Supplemental Security Income

SSI recipients are required to apply for all benefits for which they might be eligible.

Social Security. Social Security benefits are the single largest source of income for SSI recipients. However, Social Security benefits are considered countable income and so they offset SSI benefits dollar for dollar. For example, if an individual is eligible for a Social Security benefit of $200 per month, that person’s $532 SSI benefit could be reduced to $322. The update to 2001 goes from $530 to $330.

Medicaid. The law allows SSI to enter into agreements with individual states to make all SSI recipients Medicaid-eligible. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia cover their SSI recipients in this way. In seven states all SSI recipients are eligible for Medicaid, but a separate application is required for Medicaid. Eleven states have more restrictive criteria for Medicaid eligibility. These criteria include, for example, a more narrow definition of blindness or disability or more limited financial circumstances than SSI requires. (The law requires that individual state criteria be no more restrictive than the state’s January 1972 medical assistance standards.)

Food stamps. The Food Stamp program was designed to end hunger and improve nutrition and health by assisting low-income households in buying the food they need for a nutritional diet. The program is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and operated by state and local welfare offices in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. To be eligible for the program, a household must meet certain income and resource standards and work requirements. The amount of benefits an eligible household receives depends on the number of people in the household and the amount of income the household has. In all states except California, SSI recipients may be eligible for food stamps. Social Security offices notify both Social Security and SSI applicants and recipients of their potential food stamp eligibility and supply them with application forms. Social Security offices forward the applications to the local food stamp office, where the eligibility determination is made.