Can I Get Unemployment & File a SSI Claim?
You can get unemployment insurance and file a claim for Supplemental Security Income at the same time. The two programs have distinct purposes, funding sources and eligibility criteria. Only the form of their basic benefits is the same: a monthly cash payment from the government with supplements that differ on a state-by-state basis.
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Purposes
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The Unemployment Insurance program provides temporary income replacement to workers who lose their jobs. The amount you can receive from UI depends on how long you worked and how much you earned; all applicants get a fixed percentage of their wages over a period of 52 weeks. In contrast, the purpose of SSI is to help needy people who may also be disabled, blind and/or over the age of 65. You do not need a work history to get SSI, and the amount of your benefits is based on your total household income.
Funding Sources
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UI is funded primarily by a federal unemployment tax paid by your employer. Depending on where you live, you and your employer may have paid an additional state assessment. This means that while you were working, your contributions to the program were like paying a premium for coverage under any other type of insurance. But SSI has no dedicated source of funding. Instead, its payments are drawn entirely from general revenue set aside by the federal government and some states.
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Eligibility
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Under federal law, unemployment benefits are generally restricted to those who lost a job through no fault of their own and are actively looking for work. States may impose additional eligibility criteria to qualify for UI supplements. To get federal SSI and/or a state SSI supplement, you need to meet a household income limit. For 2011, this limit is $1,433 for an individual and $2,107 for a couple if your income comes from earnings, or $694 for an individual and $1,031 for a couple if it comes from other sources.
Filing a Claim
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You can file for UI at a state unemployment office immediately after losing your job. In fact, acting promptly is important because some states impose a one-week waiting period before you can receive your first check. A UI claim must provide details of your employment record. Your claim for federal SSI benefits may be filed at any Social Security office, but in some cases you must apply separately for state supplements. SSI claims require extensive documentation of your living arrangements, sources of income, health status and other personal information.
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References
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