Financial Eligibility Requirements

---

What are the resource limits?

What are the income limits?

What income is not counted?

Are there special financial eligibility rules for noncitizens?

What are the resource limits?

Resources are money you have (cash, savings, bank accounts) or property you own (such as a car). Some types of resources are counted for SSI eligibility, and some are not. If you have too many countable resources, you will not be eligible for SSI.

For adults:

• Countable resources (cash, bank accounts, etc.) cannot be more than $2000 for an individual adult, or $3000 for a married couple. If you are a sponsored noncitizen, you may have to count some of the resources of your sponsor.

• The home you live in (no matter how much it is worth), and the value of a car you own (up to a market value of $4500) are not counted as resources.

• If you need your car for your job, medical treatment, transportation of a disabled person, or for daily activities, it is not counted as a resource, regardless of its value.

For children:

• Countable resources for a child cannot be more than $2000.

• If a child is living with one or two parents, some of the countable resources of the parent(s) are deemed to the child. The child's resources combined with the resources deemed from the parent(s) cannot be more than $2000.

• If the child lives with one parent, the parent's countable resources minus $2000 are deemed to the child. If the child lives with two parents, the combined countable resources of both parents minus $3000 are deemed to the child.

• The family's home and the value of their car (up to a market value of $4500) are not counted as resources.

• If the car is needed for a job, medical treatment, transportation of a disabled person, or for daily activities, it is not counted as a resource, regardless of its value.

Check with SSI for a list of other resources that are not counted when determining financial eligibility.

What are the income limits?

Income is money and non-cash items and services that you get in a month that can help meet your need for food and shelter. Income can be earned or unearned:

• Earned income comes from work, including wages, salary, tips, and income from self-employment.

• Unearned income comes from non-work sources such as Social Security benefits, child support, alimony, Veteran’s Administration benefits (VA), workers compensation, and gifts.

Some types of income are counted in determining your eligibility for SSI, and some are not.

Your total countable income cannot be greater than the SSI maximum payment levels for you to get SSI. The more countable income you have, the lower your SSI benefit will be.

What income is not counted?

For adults, these types of income are NOT counted for SSI:

• the first $20 of total income you get in a month
• the first $65 of earned income and ½ of earned income over $65 that you get in a month
• the value of services and cash you get from government social services programs, including food stamps, housing assistance, and fuel assistance
• the value of medical care or services you get, including health insurance
• most non-cash assistance from non-government agencies (charities, non-profits, etc.) 
• most income tax refunds
• cash or in-kind items you get from the sale, exchange, or replacement of a resource (this counts as a resource, not as income)
• money you borrow, or things you buy on credit
• payments you get for care of a foster child
• grants or scholarships for tuition, fees, and other education expenses

Check with SSI for other types of income that are not counted.

SSI computes your benefit amount by subtracting your countable income from the maximum SSI payment amount for your living situation category. If you are a sponsored noncitizen, you may have to count your sponsor's income as well as your own.

The more countable income you have, the lower your SSI benefit will be. If your countable income is over the SSI maximum payment level for your household situation, you cannot receive SSI. The SSI maximum payment levels are shown in a table in the Benefits section.

For children, income limits are complicated and depend on countable family income. Your Social Security representative will go over the income rules with you.

Are there special financial eligibility rules for noncitizens?

There are special financial eligibility rules for sponsored noncitizens who apply for SSI.

If you are a sponsored noncitizen:

• and you entered the U.S. on or after December 19, 1997
• and your sponsor signed an affidavit of support as a condition of entry

THEN the income and assets of your sponsor (and spouse, if living with the sponsor) are counted as if they were your own. This is called sponsor deeming.

Your sponsor's income and assets (minus certain deductions) are added to your own income and assets, whether or not your sponsor actually gives you any financial help. Your combined incomes must be within the income limits, and your combined assets must be within the asset limits, for you to be eligible for SSI.

Certain noncitizens are not required to have affidavits of support, or for other reasons are not subject to deeming for SSI. These include:

• Refugees
• Asylees
• Noncitizens with deportation withheld
• Certain battered noncitizens
• Indigent noncitizens who would be without basic shelter or food if they did not get SSI
• Noncitizens with 40 or more qualifying work credits

Sponsored noncitizens who entered the U.S. on or after 12/19/97 with an affidavit of support must continue to use deeming indefinitely for SSI, even if they become blind or disabled. The deeming requirement stops only if:

• you become a citizen
• your sponsor dies
• you are no longer applying for LPR status and you leave the country.

(Note: Sponsored noncitizens who entered the U.S. before 12/19/97 were only required to use deeming for a period of 3 or 5 years, depending on their date of entry.)

Sponsor deeming is complicated and the rules are subject to change. Your Social Security representative will explain the deeming rules that apply to you.