Social Security Disability Benefits

SSI: Supplemental Security Income

What Is SSI and Who Qualifies?

SSI supplemental income is a monthly payment from Social Security for adults and children with disabilities or blindness, and for people 65 or older, who have little income and few resources. In 2026 the federal payment is up to $994 a month for one person and $1,491 for a couple, and countable resources must stay at or below $2,000 ($3,000 for a couple). Your income, where you live and your state can raise or lower the amount. Try the SSI calculator to estimate yours.

Reviewed by Michael Rupe ·October 1, 2026

A woman using a wheelchair types on a laptop at a white table in her kitchen, with a coffee cup and tablet beside her — Photo: Gustavo Fring / Pexels

What SSI Pays and Who It Is for

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal cash benefit run by the Social Security Administration (SSA). It is paid from general tax revenue, not from your work record, so you don’t need any work history to qualify. That’s the big difference from SSDI, which depends on the Social Security taxes you paid while working.

SSI is a needs-based program. It looks at three things:

Who you are. You must be 65 or older, blind, or have a disability that meets SSA’s rules. Children with disabilities can qualify too; see SSI for children.
What you have coming in. Wages, Social Security, pensions, unemployment and help from other people can all count as income.
What you own. Bank accounts, cash and some property count toward a resource limit.

The less countable income you have, the bigger your SSI payment. If you have no other income and live in your own place, you get the full federal amount. Not sure which program fits you? The SSDI vs SSI comparison lays them side by side.

Who Qualifies for SSI Supplemental Income

SSA says adults and children might be eligible if they have little or no income, little or no resources, and a disability, blindness, or are 65 or older.

The disability rule for adults. If you’re 64 or younger, your condition must affect your ability to work for a year or more, or be expected to result in death. The medical test is the same one SSDI uses: you can’t do substantial work, can’t do your past work, and can’t adjust to other work. You also have to show you earned less than $1,690 from work in the month you apply, the 2026 substantial gainful activity level. The conditions pages explain what SSA’s medical listings require for each body system.

The income rule. SSA says SSI is generally for people who don’t earn more than $2,073 a month from work. That ceiling is higher than the $994 payment because SSA ignores more than half of your earnings (see the next sections).

The resource rule. Your countable resources can’t be more than $2,000, or $3,000 for a couple.

Where you live. SSI is paid in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands. SSA’s Red Book says people who live in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands cannot receive SSI.

Citizenship. U.S. citizens can qualify, and some noncitizens can too, under extra rules SSA applies to noncitizens.

For a quick check of both SSDI and SSI rules, use the disability eligibility screener. The fuller walk-through is on who qualifies for Social Security disability.

SSI Amounts and Limits for 2026

SSI amounts rose with the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026.

SSI figure	2026 amount
Federal payment, one person	$994 a month
Federal payment, eligible couple	$1,491 a month
Resource limit, one person	$2,000
Resource limit, couple	$3,000
General income exclusion	first $20 a month of most income
Earned income exclusion	first $65 of earnings, plus half the rest
Student earned income exclusion (under 22)	$2,410 a month, up to $9,730 a year
Earnings limit in the month you apply (disability)	$1,690

Your actual payment can be lower than $994 if you have other income or get help with shelter, and higher if your state adds a supplement. For every SSA and VA amount in one place, see disability benefit amounts for 2026.

How SSA Counts Your Income

SSA doesn’t subtract every dollar you receive. It first takes out the income it ignores, and what’s left is your countable income. Your SSI payment is the federal rate minus your countable income.

The two main exclusions work in a set order:

The $20 general exclusion comes off your unearned income first, such as a Social Security check or a pension. If you have less than $20 of unearned income, the rest of the $20 comes off your earnings.
The earned income exclusion then takes off the first $65 of your monthly earnings, plus half of everything above $65.

SSA’s own 2026 examples show how this plays out:

Only a Social Security benefit. You get $300 from Social Security. SSA ignores $20, so $280 counts. Your SSI is $994 minus $280: $714 a month.
Only wages. You earn $317 before taxes. SSA takes off $20, then $65, which leaves $232. Half of that ($116) counts. Your SSI is $994 minus $116: $878 a month.

Work pays more under SSI than many people expect. In the wage example, you keep $317 in wages plus $878 in SSI.

