Skip to main content

WHAT IS SSI? IT IS NOT SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY

What is SSI if it isn't Social Security disability?

SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income, often abbreviated SSI.  It is NOT Social Security disability, although the Social Security Administration administers the SSI program and benefits.

HOW SSI IS DIFFERENT FROM SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY (SSDI)

1.  SSI does not require the claimant to have any work history.  SSDI does. So, SSI may be available, even though you never worked.

2.  SSI requires the claimant to have very, very low income and very limited financial resources.  SSDI does not require limited finances.

3. SSI eligibility is month-to-month, based on changing income, housing and living circumstances.  You may qualify for SSI one month but not the next (if income or living arrangements change).

4.  SSI is a type of federal welfare but SSDI is not; SSDI is a type of federal insurance benefit.

5.  The maximum federal SSI benefit for 2025 is only $967 per month for an individual.  The SSDI maximum is based on your 30 year wage average and may be much higher than SSI. The maximum SSDI benefit is

6.  SSI comes with Medicaid.  However, SSDI comes with Medicare.

7.  To get an SSI benefit, you must meet both age/medical requirements AND financial need requirements.  With SSDI you only need to meet the medical requirements.

8.  SSI is often considered a last resort when no SSDI benefits are available (because the claimant has not worked or has not worked recently enough to be "insured").

9.  Even if you are not disabled, you might qualify for SSI based on advanced age.  This is not necessarily true with SSDI. 

10.  SSI has very limited back pay options. SSI benefits will not start until the month following your application.  However, SSDI benefits may start up to 12 months before your file an application. Thus SSDI often results in more back pay (retroactive benefits).

_______________________

Charles W. Forsythe is a successful, experienced Social Security disability advocate with The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL.  We handle SSDI cases but do not handle SSI cases.  Free SSDI consultations at (256) 799-0297.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CAN YOU WIN YOUR DISABILITY APPEAL WITHOUT A LAWYER?

The Social Security Administration does not require you to have a lawyer to file an appeal or to appear at a hearing.  However, most people heading for a disability hearing will hire a lawyer or advocate to help them.   Studies have shown that you are about twice as likely to win with a lawyer.  A recent study found that claimants with no lawyer win about 30 percent of the time while claimants with a lawyer or advocate win 60 percent of the time.   " He just cooked his own goose." These statistics cover only one aspect of a disability appear--your odds of winning. The other important aspects are time and convenience. If you prepare and adjudicate your own disability appeal, expect to spend 12 to 24 months working on the case.  You will be collecting, reading and submitting hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records.  These records are complex and often difficult to understand.  And you must know how each medical record helps (or hurts) your dis...
Post a Comment
Read more

GET YOUR APPLICATION RIGHT - GET PAID SSDI B ENEFITS

  Get your Social Security application right - get paid.   There are hundreds of ways to mess up a Social Security disability application.  One of the most common ways that I see?  Blank lines.  Questions left blank.  One way or another, these questions will get answered before a decision is made on your claim.  They may get answered 6 months later when the Social Security office calls you--but you have just wasted 6 months.   Worse yet, Social Security may assume that since you didn't answer the questions, all the answers are "no," so nobody bothers to call you. This will lead to a negative action on your claim.   The complete disability application will consist, not just of the basic application, but several forms.  Many of those forms will be mailed to you AFTER you file the claim.  The following is always required for a complete application: The basic disability application (5 pages)  Disability Report (14 p...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOW TO PASS A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY EXAM

  So, Social Security is sending you to one of their doctors for an exam.  The first thing you may ask is, How do I pass this exam?   First, I should say that Social Security exams are not "pass or fail."  The doctor or examiner cannot tell Social Security whether or not you are disabled or whether you should get a benefit.  The doctor is going to check certain facts. For example, the doctor may check the range of motion in your joints and list the measurements. They may check your grip strength. (S)he may determine if you have difficulty walking, squatting, kneeling standing from a seated position.  The examiner may answer specific questions asked by Social Security: Is the use of a cane or assistive device medically necessary? Why is it necessary? Can the claimant use his/her hands to grasp and hold objects? Is the claimant able to understand and follow simple directions?  Here is advice I give my clients for a Social Security examination:  ...
Post a Comment
Read more