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Effective: January 1, 2008 |
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04.15ar3 - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (Archive) |
Archived: October 1, 2008 |
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal supplemental income program operated by the Social Security Administration (SSA) and funded by general tax revenues (not Social Security taxes). It provides monthly cash payments to certain people, who have little or no income, to help them meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
1619(a) and 1619(b) Social Security Status.
SSI and MN Health Care Programs.
Generally, to be eligible for SSI, qualifications include:
l Must be at least one of the following:
n Age 65 or older.
n Certified disabled by the SSA.
n Certified blind by SSA.
l Must be within SSI income and asset limits and meet either of the following:
n Do not qualify for Retirement Survivors Disability Insurance (RSDI) payments because they have not made payments to the RSDI system.
n Have RSDI payments but the payment is less than the SSI income standard.
l Must be one of the following:
n A resident of the United States.
n A U.S. citizen.
n A noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence or a noncitizen granted a special status by the Department of Homeland Security.
The SSI payment amount is based on the income and assets of the client and responsible household members (spouses and parents of minor children).
l Responsible household members do not receive payment unless they are also elderly, disabled, or blind and meet SSI income and asset requirements.
Example:
Bob and Agnes are a married couple. Bob is disabled and did not work long enough to qualify for RSDI disability payments. Agnes is not age 65 or older, disabled or blind.
SSA Action:
Bob receives SSI of $470 per month based on his and Agnes’s assets and Agnes’s earnings from part-time employment. Agnes is not eligible for SSI.
The following chart lists SSI payment amounts.
|
Effective Month/Year |
Eligible Individual Maximum Payment Amount |
Eligible Couple Maximum Payment Amount |
|
January 2008 |
$637 |
$956 |
|
January 2007
|
$623 |
$934 |
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January 2006
|
$603 |
$904 |
1619(a) and 1619(b) Social Security Status
1619(a) and 1619(b) are statuses determined by SSA. The status is granted to disabled SSI clients who become employed. They allow SSI beneficiaries to return to work without losing SSI and Medicaid eligibility. SSI beneficiaries may go back and forth between these statuses depending upon their health and the amount of work hours they can sustain.
l To qualify for one of these statuses an individual must have been eligible for and received a regular SSI cash payment based on disability for a month within the current period of SSI eligibility.
l An individual can qualify for 1619(a) as early as his or her second month on the SSI rolls.
Clients with either of these statuses are eligible for ongoing MA without an asset or income limit if they received MA in the month prior to the initial month of the 1619 status.
Note: This does not apply to cases using an LTC income calculation.
Contact the SSA via form SSA-1610 to determine if a client has or continues to have a 1619 status.
The differences between the two statuses are:
l 1619(a): The individual continues receiving an SSI benefit even though there is a demonstrated ability to work. The person may also be receiving RSDI benefits.
l 1619(b): The individual is ineligible for SSI payments due to income in excess of SSI limits while having the 1619(a) status.
Example:
Shawn, age 27, began receiving SSI benefits after a car accident left him a quadriplegic. He has been on MA since before the accident. He was able to return to his job as a teacher for 10 hours a week with the help of a personal care attendant (PCA). Shawn continues to receive SSI while earning wages from his employer.
Action:
Shawn’s status was changed to 1619(a) by the SSA. Shawn’s SSI continues to be excluded, as do his earnings, when calculating his income for MA eligibility. Shawn also does not have an asset limit due to receipt of this status.
One year later, Shawn begins working full-time teaching with the help of his personal care attendant (PCA). His SSI status changes to 1619(b) and he no longer receives SSI because he has excess income for that program.
Action:
Shawn’s wages will continue to be excluded in calculating his income eligibility due to his 1619(b) status. He will also continue to not have an asset limit.
SSI and Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP)
SSI recipients who apply for or are enrolled in MinnesotaCare must be referred to apply for or have eligibility determined for MA. Clients who meet certain conditions must be referred to apply for SSA benefits. See Referrals to Social Security to determine who must be referred and the steps in the referral process.
For information on how SSI is treated as income, see the following for more information:
Excluded Income – Program Provisions.