Receiving SSI and SSDI while working
But the benefit amount you receive may be reduced depending on how much money you earn from your job. As of 2024, you may stop receiving SSDI benefits if you earn over $1,550 a month.
Yes. Someone on SSI is supposed to report all money received whether from the casino or otherwise.
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.
The SSA checks financial accounts to confirm SSI recipients stay within eligibility rules, using tools like the AFI system for efficient oversight. However, the updates introduced in 2024 simplify some reporting requirements and provide flexibility for individuals relying on informal help.
If the value of your resources that we count is over the allowable limit at the beginning of the month, you cannot receive SSI for that month. If you decide to sell the excess resources for what they are worth, you may receive SSI beginning the month after you sell the excess resources.
Can SSI see what you buy? Contrary to popular belief, SSI does not look into the purchases you make. While financial institutions may share transactional data with government agencies when required by law, SSI recipients can rest assured that their purchasing choices remain private.
If you receive cash, that's typically counted as income. Social Security won't count the following gifts when deciding SSI eligibility or payments: Personal items and other things that will not count toward the $2,000 asset limit the month after you get them. This would include a car, if it is the only one you have.
If your total savings (including the inheritance) exceed certain thresholds, you may lose eligibility for means-tested benefits.
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).
HOW LOTTERY WINNINGS AFFECT SSI: Lottery winnings are treated as countable income for the month you receive them. If your total income (lottery winnings plus any other earnings) exceeds SSI's monthly limit, you will not receive SSI payments for that month.
Report monthly wages and other income. You must report your monthly wages and changes in income from other sources to get accurate monthly SSI payments. If you live with your spouse, you must also report their income.
Income Limits for SSDI & SSI
SGA limits are adjusted every year based on the national wage index. These rules apply to SSI, as well. However, unearned income, such as inheritances, gambling winnings, lump sum settlements, etc. do not impact SSDI benefits, but they do affect SSI eligibility.
Where the overpayment is $2,000 or less and you file a request for reconsideration or waiver, Social Security will waive any collection of the over-payment (unless you were at fault in creating the overpayment). This is known as the SSI $1,000 Rule.
Exit from the SSI program can be due to death, medical recovery, excess income (earned or unearned), excess resources, or a change in living arrangements.
SSI is generally for individuals who don't earn more than $2,019 from work each month.
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.
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.
SSI and many Medicaid programs limit both earned and unearned income. Cash gifts and donations are considered unearned income. The beneficiary or her legal representative must report changes in income to the Social Security Administration no later than 10 days after the end of the month in which the change occurred.
The value of the things you own must be less than $2,000 if you're single or less than $3,000 for married couples living together. We don't count the value of your home if you live in it, and, usually, we don't count the value of your car. We may not count the value of certain other resources, such as a burial plot.
Exactly how much in earnings do you need to get a $3,000 benefit? Well, you just need to have averaged about 70% of the taxable maximum. In our example case, that means that your earnings in 1983 were about $22,000 and increased every year to where they ended at about $100,000 at age 62.
By setting up a special needs trust and depositing the inheritance into it, the beneficiary can continue to receive SSI while also getting the benefit of the inheritance. The funds in the trust are overseen by a trustee such as a parent or family member.
For example, an adult recipient may live in a household with one or more other adults who have substantial earned or unearned income and still qualify for SSI . Such situations may arise when individual or couple SSI recipients live with nonrecipient adults or with unrelated SSI recipients.