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SSI State Supplement Guide to Terms

The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides the following definitions for the types of "Additional Information" in each SSI State Supplement topic.

Scope of coverage

The categories of persons the State has elected to supplement are described by each State. States with State-administered programs establish their own eligibility conditions and payment categories. States with federally administered programs must adhere to SSI eligibility criteria in all aspects, but are allowed to establish additional income disregards and payment categories.

Recoveries, liens, and assignments

Provisions of State supplementation plans governing recovery of assistance payments and assumption of a recipient's property by the agency. As a condition of providing assistance, a State may require that a lien be placed on a recipient's property. Such a requirement does not affect a person's eligibility or payment status for federal SSI benefits or federally administered State supplementary payments.

Relative responsibility

State supplementation provisions that govern the responsibility of relatives for providing economic support and returning overpayments.

Income disregards and exclusions

The amount of recipient income that is not counted against the State supplementary payment.

In general, income an SSI recipient receives from sources other than SSI is counted against the SSI payment amount. Some income, however, is excluded from being counted. Under the federal program $20 per month of earned or unearned income is excluded. Additionally, $65 per month of earned income plus one-half of the remaining earnings is excluded. Some types of income are entirely excluded, such as certain home energy and support and maintenance assistance, food stamps, most federally funded housing assistance, state assistance based on need, one-third of child support payments, and income received infrequently or irregularly.

States that elect federal administration must exclude at least the amounts excluded by the federal program, and may exclude more. Countable income is deducted first from the federal payment. Any income that remains to be counted after the federal payment is reduced to zero is deducted from the state supplementary payment.

States with state-administered programs can establish their own income exclusions of any amount and type. In most States the supplementary payment is added to the federal amount, and countable income is deducted first from the federal payment, as in states with federal administration. In a few states, however, the supplement takes the form of a state-guaranteed income amount that exceeds the federal benefit.

Resource limitations

The resource limitations and exclusions for federally administered state supplementation are the same as for federal SSI payments: countable resources must be worth $2,000 or less for an individual, or $3,000 or less for a couple. Countable resources are properties, real or personal, that count toward the resource limits. Recognizing that not everything an individual owns is available for his/her support and maintenance, the law provides for excluding certain resources in determining eligibility for SSI. Excluded resources include (but are not limited to):

1) the house an individual lives in;

2) a car, if it is equipped for use by a handicapped person, if it is needed to conduct daily activities, to go to work, or to get regular medical treatment, or if it is under a certain value;

3) life insurance policies with a total face value of $1,500 or less per person;

4) burial plots or spaces for the individual or his/her immediate family;

5) a burial fund of up to $1,500 each for the individual's and his/her spouse's burial expenses; and

6) property essential to self-support, including property used in a trade or business or on the job if the individual works for someone else.

States with state-administered supplementation can establish their own resource limitations and exclusions for optional state supplementary payments.

Place of application

The office accepting applications for supplementary payments.

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