Qualifying for Supplemental Security Income Benefits

Supplemental Security Income Benefits

The Supplemental Security Income(SSI) is a Federal assistance program operated by the Social Security Administration (SSA). It is one of the two programs handled by the SSA, the other being the Social Security Disability Insurance(SSDI) program. The SSI is for the blind, aged, and disabled people who have limited resources and have little earnings to sustain themselves.

Unlike the SSDI, that uses funds from FICA tax contributions of regular employees and self-employed individuals, the SSI program is financed by the taxes coming from the U.S. Treasury. This means that there are no work requirements, which an applicant must follow whenever they want to apply for SSI benefits.

In order to qualify for SSI benefits, here are some of the criteria needed to be followed:

• An individual must be aged 65 years or older, legally blind, or must have met the SSA’s definition of disability.
• The applicant is evaluated based on his or her assets. These assets are divided into two categories – income and resources.
• Income must be coming from wages, benefit programs, food assistance, pensions, and the like.
• Resources are those owned by the individual, such as savings or real estate.
  

The applicant can qualify for SSI benefits if he or she has a family or is unmarried. If the applicanthas a family, the combined income and resources must be less than the standard SSA level of $3,000. If thatg person is single, it must be less than $2,000.

An individual who wishes to apply for SSI benefits may be taken by surprise if the claim goes the same as the70 percent of initial applicants who can get denied by the Social Security Amdinistration. To increase the individual’s chances of winning SSI benefits, he or she might seek legal representation from a California disability attorney.