Are Social Security Disability Payments Considered SSI?
Although the term "Social Security" is often used colloquially to refer to retirement benefits offered by the U.S. Social Security Administration, the agency in fact offers a number of other benefits as well. Among these are Social Security Disability payments, known as "SSD," and Supplemental Security Income, known as "SSI" Although both of these payments are made to people with disabilities, the eligibility requirements for each type of benefit are different.
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SSD
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Social Security Disability benefits are, like benefits for retirees, provided to people who have spent enough time in the workforce to "pay into" the Social Security system in the form of deductions from their paycheck. These benefits, like SSI benefits, are for people who are permanently disabled. However, unlike SSI, SSD have no limits on the amount of assets a person can have. A person can also earn up to $800 per month and still receive benefits.
SSI
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SSI differs from SSD in that it is exclusively for low-income people. People who receive SSI are only allowed to have a maximum of $2,000 in assets and cannot be receiving a retirement pensions or other "passive" incomes. In addition, a person on SSI is only allowed to receive $65 per month of income. After that, the Social Security administration will cut your benefits in half. Although related, SSI and SSD are different programs.
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Size of Benefits
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SSD checks are generally larger than SSI checks. According to the attorney Martha Churchill, a specialist in Social Security law with more than 30 years of legal experience, the average size of a monthly SSI check is $570. By contrast, the amount that people can receive in SSD benefits depends on how much money they earned during their working careers. As of January 2010, a person could potentially earn more than $2,200 individually each month and almost $4,000 if he is supporting a family.
Consideration
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In some cases, a person can simultaneously receive both SSD and SSI. He will only be eligible to receive both if he worked before he became disabled, but he worked for a short enough period of time or for low enough wages that his SSD check is less than the amount paid for SSI. In this case, the worker will be paid an SSI check large enough so he receives a total monthly payment equivalent to the size of a normal SSI check.
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