In order to qualify for Supplemental Security Income, disabled individuals must have limited resources and limited income. In a recent blog post, this blog explained what was meant by limited resources. In order to have limited resources, a disabled individual cannot have more than $2,000 in resources and a couple cannot have more than $3,000 in resources.
In addition to having limited resources, a person must have limited income in order to qualify for SSI. According to the Social Security Administration, four different sources of income are considered for the purposes of SSI. These include earned income, unearned income, in-kind income and deemed income.
Earned income is any wages, royalties or earnings that a person makes. This is typically what people think of as income. Unearned income is income from assistant programs, governmental programs or money from family and friends. Workers’ compensation, pensions and interest are all unearned income. In-kind income is the value of any housing or food that a person receive for free. Deemed income is part of the income earned by a spouse or a parent.
Certain income is not counted by the SSA when determining eligibility for SSI. This includes food stamps, energy assistance, loans, infrequent income, tax returns and a certain amount of earnings. Certain scholarship money and student aid is also not counted towards a person’s income.
If a person has too much income, then the person will not qualify for SSI. The more income a person has, the less SSI the person can get. A Tennessee attorney can help those seeking to qualify for SSI further understand the income requirements and factors for SSI eligibility.