For beneficiaries who earn more than the income limit or who breach the resource limit, SSI benefits can be reduced or revoked altogether. Individuals cannot earn more than $1,971 per month or own more than $2,000 worth of assets to qualify.
SSI is generally for individuals who don't earn more than $2,019 from work each month. The income limit increases for couples and when parents apply for children. We also look at other sources of income besides your job, like disability benefits, unemployment, and pensions.
SEIE is an SSI work incentive that allows SSI recipients, who are students under age 22 and regularly attending school, to earn up to $$2,040 per month and still receive a full SSI check! There is an annual limit of $8,230 (2022 amounts).
For 2024, the amount of earnings that will have no effect on eligibility or benefits for SSI beneficiaries who are students under age 22 is $9,230 a year. The amount of earnings that we can exclude each month, until we have excluded the maximum for the year, is $2,290 a month.
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.
Generally, the more countable income you have, the less your SSI benefit will be. If your countable income is over the allowable limit, you cannot receive SSI benefits. Some of your income may not count as income for the SSI program.
In 2025, a person must have less than $987 a month in unearned income to receive SSI. A couple may get SSI if they have unearned income of less than $1,470 a month in 2025.
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.
If your spouse dies, do you get both Social Security benefits? You cannot claim your deceased spouse's benefits in addition to your own retirement benefits. Social Security only will pay one—survivor or retirement. If you qualify for both survivor and retirement benefits, you will receive whichever amount is higher.
Self-Employment Rule
The rule is that, if you're self-employed, you can receive full benefits for any month in which Social Security considers you retired.
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
For example, if someone pays an individual's medical bills, or offers free medical care, or if the individual receives money from a social services agency that is a repayment of an amount he/she previously spent, that value is not considered income to the individual.
You should contact Social Security for other resource exclusions. What is the income limit? To be eligible for Extra Help, your annual income must be limited to $22,590 for a person or $30,660 for a married couple living together.
Unemployment compensation generally is taxable. Inheritances, gifts, cash rebates, alimony payments (for divorce decrees finalized after 2018), child support payments, most healthcare benefits, welfare payments, and money that is reimbursed from qualifying adoptions are deemed nontaxable by the IRS.
Substantial income includes wages, earnings from self-employment, interest, dividends, and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return. Between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50% of your benefits. More than $34,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.
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.
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.
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.
We consider some of your income and resources to be available to your child. They may affect whether your child can get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and how much. The process of determining how much of your income and resources we will count is called "deeming."
Generally, the SSA permits up to 45 hours of work per month, which translates to approximately 10 hours per week. However, this allowance is not solely based on the number of hours worked. The SSA also evaluates whether you are the sole proprietor or the only individual working for your business.
If someone receiving Social Security benefits earns money by working, the Social Security Administration may reduce the amount of that person's benefits. This only affects people who start taking benefits before reaching full retirement age. And only income earned from working has this effect.