How much will i receive in ssi benefits

How much will i receive in ssi benefits
When you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), one of your top concerns most likely is how much your monthly payment will be if you are eligible for benefits. You need this information so you can be certain that you have sufficient income to survive. However, how your monthly payment is determined is complicated.

How Your SSDI Payments Are Calculated

The severity of your disability will not affect the amount of SSDI benefits you receive. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will determine your payment based on your lifetime average earnings before you became disabled. Your benefit amount will be calculated using your covered earnings. These are your earnings at jobs where your employer took money out of your wages for Social Security or FICA.

Your SSDI monthly benefit will be based on your average covered earnings over a period of time, which is referred to as your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). The SSA uses these amounts in a formula to determine your primary insurance amount (PIA). This is the basic amount used to establish your benefit.

SSDI payments range on average between $800 and $1,800 per month. The maximum benefit you could receive in 2020 is $3,011 per month. The SSA has an online benefits calculator that you can use to obtain an estimate of your monthly benefits.

Other Income That May Reduce Your SSDI Payment

If you receive other government benefits, your monthly SSDI benefit could be reduced. Sources of income that could affect your payment include:

  • Worker’s compensation
  • Public disability benefits
  • Pension based on work not covered by Social Security, such as a government or foreign government pension

Can You Receive Retroactive Payments?

Once the SSA approves your SSDI application and calculates your monthly benefit, you may be entitled to a back pay award. How many months of payments you will receive will depend on the date you applied for benefits and your disability onset date.

If you are applying for SSDI benefits, you need the assistance of a skilled Social Security disability lawyer to get your application approved and receive the benefits you deserve. To schedule a free consultation with a member of our legal team, fill out the online form on this page or call our Roswell office today.

The amount of your monthly SSI check will depend on whether you're single or married, live alone or with others, and have other income or not.

The amount of SSI disability benefits that you'll receive will be different depending on whether you are married, whether your state pays a state supplement that increases your payment, and whether you have any countable income that decreases your payment.

The ordinary SSI payment in 2021, without any reductions for income or additions for a state supplement, is $794 for an individual and $1,191 for a couple. From year to year, those amounts, called the "federal base rate," increase to account for increased costs of living.

How Your Marital Status Affects Your SSI Payment

If you are married to and living with another person who collects SSI, then you will receive the SSI amount for couples, $1,191. Notice that $1,191 is less than you would receive if both spouses collected the full SSI amount for individuals ($794 x 2 = $1,588). Social Security pays a reduced SSI amount for couples because it assumes that some of your costs are shared, like housing.

How Your Income Affects Your SSI Payment

Your SSI payment will be reduced by the amount of any income that you have, except for certain amounts that Social Security may disregard. In particular, Social Security disregards the first $20 of any monthly income, and the first $65 of any earned income (wages from work or self-employment income). Social Security also disregards one-half of the remaining income that you earn every month. The result is your "countable income."

So, for example, if Sanjay earns $700 each month from working, Social Security disregards the first $85 to arrive at an earned income of $615. Then, Social Security disregards one-half of the remainder, leaving Sanjay with countable income each month of $307.50. To determine the amount of Sanjay's SSI payment, subtract $307.50 from the federal base rate of $794, and Sanjay will receive $486.50. This example assumes that Sanjay is not eligible for a state supplement. If he were eligible for a state supplement, then his SSI payment would be higher by the amount of the supplement.

There are other kinds of income that Social Security does not consider to be countable income. Here are some examples.

  • Disabled students under 22 are able to disregard $7,770 in earnings annually.
  • Individuals who are setting aside money in a PASS (Plan to Achieve Self-Sufficiency) account are able to save that money without having it count as income that will reduce their SSI payment.
  • Social Security does not count expenses for work that are disability related (such as special transportation or chairs).
  • Tax refunds and loans that you have to repay are also not countable income.

How Your Living Situation Affects Your SSI Payment

If you are given free room and/or board, Social Security will count it as "in-kind income," and will reduce your SSI payment to account for it. In most cases where an SSI recipient is receiving free food or shelter, Social Security will take away one-third of his or her SSI payment.

Social Security does not expect spouses to share food and shelter expenses equally, and so the same in-kind support rules do not apply to spouses. So, for example, your spouse can pay the entire rent on the apartment that you both live in, and it will not count as in-kind income. Keep in mind, though, that if your spouse has regular income, Social Security may "deem" part of that income to you when it determines whether you meet the financial requirements for SSI. Social Security has complicated formulas for when and how it deems spousal income, and the formulas vary depending on how many minor children live with you.

Food and shelter given to you as a government benefit do not count as in-kind income. For example, if you live in federally subsidized housing, Social Security will not count your rent as in-kind income. Similarly, Social Security does not count SNAP ("Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," formerly food stamps) benefits as income to you.

How Your State Affects Your SSI Payment

Another factor that affects the amount of your SSI payment is whether you are entitled to a state supplement. Most states give supplemental payments to SSI recipients. Only Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia do not have a state supplement. Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and Texas pay a small supplement to SSI recipients living in Medicaid nursing homes.

Many states do not pay the same state supplement amount to every SSI recipient. Instead, they pay smaller supplements to some SSI recipients and larger supplements to others, based on a variety of factors that also differ from state to state. For example, a common system for the payment of state supplements is to pay an increased supplement to SSI recipients who are living in nursing homes or assisted living, to account for the higher cost of living in a facility. You can find the amount of the supplemental payment for all states in disabilitysecret.com's state-by-state disability pages.

Updated January 13, 2021

How do you find out how much Social Security you will receive?

Your Social Security Statement (Statement) is available to view online by opening a my Social Security account. It is useful for people of all ages who want to learn about their future Social Security benefits and current earnings history.

How Much Will SSI checks be in 2022?

SSI benefits increased in 2022 because there was an increase in the Consumer Price Index from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021. Effective January 1, 2022 the Federal benefit rate is $841 for an individual and $1,261 for a couple.

How much does the average person get from SSI?

The average federal SSI payment in 2022 (for adults) is $604 per month. (This is without any state supplemental payments.) Children on SSI receive an average of $683 per month (before state supplemental payments).

Does SSI have 2 checks in 2022?

According to the SSA's schedule of Social Security benefits for 2022, SSI recipients will receive two payments in September. If you received Social Security before May 1997 — or if you're receiving both Social Security and SSI — then you will receive your Social Security payment on Sept. 2nd and SSI on Sept.