Some income doesn’t count at all, including SNAP benefits, income tax refunds, home energy assistance, state or local assistance based on need, loans you have to repay, and money someone else spends on your phone or medical bills. Students under 22 can also shelter up to $2,410 a month of earnings, to a yearly cap of $9,730 in 2026.

If you live with a spouse who doesn’t get SSI, SSA may count part of your spouse’s income. The SSI calculator runs these steps for you, and working while on disability covers the work rules in more depth, including Section 1619.

What Counts as a Resource for SSI

Resources are things you own that could be turned into cash for food or shelter: cash, bank accounts, stocks, savings bonds, digital currency, land, life insurance and vehicles. SSA checks your countable resources on the first day of each month. If you’re over the limit that day, you can’t get SSI for that month.

Many things don’t count:

the home you live in and the land it sits on;
household goods and personal items, such as wedding rings;
one vehicle of any value, if someone in your household uses it for transportation;
life insurance with a combined face value of $1,500 or less;
burial spaces, and burial funds of up to $1,500 each for you and your spouse;
money set aside under a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS);
up to $100,000 in an ABLE account.

Back payments of SSI or Social Security don’t count as a resource for nine months after you receive them. That gives you time to spend down a lump sum on things you need. Giving away a resource, or selling it for less than it’s worth, can make you ineligible for up to 36 months.

Where You Live Changes Your SSI Payment

Your living arrangement affects your SSI amount. SSA looks at whether you live in your own place, in someone else’s household, in a care home, or in a hospital or nursing home, and at who pays for your shelter.

Help with rent or utilities. When someone else pays all or part of your rent, mortgage or utilities, SSA calls it in-kind support and maintenance (ISM) and counts it as income. Since September 30, 2024, food no longer counts as ISM. Only shelter does.

How big the cut can be. SSA caps how much ISM it counts. In 2026 the most ISM can reduce your payment is $351.33 a month. If you live in someone else’s home and don’t pay your share of the shelter costs, SSA may apply its one-third reduction rule, cutting $994 by as much as $331.33, to $662.67.

When ISM doesn’t apply. SSA doesn’t count ISM if you:

live alone and pay for your own shelter;
live only with your spouse and minor children, and nobody outside the household pays your shelter costs; or
live with other people and pay your share of the shelter expenses.

Nursing homes and hospitals. If you’re in a medical facility for the whole month and Medicaid pays more than half the cost, your SSI is limited to $30 a month plus any state supplement.

If you’re homeless. SSA figures your payment as if you lived in your own place. You don’t need an address to be paid, and you can get up to the full amount for up to 6 months in any 9-month period while living in a public shelter.

State Supplements: Which States Add Money to SSI

Many states add their own payment on top of the federal SSI amount. Who runs it matters. When SSA runs the supplement, it comes in the same payment as your SSI. When the state runs it, you may need to apply with a state agency, and the money can arrive separately.

Here’s how all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico break down:

SSA pays the supplement with SSI (6): California, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey and Vermont. Montana pays only people in state-certified care settings, and Nevada pays only people who are aged or blind.
Split between SSA and the state (7): Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Dakota. In these states, SSA usually pays the part for people in care homes and the state pays the rest.
The state runs it (29): Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. SSA’s state supplement table also lists Alabama and Georgia as running their own optional supplements; contact the state human services agency there.
Oklahoma (1): Oklahoma Human Services sets a State Supplemental Payment of up to $40 a month in 2026 for anyone who qualifies for SSI; ask SSA or Oklahoma Human Services how it is paid in your case.
No optional supplement (6): Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia. Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee keep only a small mandatory payment for people converted from earlier state programs.
No SSI at all (1): Puerto Rico, so there is no state supplement there.

In many states the supplement goes only to people in a care home or facility. Kansas, Louisiana, Texas and Utah, for example, pay their supplement only to SSI recipients in institutions, and Florida and the District of Columbia pay theirs only to people in certain residential care or adult foster care homes.

