SSI or SSDI?
Hi, this is Don Jorgensen again with MySocialSecurityAttorney.com and this… today’s topic is going to be Social Security Disability Benefits, SSDI vs. SSI, what’s best for me?
Now, in order to understand Social Security, or SSI vs. SSDI, let me take a step back. Social Security, everyone knows or most people know about Social Security retirement. What most people don’t know is that there’s a whole other area of Social Security which is for disability. It’s a safety net for society and that safety net is broken up into two different parts. One is SSI Disability and one is Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.
Now, what’s the difference? From a disability standpoint, they’re exactly the same. In other words, the proof required for SSI is the same as SSDI, but the non-medical proof is what they’re different or where they differ.
Let’s start with SSDI or Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Now, again, we’re not talking about the medical proof, we’ll talk about it in a minute. It’s the non-medical proof that we’re talking about. Read more
Home Owners and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Senior Citizen: Is it true that a person can own a home and still be eligible for Supplemental Security Income, SSI benefits?
Social Security Representative: The SSI program used to be, you know, referred to as old age assistance and programs like that and what we have is that Supplemental Security Income, for individuals who are aged 65 and older, that hasn’t changed, that hasn’t increased with the full retirement age for retirement. That stayed with Medicare age, age 65.
So SSI is for individuals who are 65 and older who need help because of having limited income and resources or younger individuals who are either blind or disabled with limited income and resources. As long as you own a home and you live in it, then we are going to be fine with you having that property. We’re not going to count it for what it’s actually worth, you know, if you were to try to sell it, because if you’re living in it, you can’t really sell it. You need a place to live in.
So for SSI, we do help individuals, even if they have a fairly nice asset like a home because it’s not saleable while you’re living in it.
Will this extra money affect my SSI benefits?
Senior Citizen: I get Supplemental Security Income. My brother recently died and left me the money and he had a savings account. Will this extra money affect my SSI benefits? Will my SSI payments stop?
Social Security Representative: I was thinking a little bit about this while I was planning to give the answer. What I really wanted to add to this is that our clients need to actually ask these questions of us. You know, they’re great to talk about on our TV show, but if this is going to happen with a client, when do you think the client should come in and ask the question. You know, ten months after they got the money, or you know, when they find out that their NV will or in the state. Contact us, ask us the question, and we can help the individual to prepare better to have this money actually do have some good. You know, if you’re going to inherit $5,000 and you have to use the money for the funeral expenses, then we’re going to find a way that we don’t count this money if it’s all spent on the funeral bill.
But if you’re going to get that money and you’re going to be able to say pay off your car bill or car loan, then come in and talk to us and we’re going to advise you that the month you get the money that month you’ve got to go in there and actually pay it on this bill, so that you only lose your SSI for the one month.
But try not to ask these questions after the fact. When you’re on a benefit program like SSI, it’s best that the individual contact us. Go right into our website. We’ve got answer to some of these questions right there. You can search it out and ask, you know, income or inheritance affect benefits and the answer would be given to you right on our website, or give us a call and one of our telephone operators would be able to send you a pamphlet on Supplemental Security Income and that might explain the information a little bit better.
Supplemental Security Income case under review?
Interviewer: I just got a notice from Social Security that my Supplemental Security Income case is being reviewed. What does that mean?
Ken Hess: Well, when we do a Supplemental Security Income review, that’s the financial program, that’s the needs program. We end up handling that government program where we take income that we receive (that’s tax dollars), that supports the SSI program. So to be responsive to tax payers, we have to make sure that the clients who receive benefits are eligible and that they’re within the guidelines of when they applied for benefits. So we do a review on clients infrequently, not every year, at times there might be a couple of years in between. But, the clients do have to go through that financial review with us, either by being available to talk to us on the phone, or by coming in to the office.
And, also for disability clients we review their disability cases too, but usually we’ll just send them the form and let them complete the medical information and send it back to us. We do the financial review for SSI either over the phone or in the office with the client.
And it’s not that we’re worried that our client is doing something wrong, it’s just that we have to be responsive to tax payers and making sure that the program is handled and run properly. And to make sure that the people who are eligible are the ones that continue to receive benefits.
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