Apply for SSI Social Security Disability Benefits

Walking Through the Process

Step 1- Money Moves & Paperwork Proof

Before applying for SSI an individual should check their accounts and resources to confirm they do not exceed more than $2,000.   This includes checking accounts, savings accounts, property, and other assets not secured in a trust or ABLE account, but excludes the resources listed HERE.   Why $2,000?  Currently, the Social Security Administration, or SSA, operates from an outdated standard that believes $2,000 is enough money to live on, so if an individual has $2,000 or more then they do not need supplemental income to cover their living expenses.  There is proposed legislation to increase the standard, but at the time of this writing nothing has been passed.  

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For example, if an individual has $5,000 in a savings account, then at least $3,000 of that needs to be spent or moved to an SSI-approved safe zone.  Both Special Needs Trusts and ABLE accounts are considered SSI safe zones (both are included in this email series).  Simply moving the money to another family member’s account will not suffice because during the application process the government does a ‘3 year look back’ to see how much money the individual has and where (and where it went).  If the money was spent, keep the receipts as proof! 

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Much like PUNS, SSI is a government funded program and requires hard proof of eligibility.   An individual will need to provide paperwork in 3 areas of their life:

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Personal

• Social Security Card
• Birth Certificate
• Banking information (if choosing direct deposit upon approval)

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Disability

• Contact information for professional(s) who can speak about the individual’s disability
• Records of testing results and scores (school or medical)
• Proof of medication(s) and/or medical condition

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Work

• Past work, including a list of previous/current employers
• Earned income records, like pay stubs
• Copy of Social Security Statement (available through a MySocialSecurity account to show proof of previous employers)

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SSI is intended to support individuals who have difficulty obtaining and maintaining competitive employment to earn enough income to cover their basic living expenses due to their disability.   The Social Security Administration, or SSA, is looking to prove whether the individual has the means to achieve Substantial Gainful Activity, or SGA.  If an individual has an extensive and high-earning work history, this proves SGA and will likely work against proving need for funds. 

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The SSA has outlined eligibility criteria (aka- qualifying disabilities) in the Program Operations Manual System, or POMS, and the listings can be found HERE with Listings 2, 11, and 12 being of special note. The listings can be tricky to interpret, so it is advantageous to include as much detailed information regarding testing, scores, results, and documentation of the individual’s disability as possible upon initial application.  

Step 2- Complete Application

The SSI application can be completed online, via phone, or at local SSA field offices.  SSA has staff on-site to assist individuals in completing SSI applications for FREE.  The staff who assist with completing the application are there to serve as support, explaining the process and clarifying questions, not to help in getting the individual approved or denied.  Consider the SSA staff a neutral party.  

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If choosing to apply with the support of an SSA staff member, call the local office and ask for an ‘SSI application appointment.’  You will likely be transferred to someone who will set-up an appointment with you and give you a list of paperwork to bring in to include in the application.  

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If choosing to apply without the support of an SSA staff member, follow the application link found HERE and know that the same paperwork will need to be submitted, either dropped off to a local SSA office or mailed in, as part of the application process.  

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Expect the application to take 1-2 hours to complete.  Thankfully, the online system allows users to save and return to their application later before submitting.  

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Once the application has been submitted, it’s time to wait.  

Step 3- Wait

The typical wait time to hear back regarding a disability determination process from an initial SSI application is 3-6 months.  

During those 3-6 months an SSA staffer is combing through the application, confirming and cross checking the information provided on the application and medical records/medical evidence, and determining if the disability and needs meet the criteria for approval.  For example, if the individual is currently in school with an IEP and a school staff member was listed as a professional who is familiar with the student’s disability, then the school will receive a packet to complete about the student.  The forms sent to school staff are typically snail mailed back and forth and some require input from a few different staff members.  

Applicants may receive a letter denying them for SSI because of their lack of work history.  Do not be discouraged as the system checks for eligibility for SSDI (covered in a future email in this series) first, then reviews eligibility for SSI.  Continue to wait for a letter regarding SSI eligibility.   

Step 4- Approved or Denied

There will be one of two outcomes from the SSI application, either an Approval or Denial.  The determination will be sent in the mail via a written notice.  

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If Approved, congratulations!  The approval letter will likely include a Benefits Statement outlining how much the individual will receive and when payments start.  An individual will be approved for either the full SSI payment maximum or a partial payment. Full or partial payments are determined based on how the questions were answered in the application process, including the individual’s current living situation.  Keep the Benefits Statement as this will serve as proof of SSI when accessing other benefits.  

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If payments were marked to be paid to a ‘Representative Payee’ on the application, then the person who will be charged with overseeing the spending and management of the payments will accept the payments.  A Rep Payee is to help the individual manage their money, including monitoring the total $ in the accounts (because it can’t exceed $2,000 at the end of the payment cycle), paying for things to meet basic needs, and keeping receipts of purchases.   

If direct deposit was indicated on the application, then expect to use a specific debit card linked to that account for SSI-approved purchases (click the 2nd drop down, ‘What does a Payee do for me?’).   Keep receipts of all purchases where SSI monies were used.  

Skip to Step 5 for next steps. 

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If Denied, the letter will include a website and steps for appealing the decision.   Since 65%+ of initial determination SSI applications are denied, it’s a logical next step to work through the appeals process.  There is a 60-day window of time that a first level of appeal must be submitted, and appeals can be made online or by completing and submitting a PDF form. 

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An SSI application may be denied because SSA needs more information, part of the application was completed incorrectly, or something else.  

