You can get Supplemental Security Income if you meet four SSI eligibility requirements at once: you’re 65 or older, blind, or disabled; your income is low enough to fall under the federal benefit rate; your countable resources are no more than $2,000 as an individual or $3,000 as a couple; and you’re a U.S. citizen or qualifying non-citizen living in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands.1Social Security Administration. Who Can Get SSI SSI is funded by general tax revenue rather than payroll taxes, so no work history is needed. The 2026 federal maximum is $994 a month for an individual and $1,491 for an eligible couple.2Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts
Age, Blindness, or Disability
The first gate is a category question. Once you turn 65, age alone qualifies you on the non-financial side — no medical evaluation, no work-capacity test. If you’re younger, you have to qualify as blind or disabled.
A qualifying disability is a medically verifiable physical or mental condition that keeps you from performing substantial gainful activity. For 2026, SSA sets that earnings threshold at $1,690 per month for non-blind applicants and $2,830 for people who are blind, though the blind figure applies only to Social Security disability insurance rather than SSI.3Social Security Administration. Substantial Gainful Activity The condition must have lasted, or be expected to last, at least 12 continuous months, or be expected to result in death. Short-term injuries don’t qualify regardless of severity.
For children under 18, the standard is different. The condition has to cause marked and severe functional limitations, meaning it substantially restricts the child’s ability to function compared with peers of the same age.
Income Limits
SSI is designed to bring your monthly income up to a floor, so the more countable income you have, the smaller the payment. Two kinds of income go into the calculation: earned (wages and self-employment) and unearned (Social Security benefits, pensions, unemployment, and similar payments).4eCFR. 20 CFR 416.1102 – What Is Income? SSA also counts in-kind support, meaning free or below-market food or shelter that someone else provides.
Not every dollar counts. SSA applies two standing exclusions before comparing your income to the benefit rate:5Social Security Administration. Income Exclusions for SSI Program
- The first $20 of most unearned income each month is ignored. If you don’t have $20 of unearned income, the unused portion reduces earned income instead.
- The first $65 of monthly earnings is excluded, and then SSA ignores half of whatever’s left.
Your remaining countable income is subtracted from the 2026 federal benefit rate of $994 or $1,491, and the difference is your SSI payment. If countable income equals or exceeds the benefit rate, the payment is zero.
Students under 22 who regularly attend school get a more generous rule: SSA ignores up to $2,410 a month of their earnings for 2026, capped at $9,730 for the year, before applying the standard exclusions.6Social Security Administration. Student Earned Income Exclusion for SSI
Income Deemed From a Spouse or Parent
Living with a spouse who doesn’t get SSI can affect your eligibility. Part of that spouse’s income is “deemed” to you, meaning SSA treats a portion of it as if it were yours. The same rule applies to children under 18 living with a parent: some of the parent’s income counts against the child’s SSI.7Social Security Administration. Spotlight on Deeming Parental Income and Resources Deeming stops when a child turns 18 or moves out, so a child denied because of parental income can become eligible the moment either happens.
Resource Limits
The asset test is a hard cutoff. If your countable resources exceed $2,000 as an individual or $3,000 as a couple, you don’t qualify.1Social Security Administration. Who Can Get SSI Resources include bank accounts, cash, stocks, bonds, and non-exempt property. These limits haven’t changed in decades and remain the same for 2026.
Several categories are excluded and don’t count against the limit:
- The house or apartment you live in, regardless of value.
- One vehicle used for transportation.
- Household goods and personal belongings such as furniture and clothing.
- Up to $1,500 per person set aside for burial expenses.
- Life insurance policies with a combined face value of $1,500 or less per person.
ABLE Accounts
If you became disabled before age 26, you can open an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account. The first $100,000 in the account is excluded from SSI resource calculations.8Social Security Administration. Spotlight on Achieving A Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts If the balance goes above $100,000, SSI payments are suspended rather than terminated, and they restart when the balance drops back down. It’s one of the few ways to save meaningfully without losing eligibility.
Watch Out for Transfers
You can’t qualify by giving assets away. If you transfer a resource for less than fair market value, SSA can make you ineligible for up to 36 months depending on the amount transferred.9Social Security Administration. Spotlight on Transfers of Resources The lookback period for initial applications reaches 36 months before the filing date.10Social Security Administration. Period of Ineligibility for Transfers on or After 12/14/99 Handing money to a family member shortly before applying can delay benefits for months.
Citizenship and Residency
You must be a U.S. citizen or national and live in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands.11Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Eligibility Requirements – 2025 Edition Residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa are not eligible.
Travel affects payments. Leaving the country for a full calendar month or 30 consecutive days stops your SSI, and restarting it requires being back in the U.S. for 30 consecutive days while continuing to meet every other requirement. Narrow exceptions exist for students studying abroad and children of military personnel stationed overseas.
Some non-citizens qualify, primarily lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, individuals granted withholding of deportation, and certain trafficking victims. Most of these categories carry a seven-year time limit that runs from admission to the U.S. or from the date the qualifying status was granted. Lawful permanent residents with 40 qualifying quarters of work history — roughly 10 years of Social Security–covered employment — can qualify without the time restriction. These rules are among the most complex in SSI, and it’s worth contacting SSA directly if immigration status is a factor.
Working While Receiving SSI
A job doesn’t automatically end your benefits. Because of the $65-and-half exclusion on earned income, wages reduce your SSI gradually rather than cutting it off at once. Section 1619(b) of the Social Security Act goes further: if earnings eventually push your cash payment to zero, you can keep Medicaid as long as you need it to work and your income stays under your state’s threshold.12Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Work Incentives Those thresholds vary by state but sit significantly above the SSI income limit.
Medicaid Comes With SSI
In most states, qualifying for SSI automatically qualifies you for Medicaid, with no separate application.13Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Eligibility for Other Government Programs For many recipients the health coverage is worth more than the cash. A handful of states use their own Medicaid criteria rather than tying it directly to SSI, so the link isn’t universal, but it holds in the large majority of states.
How to Apply and What Comes Next
Applications go through SSA directly: online at ssa.gov, by phone appointment, or in person at a local Social Security office. The primary form is SSA-8000-BK.14Social Security Administration. Application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – SSA-8000-BK You’ll want Social Security numbers and proof of age for household members, medical provider names and treatment dates, recent pay stubs and bank statements, and documentation of your living arrangements.
One detail that catches people off guard: SSI is not retroactive. Payments start no earlier than the month after you file, so filing as soon as you think you might qualify protects your start date. SSA handles the financial review while your state’s Disability Determination Services handles the medical portion, and a decision typically takes three to five months.15Social Security Administration. What You Should Know Before You Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits
Once you’re approved, eligibility isn’t permanent. You have to report changes in income, bank accounts, household composition, living arrangements, and any time you leave the country. Unreported changes lead to overpayments that SSA will claw back. If you were approved based on disability, SSA also conducts a Continuing Disability Review at least every three years, or every five to seven years for conditions not expected to improve.16Social Security Administration. Continuing Disability Reviews Many states add a supplement to the federal payment, ranging from nothing at all in about a dozen states to nearly $200 a month elsewhere; some come automatically and some require a separate application through a state agency.