to time to make sure that people getting
payments should still get them and are getting the right amount. We will tell you when it is time for
your review. The review will be done by mail, phone or in person in the Social Security office.

We will ask you the same kind of questions you answered when you applied for SSI. We will need information about your income, your resources, your living arrangements and your bank accounts. Keep savings or checking account statements you get from your bank. You may need them when we review your case. Also, keep your pay slips if you work. We will need them, too. Do not wait for your review to tell us about any changes. You should report a change as soon as it happens. The section about reporting changes starts in part 3. If you get SSI because of a disability, see page 18 for information about reviewing your case.

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When you sign your application for SSI payments, you indicate that the information about you on the
application is true. If information about you changes, you must notify us.

NOTE: If you do not report changes or you give us false information or withhold information, you can
get a penalty or sanction. If you get penalized, it means that you did not report a change to us on
time. With a penalty, you can lose additional money from your check. This amount is from $25 up to
$100. If you are sanctioned, that means you gave us false information or withheld important information.
If we find out that you gave false information or withheld information on purpose, we can stop your
payments from six to 24 months.

The kinds of things you must report to us are listed on the next page. If any of these things affect you,
turn to the page shown for more information.

If you live in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York or Vermont, see pages 17 and 18
for other things you should tell us.

Let us know if you move or change your address. You must tell us your new mailing address whether you get your SSI by direct deposit or by mail. We need your mailing address so we can send you information about your SSI, and contact you to make sure you should still get SSI. Your payments will stop if we are unable to contact you.

Also, tell your post office about your new address. Then, if the Social Security office does not get your new address in time to change it on your next check, the post office will send it to your new address.

If someone moves into or out of your household

Let us know if there is a change in the number of people who live with you. You must tell us if:

• Someone moves into or out of your home;
• Someone who lives with you dies; or
• You or someone who lives with you has a baby.

Let us know if you start living in someone else’s home or if you move out of someone else’s home.

If you have income other than your SSI, you must tell us about it. And you should tell us if the amount
of your other income increases, decreases, or if the income stops. Usually, changes in your income in a
month will affect your SSI payment two months later.

You also should tell us about changes in the income of other family members living with you.
For example:

• If you are married, tell us about any change in your husband’s or wife’s income, including any change in the amount of his or her Social Security benefits. (If you also get Social Security benefits, you do not need to tell us when you get a Social Security benefit increase.)
• If you have a child younger than 18 who gets SSI and lives with you, tell us about any change in:
  —The child’s income;
  —Your income;
  —Your husband’s or wife’s income; and
  —Income of any child in your home who is not getting SSI.

Also tell us if:

—A child in your home who is not getting SSI gets
married; or
—A child who is working or who is age 18 to 22 starts or stops attending school full time.

What we count as income

Under SSI, income includes cash, checks and other things you get that can be used for food, clothing or
shelter. Here are examples of income:

• Wages from your job, whether in cash or another form;
• Net earnings from your business if you are self-employed;
• The value of food, shelter or clothing that someone gives you, or the amount of money someone gives you to help pay for them;
• Department of Veterans Affairs benefits
• Railroad retirement and railroad unemployment benefits;
• Annuities, pensions from any government or private source, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance benefits, black lung benefits and Social Security benefits;
• Prizes, settlements and awards, including court ordered awards;
• Proceeds of life insurance policies;
• Gifts and contributions;
• Support and alimony payments;
• Inheritances in cash or property;
• Interest earned, including interest on savings,
• Checking and other accounts;
• Rental income; and
• Strike pay and other benefits from unions.

The following items are not income:

• Medical care and services;
• Social services;
• Money from the sale, exchange or replacement of things you own (though the money may count as a resource if you retain it until the next month);
• Income tax refunds
• Earned Income Tax Credit payments
• Payments made by life or disability insurance on charge accounts or other credit accounts;
• Proceeds of a loan;
• Bills paid by someone else for things other than food, clothing or shelter;
• Replacement of lost or stolen income; and
• Weatherization assistance.

Some things we normally count as “income” will not reduce your SSI payment. For example, under certain conditions, home energy assistance provided by certain home energy suppliers is not counted as income. Food, clothing, shelter or home energy assistance provided free or at a reduced rate by private nonprofit organizations also is not counted. Even though these items may not count, you should still tell us about them.

We will need to verify your wages or self-employment income. It is important that you keep all your
pay slips, including pay slips for overtime, vacations or bonuses. If you are self-employed, you should keep your completed federal/state income tax forms.

Tell us if there is any change in what you own. A single person can have resources worth up to $2,000
and still get SSI. A couple can have resources worth up to $3,000.