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If more proof of disability is needed then additional reports, doctor’s summaries, and test scores may need to be submitted.  If the individual has not had a recent IQ test, then SSA may request the individual attend an appointment with a doctor to be tested for additional evidence of their disability.  Again, the medical professionals the SSA works with are considered 3rd party providers and serve as a neutral professional, therefore they are not trying to help SSA or you, they are simply providing their professional opinion to SSA.  

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One advantage to appeal the initial decision and completing the follow-up steps is if the individual is later approved for SSI, then they may be eligible for back pay for the months since the initial application.   

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If the appeal window has closed, then a new application may need to be completed.   

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If the individual is denied as second time after the initial appeal, there are reconsideration steps.  More information about that process can be found HERE (see Step 2).

Step 5- After Approval

Once the individual is approved for SSI and begins to receive payments as part of their monthly benefits, there are actionable steps to maintaining and monitoring the funds.  

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It is important to monitor the overall balance at end of payment cycle.  For example, if the individual receives their SSI payment on the 1st of the month, then by the end of the month the balance in the account(s) needs to be below $2,000.  If the balance is above $2,000 then extra money can be moved into SSI-safe accounts.  Money should not be moved at the start of the payment cycle because payments are intended to be used to pay for an individual’s basic needs, so if they are directly deposited into another account, like an ABLE account, then there is evidence that the funds are not needed, and benefits could be denied after a redetermination (see Step 8 for more on this). 

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Create a system to keep receipts of purchases where SSI monies were used organized.  A Rep Payee should be able to show proof of how funds were spent and how the purchase benefited the individual.  

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Set-up a MySocialSecurity.com account to monitor the benefit.  Having a MySocialSecurity account is helpful because an individual can access Benefit Statements, past benefit payments and payment periods, as well as monitor work credits if they have a job (which will be helpful when moving to SSDI/Medicare) all in one place.  This account is secure and encouraged by the SSA.   Given the highly sensitive nature of the information available on a MySocialSecurity account, the process to set-up the account is more involved.  

Step 6- Individual's Work Income

If the individual obtains a paid job, then the earned income must be reported to SSA.   When starting a new job, contact the local SSA office to share the employer’s EIN number and information so a work profile can be created in the individual’s account.  

Income can be reported a few different ways, including: online, via an app, by phone, and at the local SSA office.  

Income can be reported through the following channels: 

• MySocialSecurity account (myWageReport section) 
• Calling the SSI Telephone Wage Reporting Service number - (866) 772-0953
• SSA hotline- (800) 772-1213 

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To report income the following information is needed:

• Pay stubs

• Pay period start and end dates

• Gross income

• Pay days

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Income does impact the monthly SSI payment in a 1-2 month delay.  SSI payments are reduced when an individual earns an income.  

The best way to estimate the impact is to take the total monthly income, divide it by two, and then subtract that from the SSI payment.   

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An example using round numbers for simplicity, if an individual receives $500 a month in SSI payments and earns $200 a month in income, then their SSI payment would be reduced by $100.  To explain, $200 ➗ 2 = $100 and $500 - $100 = $400.   Therefore, SSI payment + earned income is more than just the SSI payment ($400 + $200 = $600).  It will always be to the individual’s advantage to work and receive SSI because they would need to earn more than double their SSI payment value in income to completely cancel their SSI payment.  There is some money that is safeguarded from income deductions, including $20 and $65 for Income Exclusions.  

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SSA offers email and text message options to automatically remind the Rep Payee or individual to report monthly income.  These are free to use and serve as helpful reminders to follow the rules of SSI.

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If the individual is still in school and earning income, they may be eligible for the Student Earned Income Exclusion.  The benefit of this exclusion is that while the income should be reported there is a high maximum income before SSI payments are reduced.  

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If the individual is out of school, they may be eligible for an Impairment Related Work Expense (IRWE) deduction.  To take advantage of this perk, an individual must show proof that expenses were related to their disability and are necessary to be able to work.  For example, if the individual is unable to access local bus stops due to their disability and needs door-to-door transportation then the transportation fare to get to and from work may be considered an IRWE. 

Step 7- Automatic Perks

Once the individual is approved for SSI, they will automatically be eligible to receive other benefits, making SSI a worthy benefit to pursue first.

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In Illinois, an individual is automatically approved for Medicaid once they are approved for SSI. Medicaid will be covered in the next email in this series.  It is important to note that the individual is not automatically enrolled in Medicaid but rather they will need to take the steps to enroll.  

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Individuals with a paid job, who earn enough income in a 3-month period will receive a Credit.  After accumulating so many credits, the individual will be eligible for SSDI and after two years they are eligible for Medicare.  More on Credits, SSDI, and Medicare in future posts.  

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Receiving SSI also helps bypass much of the application process for public transportation ride-free programs.  

Step 8- Continuing Eligibility

There is periodic follow-up to remain eligible for SSI payments once an individual is approved.

If there is a Rep Payee, they will be required to complete and return a Rep Payee Report on a yearly basis.   This 1 page, 2-sided document serves as a check-in for the Rep Payee on how funds are being used to benefit the individual and should be completed and returned according to the timeline indicated on the form.  

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Between 1-6 years after being awarded SSI benefits, SSA will re-assess the need for the individual to receive SSI benefits.  The re-determination process includes gathering updated testing records, reviewing work records (if the individual obtained a job in the interim), and generally reviewing if a need for payments is warranted.   More information about redetermination can be found HERE. 

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If the parent of the individual receiving SSI retires from working and takes their Social Security benefits, then the individual may be eligible for additional payments.  More about Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits can be found HERE (see page 11). ​

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If a parent of the individual receiving SSI passes away and the parent had a work record with Social Security credits, the individual may be eligible for additional payments under their parent’s work record.   More information about Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits can be found HERE (see page 11). ​

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SSA should be notified of the individual’s other life updates.  A full list can be found HERE.