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Income and Social Security

SSI (Supplemental Security Income)

SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is a monthly payment from Social Security for people who are 65 or older, blind or disabled, and who have very little income and savings. You don't need a work history to get it. Your state may add money of its own.

Checked

Rules set by the Social Security Administration
An older man works out his monthly budget at a desk with a calculator and a notebook

How to apply

In person
At your local Social Security office. You can also apply by phone.

Applying is free. Nobody should charge you to apply.

Apply on the official site

Who may qualify

Who may qualify for SSI (Supplemental Security Income)
One personMarried couple
Savings limit (countable resources)$2,000$3,000

Source: Social Security Administration (source 6)

Who it's forPeople 65 or older, blind, or disabled

Source: Social Security Administration (source 8)

Work history neededNone

Source: USAGov (U.S. General Services Administration) (source 3)

Your homeDoesn't count toward the savings limit, whatever it's worth

Source: Social Security Administration (source 11)

One car used for transportationDoesn't count, whatever it's worth

Source: Social Security Administration (source 12)

Income that doesn't countThe first $20 a month of most income

Source: Social Security Administration (source 9)

Earnings that don't countThe first $65 a month, then half of the rest

Source: Social Security Administration (source 10)

Where you liveOne of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or the Northern Mariana Islands

Source: Social Security Administration (source 8)

CitizenshipU.S. citizen or national, or a noncitizen who meets strict immigration-status rules

Source: Social Security Administration (source 8)

What you may get

What SSI (Supplemental Security Income) pays
One personMarried couple
Most a month from the federal government (2026)$994 a month$1,491 a month

Source: Social Security Administration (source 5)

Most a month, one person (2027, first paid Dec. 31, 2026)$1,029 a month

Source: Social Security Administration, in the Federal Register (source 1)

Most a month, married couple (2027)$1,544 a month

Source: Social Security Administration, in the Federal Register (source 1)

Dates, renewals and waiting lists

Dates and renewals
2027 increase3.6%, starting with the payment made Dec. 31, 2026

Source: Social Security Administration, in the Federal Register (source 1)

Good to know

  • The amounts above are the most the federal government pays. If your countable income is more than that amount, you can't get federal SSI; otherwise Social Security subtracts your countable income from it.
  • A married couple who both qualify get one couple amount, split equally between them.
  • Your state may add a payment of its own on top of federal SSI.
  • You must also apply for any other benefits you may be able to get.
  • If you're outside the U.S. for 30 days in a row, SSI stops until you've been back for 30 days in a row.
  • In DC and 34 states, Social Security makes the Medicaid decision for people who get SSI. The other states decide Medicaid themselves, and eight of them use stricter rules than SSI.
  • Most noncitizens must meet two tests to get SSI: be in a 'qualified alien' category and meet an exception condition. Social Security checks immigration status with the Department of Homeland Security.
  • If you have questions about how these rules apply to you, you can look for free civil legal aid near you on the Legal Services Corporation's site.

Sources: Social Security Administration (source 7), Social Security Administration, in the Federal Register (source 1), Legal Services Corporation (source 4)

What people get wrong

  • MythI never worked, so I can't get SSI.

    Not true. SSI doesn't require a work history.

  • MythI own my home, so I can't get SSI.

    Not true. The home you live in doesn't count toward the savings limit, whatever it's worth.

  • MythMy car puts me over the savings limit.

    Usually not. One car used for transportation doesn't count, whatever it's worth.

Sources

  1. Social Security Administration, in the Federal Register, Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2027 (91 FR 67380) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  2. USAGov (U.S. General Services Administration), Social Security Administration (SSA) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  3. USAGov (U.S. General Services Administration), SSDI and SSI benefits for people with disabilities (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  4. Legal Services Corporation, I Need Legal Help (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  5. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 02001.020: Title XVI Federal Benefit Rate Increases and Rate Charts (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  6. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 01110.003: Resources limits for SSI benefits (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  7. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 02005.001: Retrospective Monthly Accounting Computation (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  8. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 00501.001: Eligibility Under the Supplemental Security Income Provisions (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  9. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 00810.420: $20 Per Month General Income Exclusion (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  10. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 00820.500: Earned Income Exclusions - General (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  11. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 01130.100: The Home Exclusion (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  12. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 01130.200: Automobiles and Other Vehicles Used For Transportation (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  13. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 00502.100: Basic SSI Alien Eligibility Requirements (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  14. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 01715.010: Medicaid and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  15. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 01401.001: General Information about State Supplementation (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  16. Social Security Administration, POMS SI 04005.010: Overview of the Administrative Review (Appeals) Process - SSI (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.

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