We do not count many of the things you own. Your home and the land that it is on do not count if it is
your primary residence. Depending on how much they are worth and how they are used, household
goods, personal property and a car may not count. Life insurance with a face value of $1,500 or less per person usually does not count. Up to $1,500 in burial funds for you and up to $1,500 in burial funds for
your spouse do not count. Burial plots for you and your immediate family also do not count.

Some of the things we do count are:

• Cash;
• Your checking and savings accounts;
• Christmas club accounts;
• Certificates of deposit; and
• Stocks and U.S. Savings Bonds.

Any payments that you get from SSI or Social Security for past months will not be counted as a
resource for six months after the month you get them. If there are any past payments left over after
the 6-month period, they will count as resources.

If you are single, tell us if your resources are more than $2,000. If you are living with your husband or
wife, tell us if your combined resources are more than $3,000.

If you have a child who gets SSI, you should tell us about changes in the things the child owns AND the
things you and your husband or wife own.

If you agreed to sell property so you could receive SSI, you should tell us when you sell it. If you do not sell the property, you may not be able to get any more
SSI payments. And, you may have to return any payments we already sent you.

If your name is on any bank account with another person, you must tell us about the account, even if
you do not consider the money to be yours. You must tell us about the account, even if you do not use the
money or account. If someone wants to add your name to an account, check with us first. If the money
is not really yours, or if it is for a special purpose like your medical expenses, we can tell you how to set up
the account so it will not affect your SSI.

If you (or your husband or wife) buy, sell or become the owner of any real estate, a car or personal property, you need to tell us.

Call us if you are not sure if something counts. We will help you figure it out.

Let us know if someone gives you money, food, clothing or free housing. Also, tell us if anyone helps
pay for your food, utilities, rent or mortgage OR if the amount someone pays you changes. If you used
to get help with expenses and do not get it now, tell us that, too.

You must tell us if you enter or leave a residential institution, hospital, skilled nursing facility, nursing
home, intermediate care facility, halfway house, jail, prison, public emergency shelter or any other kind of
institution. Let us know the name of the institution and the date you entered or left. If you are not able
to tell us, ask someone in the institution’s office to help you.

You usually cannot get SSI while in a public institution. If you enter a medical institution, it is especially
important to tell us right away. There are special rules if you enter a medical institution for a stay
of less than 90 days. Often, you can keep getting your SSI if we learn about it right away. Your doctor must
sign a statement about how long you will stay. And, you must sign a statement that you still need to pay
expenses for your home while you are in the institution. We need these statements as soon as possible—
but no later than the 90th day you are in the institution, or the day you leave if that is earlier.

If your spouse is institutionalized, you must report this change. If his or her Social Security benefits are
redirected to you to use for household expenses, this counts as income to you and must be reported to us.

Tell us if you get married or if your marriage ends. Also, tell us if you separate from your husband or
wife. If you are separated now, tell us if you begin to live together again.

Leaving the United States means leaving the 50 states, the District of Columbia or the Northern
Mariana Islands. Usually, if you leave the United States for 30 days or more, you can no longer get SSI.

If you move to Puerto Rico, you are considered to be outside the United States for SSI purposes only.
People who live in Puerto Rico cannot get SSI.

If you plan to leave the United States, tell us before you leave. We need to know the date you plan to
leave and the date you plan to come back. Then we can tell you if your SSI will be affected.

Once you have been outside the United States for 30 or more days in a row, your SSI cannot start again
until you have been back in the country for at least 30 straight days.

There are special rules for dependent children of military personnel who leave the U.S. They may be
able to get or apply for SSI while overseas. There also are exceptions for students studying abroad.

You must tell us if you are violating a condition of your probation or parole imposed under federal or state
law. You cannot receive SSI for any month in which you violate a condition of your probation or parole.

You must tell us if you are fleeing to avoid prosecution for a crime or to avoid custody or confinement
after being convicted of a crime that is:

• A felony under the laws of the state in which you
  live; or
• A high misdemeanor under the laws of the state of
  New Jersey.

You cannot get SSI for any months in which there is an outstanding warrant for a crime that is a felony (or high misdemeanor under the laws of New Jersey). You cannot get SSI for any months in which you have a parole or probation violation.

If you are an immigrant who is sponsored by a U.S. resident we look at the income and resources of the following people in deciding whether you can get SSI and how much your payments will be:

• Yourself (including anything you still have in your homeland);
• Your husband or wife;
• Your parents if you are under age 18;
• Your sponsor; and
• Your sponsor’s husband or wife.

You must report any changes in the income and resources of all the above people until you become a U.S. citizen or you work for 10 years. (Work done by your spouse or parent may count towards the 10 years for SSI.) After that time, you have to report only changes for yourself, your spouse and, if you are younger than age 18, your parents.

If you are age 18 to 22, tell us if you start or stop attending school regularly. It may affect your SSI.
Also, tell us the date your attendance changed.