State	Who runs it	Example amount, individual
California	SSA	$1,234 a month combined SSI and state payment, aged or disabled (January 2026)
New York	State (OTDA)	$87 a month living alone (2026)
Massachusetts	State (DTA)	$128.82 a month, full cost of living (2026)
New Jersey	SSA	$31.25 a month living alone or with others (2026)
Vermont	SSA	$55.68 a month living independently (2026)
Wisconsin	State (DHS)	$92.16 a month, independent living (2026)
Alaska	State (Division of Public Assistance)	$1,356 a month total Adult Public Assistance standard, including SSI, living independently (January 2026)
District of Columbia	State and SSA	$681 a month in adult foster care with 50 or fewer beds, $1,675 combined with SSI (2026)
Michigan	State and SSA	$14 a month living independently, paid quarterly (2026)
Oklahoma	State (OKDHS)	up to $40 a month (2026)
Wyoming	State (WDH)	$20 a month if SSI is your only income (policy effective July 2021)

For any other state, open the state disability benefits pages. Each state page names the agency that runs the supplement and its current amounts.

SSI, Medicaid and Other Help

SSI often opens the door to health coverage and food help.

Medicaid. In most states, getting SSI makes you eligible for Medicaid, and your SSI application also counts as your Medicaid application. In other states, you apply separately with the state agency, and SSA tells you where. The Medicaid for people with disabilities guide explains the other ways to qualify, including buy-in programs for workers.

Keeping Medicaid when you work. Under Section 1619(b), Medicaid can continue after your earnings get too high for an SSI check, up to a threshold amount set for your state.

Medicare. SSI alone doesn’t bring Medicare, because Medicare is tied to Social Security benefits. If you get both SSI and Medicaid, your state pays your Medicare premiums. If you get SSI and have Medicare, you qualify for Extra Help with drug costs without a separate application. See Medicare for people on disability.

SNAP. You may qualify for SNAP food benefits. Your local Social Security office has SNAP information and application forms.

How to Apply for SSI

You can start in any of these ways:

Online. Start the disability application on ssa.gov. SSA says you may be able to apply for SSI through it.
By phone. Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and ask for an appointment to apply. SSA decides whether the appointment is by phone or in person.
In person. Find your nearest office on the Social Security office finder.

Apply soon. SSA can’t pay for months before your application’s effective date. If you call for an appointment and then file, SSA may treat the date of your call as your filing date. If you miss the appointment, you have 60 days from that contact to send a signed application. SSI payments start the first day of the month after the later of your filing date or the date you become eligible.

What happens next. SSA sends your file to your state’s Disability Determination Services for the medical decision. If you’re approved, SSA checks your financial documents and mails a letter with your monthly amount. There is no charge to apply, and SSA staff will help you fill out the forms and gather documents. The step-by-step checklist is on how to apply for disability benefits.

If you’re turned down. You have 60 days from the date you get the notice to appeal, and SSA assumes the notice reaches you 5 days after it was mailed. The disability appeals guide walks through each level.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Get SSI and SSDI at the Same Time?

Yes, if your SSDI payment is small and you meet SSI's income and resource limits. SSI counts your SSDI as unearned income, minus the $20 general exclusion, and pays the difference up to the 2026 federal rate of $994. The SSDI vs SSI comparison explains how the two programs fit together.

Does Getting Married Change My SSI?

It can. A couple who both qualify gets up to $1,491 a month in 2026, and the couple's resource limit is $3,000. If you live with a spouse who doesn't get SSI, SSA may count part of your spouse's income when it figures your payment. Report a marriage to SSA right away.

Is There a Charge to Apply for SSI?

No. SSA says anyone may apply and there is no charge to apply. SSA staff will fill in the application forms with you, help you get the documents you need, and pay for a medical exam if your file needs one.

Can I Get SSI if I Don't Have a Home Address?

Yes. SSA figures your payment the same way as for someone living in their own place, and you don't need an address to be paid. You can get up to your state's full SSI amount while living in a public shelter for up to 6 months in any 9-month period.

Do I Have to Report Changes While on SSI?

Yes. SSA says you must report your wages, other income, and changes to your resources or living arrangements each month. Reporting on time helps you avoid an overpayment you would have to pay back.

Can I Get SSI in Puerto Rico or Guam?

No. SSA's Red Book says people who live in American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands cannot receive SSI. The Puerto Rico page covers the disability help that does apply there.

More on Social Security Disability Benefits

This guide explains official rules in plain language. It isn't legal advice, and only the agency that runs a program can decide your case.