If you live in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa, you cannot receive Supplemental Security Income, even as a U.S. citizen who meets every other requirement. SSI in U.S. territories is available in only one place: the Northern Mariana Islands. Everywhere else, federal law defines “the United States” for SSI purposes as the fifty states and the District of Columbia, and the Social Security Administration has no authority to pay benefits outside that boundary.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1382c – Definitions
The 2026 maximum federal SSI payment is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple.2Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts For roughly 3.5 million Americans in the excluded territories, that money is simply unavailable.
Which Territories Are Excluded and Which Is Not
Four territories are shut out of SSI entirely: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.3Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income and United States Territories The exclusion applies to everyone regardless of age, citizenship, or the severity of a disability. A child born with a profound disability in Guam has no path to SSI. An elderly resident of Puerto Rico living on a fixed income cannot apply.4Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Eligibility Requirements
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is the exception. CNMI residents became eligible for SSI in January 1978 through a covenant that established the islands as a commonwealth in political union with the United States, approved by Congress as Public Law 94-241.3Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income and United States Territories No other territory has a similar agreement. An eligible resident in the CNMI can receive SSI while someone in identical circumstances in Guam, less than 200 miles away, cannot. CNMI residents apply through the same process as mainland residents, filing with the Social Security Administration online or at a local office.5Social Security Administration. Apply Online for Disability Benefits
Why the Exclusion Exists and Whether It Can Change
The exclusion is written into the Social Security Act itself. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(e), “United States” as used geographically means the fifty states and the District of Columbia.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1382c – Definitions Because SSI requires residency in “the United States,” the SSA cannot pay benefits to residents of any territory the statute does not name.
In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled 8–1 in United States v. Vaello Madero that Congress is not constitutionally required to extend SSI to Puerto Rico.6Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Vaello Madero The case involved a man who had been receiving SSI in New York and lost his benefits after moving to Puerto Rico. Writing for the majority, Justice Kavanaugh pointed to the Territory Clause of the Constitution and to the different tax relationship between territories and states, concluding that Congress has a rational basis for treating them differently. Justice Sotomayor dissented.
The practical takeaway: courts will not force Congress to change this. Any expansion of SSI to more territories has to come through legislation.
Social Security Retirement and Disability Still Work in the Territories
This is where people get confused, and the distinction matters. SSI and Social Security are two different programs, and the territorial exclusion applies only to SSI. Social Security retirement and disability insurance benefits, sometimes called OASDI or Title II benefits, are available in all five territories, including American Samoa.3Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income and United States Territories
The difference comes down to funding. Social Security retirement and disability benefits are earned through payroll taxes, and territorial residents pay those same taxes. SSI is funded from general tax revenue, requires no work history, and serves people with little or no income regardless of past employment. If you live in a territory and have a work history that qualifies you for Social Security retirement or SSDI, the SSI exclusion does not affect those benefits.
What Residents Can Get Instead: Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled
Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands operate an older program called Aid to the Aged, Blind, and Disabled. When Congress created SSI in 1972 to replace state-run grant programs, it left these territories under the older framework.3Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income and United States Territories
The benefit gap is significant. Average monthly AABD payments have ranged from $78 in Puerto Rico to $197 in Guam, compared with the $994 maximum federal SSI payment.3Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income and United States Territories Several structural features drive the gap:
- AABD operates under a fixed federal funding cap. Once the ceiling is hit, the territorial government absorbs any additional costs.
- Territorial governments set their own income and resource thresholds, and those thresholds are strict. In Puerto Rico, a person with more than $64 per month in countable income does not qualify. The asset limit is $2,000 for both individuals and married couples, with no increase for a second spouse.
- AABD has no built-in annual cost-of-living adjustment comparable to SSI.
AABD is administered by local territorial agencies, not the Social Security Administration, so the application process, paperwork, and appeal rights differ from what SSI applicants on the mainland encounter.
American Samoa has neither SSI nor AABD. Elderly and disabled residents there have no equivalent federal cash assistance program.
Related Benefits Also Restricted in the Territories
The SSI exclusion pulls other benefits with it. Medicare Part D Extra Help, also called the Low-Income Subsidy, is not available in Puerto Rico, the USVI, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa. Residents in these areas are directed to their local Medicaid office for alternatives.7Medicare.gov. Medicare’s Extra Help Program
Medicaid itself works differently in the territories. Instead of the open-ended federal matching funds that states receive, territories get a capped annual allotment.8MACPAC. Medicaid in the U.S. Territories: Considerations for Long-Term Financing Solutions When federal funds run out, the territorial government must cover the shortfall or cut services.
What Happens If You Travel to or Stay Extended Time in a Territory
You do not have to move permanently to lose SSI. If you are outside the fifty states, DC, and the CNMI for 30 consecutive days, your SSI payments are suspended. Time spent in Puerto Rico, Guam, the USVI, or American Samoa counts the same as time abroad.9Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 416.1327 – Suspension Due to Absence From the United States
Restarting payments takes time. You must return to and remain in an eligible area for 30 consecutive full days before benefits resume.9Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 416.1327 – Suspension Due to Absence From the United States A six-week trip to care for a family member in Puerto Rico can easily cost you two months of payments.
Moving From a Territory to a State
If you are relocating permanently from an excluded territory to one of the fifty states, you can apply for SSI as soon as you establish residency. The Social Security Administration requires at least two forms of evidence that you actually live there, such as:
- A lease, mortgage paperwork, or rent payment records
- Utility bills addressed to you at your new address
- A state driver’s license or other government-issued ID
- Property tax receipts, pay stubs, or an employment contract showing your new location
- A local bank account or financial correspondence
If you cannot produce formal documentation, SSA may accept statements from two people with firsthand knowledge of where you live, such as a landlord, employer, neighbor, or religious leader.10Social Security Administration. GN 00303.740 Establishing U.S. Residency
Report an address change to the Social Security Administration no later than ten days after the end of the month in which you move.11Social Security Administration. Report Changes to Your Situation While on SSI You can report by calling your local office or by uploading documents online. Missing the window will not permanently disqualify you, but it can delay your first payment.
Legislative Efforts to Change the Rule
Bills to extend SSI to the territories have been introduced repeatedly and have not advanced. The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2024 (H.R. 7138) proposed making residents of all territories eligible on the same terms as residents of the fifty states, and it did not move out of committee.12Congress.gov. Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act of 2024 Similar proposals in earlier sessions met the same fate. Unless and until Congress amends the statutory definition of “United States” in the Social Security Act, the exclusion remains in effect.