Inheritance Puts SSI at Risk: SSA reviews both assets and income to assess eligibility for SSI, and the threshold for both fluctuates. In 2023: The asset limit for an individual is $2,000 and $3,000 for a married couple. Your home, vehicle, and certain household effects and personal belongings are excluded.
Major reasons are: Income or assets exceed limits for that month No longer permanently disabled Problems with paperwork or verifications Social Security disability benefits are rarely terminated due to medical improvement, but SSI recipients can lose their benefits if they have too much income or assets.
An inheritance doesn't affect Social Security benefits. You can be a millionaire and get Social Security. But SSI is a low-income program, basically the federal welfare program. You have to be below certain limits of income and financial resources to qualify.
WHAT IS THE RESOURCE LIMIT? The limit for countable resources is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.
Current beneficiaries who exceed the limits are suspended and then terminated from program participation if their savings remain above the limits, and they must repay any benefits paid while they are over the limit. SSI beneficiaries are limited to only $2,000 in assets of any kind.
Establish a Special Needs Trust (SNT)
A Special Needs Trust is a legal arrangement that holds settlement funds on behalf of an SSI recipient, allowing the funds to be used for approved expenses without impacting SSI eligibility.
SSI and Social Security Benefits
They are not means-tested. If you pay into these programs, you are eligible to receive benefits. Income from working at a job or other source could affect Social Security and SSDI benefits. However, receiving an inheritance won't affect Social Security and SSDI benefits.
If you received a gift or inheritance, do not include it in your income. However, if the gift or inheritance later produces income, you will need to pay tax on that income. Example: You inherit and deposit cash that earns interest income. Include only the interest earned in your gross income, not the inherited cash.
Key Takeaways. Special needs trusts help you to manage inheritance money so it won't count toward income-based benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The money in special needs trusts must pay for expenses your government benefits don't cover.
For example, effective 09/30/2024, if someone helps pay for your rent, mortgage, or utilities, we may reduce the amount of your SSI. Also, if others in your household pay for or provide all of your meals and your shelter, we reduce the amount of your SSI.
It does not scrutinize or restrict specific items or transactions. Therefore, beneficiaries can use their SSI funds for various purchases according to their personal needs and preferences.
It may be possible for you to save money and be able to keep your SSI payments and waiver services. The four most common ways to save money and not lose benefits are with an ABLE account, a Special Needs Trust, an Individual Development Account, and a PASS account.
This is called the home exclusion. It means that if a benefits recipient moves into an inherited home and occupies it as their sole place of residence, the inheritance would not have to affect their ability to keep getting SSI payments.
If you inherit money and do not report it, you will be required to pay Medicaid back for the services and benefits that were provided during any period you would have otherwise been ineligible. When a Medicaid recipient receives an inheritance, it is counted as income in the month that it is received.
You can do this by spending the money on an exempt resource, such as a home, a car, household goods and personal effects, property essential for self-support, term life insurance, a burial plot and burial insurance, or set money aside in a Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS).
Many states assess an inheritance tax. That means that you, as the beneficiary, will have to pay taxes when you receive an inheritance. How much you'll be assessed depends on the state you live in, the size of your inheritance, the types of assets included, and your relationship with the deceased.
If you're an SSDI beneficiary, inheritance won't affect your benefits because the program's funded through payroll taxes you've already paid based on your work history.
Inheritance checks are generally not reported to the IRS unless they involve cash or cash equivalents exceeding $10,000. Banks and financial institutions are required to report such transactions using Form 8300. Most inheritances are paid by regular check, wire transfer, or other means that don't qualify for reporting.
SSI resource limits
A resource limit is the maximum amount of assets (resources) you can have while receiving SSI benefits. An inheritance can make you ineligible for SSI benefits if you are over the resource limit of $2,000 for individuals or $3,000 for couples.
In other words, although you must report any money you receive, once you have spent the money, you can be eligible again. Transfer of Asset Rule: DO NOT GIVE THE MONEY AWAY: If you want to continue receiving benefits, you should not give any of the money away. This includes voluntarily placing the money into a trust.
Can Social Security or SSI benefits be deposited into an ABLE account? Yes. Beneficiaries who receive Social Security or SSI benefits can deposit their benefits into their ABLE accounts.
Payments may be suspended because the recipient has excess earnings, excess unearned income, excess resources, or a change in living arrangements. For the purposes of this book, individuals who have had their SSI payments suspended for 12 months or longer are considered terminated from the SSI program.
Social Security will take into consideration the amount of your assets, because it is a needs-based program. To be eligible for SSI, your assets must be less than $2,000 for an individual and less than $3,000 for a married couple. However, not all assets count towards the resource limits.
SSI: Yes, generally SSI benefits are negatively affected by a personal injury settlement.