Supplemental Security Income Limits for 2023

The monthly maximum benefit amount you can earn from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in 2023 is $914 for an individual living alone and $1,372 for a couple living alone^[0]

Note that the maximum federal benefit will be reduced by your “countable income” — an amount calculated by the SSA that includes earned and unearned income.

Some states also offer supplemental payments to SSI recipients.

You may still be eligible for SSI even if your income or assets don’t seem to meet the requirements. Certain assets are automatically excluded, such as Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts or a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), some trusts and some burial funds.

• Stocks, mutual funds and U.S. savings bonds.

• Any additional possessions that can be sold or changed to cash and used to cover living expenses like food or housing.

• SSA deemed resources. These are assets or resources that belong to an applicant’s parent (for children living with parents) or spouse, but count as though they belong to the applicant.

• Your home and the lot it sits on. 

• One vehicle if it’s used for transportation by members of your household. 

• Household goods and personal items like wedding or engagement rings. 

• Life insurance policies with $1,500 or less combined value. 

• Burial funds of $1,500 or less. 

• Property used in a trade or business. 

• Money or property set aside under a PASS if you have a disability.

• ABLE accounts with up to $100,000 in funds. 

• A set amount of parental resources. For a child under 18 years old living with one parent, $2,000 of that parent’s resources will not be counted in their SSI eligibility. For a child living with both parents, $3,000 will not be counted. Any amounts exceeding the parents’ limits will be counted as part of that child’s $2,000 resource limit.

Aside from satisfying certain income and resource requirements, here are a few reasons you might not qualify for SSI^[0]

You have an unsatisfied felony charge or an outstanding arrest warrant or any pending criminal charges that have not been resolved in a court of law.

You are currently incarcerated. This includes prison, jail and correctional facilities like detention centers or halfway houses. You won’t be eligible for SSI during any full calendar month that you’re incarcerated. However, you should be able to apply for benefits before your anticipated release.

You currently reside in a public institution. If you spend a whole month in any government-run institution, be it federal, state or local, you won’t be eligible for SSI during that time. There is an exception if you’re staying in a public emergency shelter for the homeless or a publicly operated community residence.

You transferred or sold resources in order to qualify. This is not a good workaround. If you sold the resource or asset for less than its actual value just to meet the income limit, you may not be eligible for SSI for up to 36 months. Moving resources to certain types of trusts could also prevent you from qualifying for SSI for up to 36 months.

You are a noncitizen who receives SSI, but lose noncitizen status. If you no longer meet the requirements for qualified noncitizen status, or there is an active warrant for your deportation from the U.S., your SSI benefits will stop and you will no longer be eligible.

You are living or traveling outside the United States for a month or more. If you spend a whole month outside the U.S., you won’t be eligible for SSI benefits during that time. But there are exceptions for students studying abroad or a child of military parents stationed overseas.

Once you’ve been outside the U.S. for a continuous stretch of 30 days or more, you’ll need to be back in the U.S. for another 30 consecutive days to become eligible for those SSI benefits again.

Head to the Social Security Administration website to start the SSI application process online. From there, a Social Security representative will contact you to schedule an appointment and assist you in applying for benefits.

You can also call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., in your local time zone, Monday through Friday^[0]

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Make sure you have the following information and documents:

• Social Security number.  

• Proof of age, such as a birth certificate.  

• Record of citizenship status, such as a U.S. passport or green card.

• Proof of income, such as payroll stubs.

• Proof of resources, such as bank statements.

• Proof of living arrangements, such as a lease.

• Medical sources, such as medication lists and your doctor’s contact information.

• Work history, such as information about past jobs.