Applying for SSI? Here's the Max Amount You Can Receive Each Month

If you're looking into Supplemental Security Income, we'll tell you how much you could get on a monthly basis for your payment.

If you're thinking about applying for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, you'll want to know some things about the program ahead of time. For instance, the maximum amount you can receive each month in your SSI check and what can cause you to receive less.

The SSI program is funded by the Treasury Department, and payments are issued by the Social Security Administration to those with limited income and resources. The average monthly SSI payment is around $676, with those under 18 years of age receiving $797 on average, people between the ages of 18 and 64 getting $719 monthly and those 65 and older receiving $553. But none of those numbers are the maximum possible amount -- we'll tell you that below.

Keep reading to find out the max amount of money you could get from SSI each month and what could keep you from getting the full amount. For more, here's the SSI payment schedule and SSI beneficiaries are getting a COLA increase this year.

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/october-ssi-payments-are-coming-heres-when-to-expect-it/

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/ssi-beneficiaries-are-getting-a-cola-increase-this-december-heres-why/

As of 2023, the maximum monthly SSI payment for an individual is $914 and $1,371 for a couple. The amount you receive could be lower, depending on your income, some family members' income and your living situation.

Yes, but you won't get the maximum amount. For every $2 you earn from work, $1 will be reduced from your SSI payment. Working includes any job you have, self-employment and any activity that earns you money -- for instance, mowing lawns.

Note that the first $20 of your monthly income from any source won't be counted as part of your income. Also, the first $65 of your monthly earned income from a job won't be counted, as well as half the amount you make over $65.

If you receive other benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance, unemployment payments or pensions, they can also lower your SSI monthly amount. Money from non-work sources can lower payments by roughly $1 for every $1 earned.

So, for example, if you receive $500 from SSDI, or Social Security Disability Insurance, you'll receive roughly $400 from SSI if no other income is earned.

However, if you receive government assistance from benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or home energy assistance programs, those won't be counted as income.

If you live with your spouse and they have an income, it could affect how much money you can get each month from SSI. Also, if your kids receive SSI, their payments can be lowered, depending on your income.

If you live with someone else, such as a friend or relative, and you don't pay for any costs like food and shelter, your SSI payment may be reduced by up to a third of this year's maximum payment amount. However, if you "pay your fair share," you won't see a reduction.

Also, the state you live in can play an important factor in how much money you receive monthly. Be sure to ask when applying for SSI benefits.

For more, here's the maximum monthly amount you can receive from Social Security. Also, here's a cheat sheet for all things Social Security.

As of 2023, the maximum monthly SSI payment for an individual is $914 and $1,371 for a couple.

And

More than 71 million Americans will see a 3.2% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2024. On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by more than $50 per month starting in January - https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-benefits-increase-in-2024/

How to make the populace more dependent on government, and thus ensure votes/power:

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR A “DISABLED” OR “BLIND” CHILD? If under age 18, whether or not married or head of household, the child has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment or impairments which result in marked and severe functional limitations; and The impairment(s) has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of at least 12 months or be expected to result in death; or.. - https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-child-ussi.htm

The following sections contain medical criteria that apply only to the evaluation of impairments in children under age 18.
100.00 Low Birth Weight and Failure to Thrive
101.00 Musculoskeletal Disorders
102.00 Special Senses and Speech
103.00 Respiratory Disorders
104.00 Cardiovascular System
105.00 Digestive Disorders
106.00 Genitourinary Disorders
107.00 Hematological Disorders
108.00 Skin Disorders
109.00 Endocrine Disorders
110.00 Congenital Disorders that Affect Multiple Body Systems
111.00 Neurological Disorders
112.00 Mental Disorders

113.00 Cancer (Malignant Neoplastic Diseases)
114.00 Immune System Disorders
- https://www.ssa.gov/disability/professionals/bluebook/ChildhoodListings.htm

The list of child disabilities above includes those that may qualify a child for help from the SSI program. Traumatic brain injury, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disability are among those that could be eligible with enough medical and non-medical evidence. Special Senses and Speech
Children with visual or hearing disorders can receive SSI benefits under this category. The SSA considers blindness, visual disorders, loss of visual efficiency, and hearing loss with or without cochlear implantation to be potentially eligible disorders.

From 2012:

Payments under SSI began in January 1974. Since 1974, the number of SSI recipients has slightly more than doubled. The number of children receiving SSI has gradually increased since 1974 and accelerated dramatically after a 1990 Supreme Court ruling liberalized the disability criteria for SSI children. Reforms enacted in 1984 that expanded benefit eligibility for the mentally disabled (and that took several years to implement) also influenced the surge in children receiving SSI.[10] Congress tightened the SSI eligibility rules for children in the 1996 welfare-reform law, however.

Most children who receive SSI live with a single parent and receive special education; on average, SSI payments provide nearly half of their family’s total income. The vast majority — 86 percent — of all SSI recipients in 2012 were eligible because of a disability, and 6 in 10 disabled recipients had a mental disability. Unlike Social Security (which is financed by dedicated payroll taxes), SSI is funded from general revenues. - https://www.cbpp.org/research/introduction-to-the-supplemental-security-income-ssi-program

My sister gets SSI in Minnesota and the total is about $805 a month and that includes the state food allowance. She pays $300 a month rent for a house she shares with the owner. Main floor, basement that opens to the back and a upstairs. She is on the main floor. If it was not for my sister doing many repairs the house would be run down more then it is as the owner lets things go. She is lucky she has the owner giving her a break and me sending her some money every so often. SSI and social security is not much with prices so high.
$20/hr job just pays for a 1 bedroom apt and utilities and a old car in California.

In the coming year with my stock doing better I will be able to help her out more and when Elon Musk does the IPO for Starlink I can buy her a house : )

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