Sometimes a person is unable to manage his or her own funds. If this happens, someone should let us
know. We can arrange to send the SSI payment to a “representative payee.” A representative payee is a
relative or someone else who agrees to manage and use the money for the well-being of the person getting
SSI. For more information, see the publication, A Guide For Representative Payees (Publication No.
05-10076).

If someone getting SSI dies, somebody should tell us. If there is a surviving husband or wife who is getting
SSI, the amount may be changed.

Any SSI payments sent after the month of death or any checks not cashed or deposited before death must
be returned.

If a person’s SSI was being deposited directly into an account in a bank, the bank also should be told of the
person’s death. The bank will return the money to Social Security. Any amount sent to the account of a
deceased recipient should not be withdrawn.

If an SSI recipient has a representative payee and the payee dies, someone should tell us.

Let us know if your immigration status changes. Your immigration status may affect whether you can
get SSI. In general, if you become a U.S. citizen, you still can get SSI.

If you are getting SSI for seven years because you entered the U.S. as a refugee or in a refugee-like
immigration status, and you become a lawful permanent resident during the seven-year period, your SSI
can continue for the full seven years as long as you meet all of the other SSI requirements, such as the
limits on income and resources.

Refer to the SSA publication, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) For Noncitizens (Publication
No. 05-11051), for more information.

If you live in one of the following states, there are some other things you must report to us:

• California—Let us know if you regularly were eating your meals away from home and now you are
  eating at home. Also let us know if you regularly were eating at home and now you eat out.
• Hawaii, Michigan or Vermont—Tell us if you live in a facility that provides different levels of care
  and the level of care you get changes; for example, if you move from assisted living to a nursing home.
• Massachusetts—Tell us if you (or you and your wife or husband) were paying more than two-thirds of
  the living expenses for the household in which you are living and you now pay less. Also, tell us if you
  were paying less than two-thirds of these expenses but now you pay more.
• New York—Let us know if you regularly were eating your meals away from home and now you are
  eating at home. Or, tell us if you were eating your meals at home and now you eat out. Also, if you
  live with other people, tell us if you used to prepare your meals by yourself and now you prepare meals
  together. Or, tell us if you were preparing your meals with other people and now you prepare your
  meals alone.

If you get SSI because of a disability or blindness, you must tell us if your medical condition improves. If you are no longer disabled, your SSI will stop after a short adjustment period.

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You can report changes by calling us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213. When you call, please have your
Social Security number handy. You also can report changes by mail or in person. If you send us a letter,
be sure it shows:

• The name of the person for whom you are reporting
  the change;
• The Social Security number of the person who
  gets SSI;
• The change being reported;
• The date the change happened; and
• Your signature, address and phone number.

You must report a change within 10 days after the month it happens. You should report a change even if
you are late. If you do not report a change, you may miss out on money you need if the change means you should receive a greater amount. Or, you may get too much money and have to pay it back.

If you do not report a change or if you make a false statement and get money that you are not due, Social
Security will make you pay back the money. It also can result in a fine, sanction or imprisonment.

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If anyone comes to your home to talk about your SSI, ask for identification. Anyone who is from Social
Security will be glad to show you proper identification.

If you have any doubts about the person, you can call us to ask if someone was sent to see you. And
remember, Social Security employees will never ask you for money to have something done. It is our job
to help you.

You never have to pay for information or service at Social Security. Some businesses advertise that they
can provide name changes, Social Security cards or earnings statements for a fee. All these services are
provided free by Social Security. So do not pay for something that is free. Call us or visit our website
first. Social Security is the best place to get information about Social Security.

People who get SSI also may be able to get social services from the state in which they live. These services
include free meals, housekeeping help, transportation or help with other problems.

You can get information about services in your area from your state or local social services or welfare
office.

People who get SSI usually can get food stamps, too. You can get a food stamp application at your Social
Security office or local social services or welfare office. See the publication, Food Stamps And Other
Nutrition Programs (Publication No. 05-10100).

If you get Medicare and have low income and few resources, your state may pay your Medicare premiums
and, in some cases, other Medicare expenses such as deductibles and coinsurance. Only your state
can decide if you qualify. To find out if you do, contact your state or local welfare office or Medicaid
agency. You can get more information from the publication, Medicare Savings Programs. To get a copy, call
the Medicare toll-free number, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), or visit www.medicare.gov on the
Internet and click on “Publications.”

You can ask us for special handling of the letters we send you about changes in your SSI. We have two
ways to give you these special letters. We can either send your letters by certified mail or send them by
regular mail and telephone you. We will call and read your letter within five workdays after mailing it if
you choose this option.

If you work, be sure to tell us if any of your work expenses change. Income spent on work expenses is
not counted as income, so it will not lower the amount of your SSI.

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