How Do They Calculate SSI?
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Who Is Eligible?
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SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income and is a program run by the Social Security Administration. The goal is to provide extra income to individuals who are 65 and older, blind or disabled. The first step to determine if you are eligible is to tally your financial resources as defined by the Social Security Administration. The administration counts all cash, savings and checking accounts, and investments in stocks and bonds as resources. Things not counted include your house, land, burial plots, burial expenses of up to $1,500 per person, and life insurance policies with face values of less than $1,500. Household items, personal property such as clothes and a car may not count, depending on their value and their usage.
Federal Benefit Rate
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The federal benefit rate is the limit for monthly payments. This differs depending on whether you are single or a couple and is set each year to reflect changes in the cost of living. For example, the 2009 limit for singles increased $37 from 2008 to total of $674. The 2009 limit for married couples increased $55 from 2008 to a total of $1,011.
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Countable Income
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The Social Security Administration has specific rules for calculating the amount of income that counts against the federal benefit rate. Total your unearned income. This is any income that did not come from working, such as gifts, interest and pensions. Subtract $20 from this amount. Then calculate your total earned income. If your unearned income was less than $20, subtract the remainder of the $20 from your earned income. For example, if you only have $8 in unearned income, you could subtract the extra $12 from your earned income. Then subtract $65 from this amount and divide it by two. If you are blind or disabled, you are allowed to deduct additional money depending on the extra expenses you incur in order to work. Add your countable unearned income to your countable earned income. This is your total income for the month.
Calculate SSI Monthly Benefit
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Subtract the countable income from the federal benefit rate. This is how much your monthly supplemental security income check will be.
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