Guest guest Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 hi joy, ssi work incentive rules are complex. here's an explanation of the rules for an individual on ssi. i have not yet written one for a married couple when one spouse is not on ssi. there are " deemed income rules that apply in which a portion of the non-beneficiary spouse's income id deemed as income for the ssi recipient whether they truly have access or not. if you really need this info. i can refer you to a benefits advocate and look it up when i get a chance. just let me know where you live. alana Rules for Folks on SSI and Working There is a formula that SSA uses for SSI recipients with additional income from employment. Please note that there are different rules for blind or self-employed beneficiaries. There are also different rules for SSI recipients with unearned income such as SSDI, alimony, etc. THE SSI WORK INCENTIVE FORMULA - The 1st $65.00 you earn in a month doesn't count against your SSI. An additional $20.00 doesn't count whether it's earned or not. Together I will refer to the sum of these, $85.00, as " allowable income " . - After that, for every dollar you earn, half ($.50) is deducted from your SSI. The other half you keep. - SSA uses your GROSS income (before taxes and deductions) when making these calculations. For example: If in July you earn $800 gross, and if your monthly SSI is $805 (California 2005 SSI amount), and if you report your income by August 10th: $800.00 (gross earned income) - $85.00 (allowable income) -------- $715.00 divided by 2 = $357.50 (countable income) So, you keep $85.00, and you keep $357.50, and SSA reduces your September SSI by $357.50 (July's countable income) paying you $447.50 in Sept. IMPAIRMENT RELATED WORK EXPENSES (IRWE's) You may deduct the cost of out-of-pocket expenses that relate to your disability AND work. Examples: Acupuncture to manage pain Adaptive software or equipment to use at work Vitamin supplements Prescription & medical co-payments PAS not covered by another source but required for work Mileage in a modified vehicle There is not a standard list of deductions allowed. They are determined on an individual basis. One may be required to provide justification from a medical practitioner. THE SSI WORK INCENTIVE FORMULA w/IRWE's If in July you earn $800 gross, and if your monthly SSI is $805, and if you report your income by August 10th, and you spend $100 on IRWE's: $800.00 (gross earned income) - $85.00 (allowable income) -------- $715.00 -$100.00 (IRWE's) -------- $615.00 divided by 2 = $307.50 (countable income) So, you keep $85.00, and you keep $307.50, and SSA reduces your September SSI by $307.50 (July's countable income) paying you $497.50 in Sept. REPORTING INCOME - Reporting your income in writing is required. Mail or bring in original pay stubs and original receipts for IRWE's. SSA will make copies and return the originals to you. No matter what anyone tells you, it is NOT possible to officially report your income over the phone. - You should report your income by the 10th day of the following month in which you earned money. It doesn't count WHEN you WORKED...It counts WHEN you were PAID. Ex: If you work all February and get paid on March 1st, it's March income to be reported by April 10th. Get paid on July 12th & 26th, report your income to SSA by August 9th, and your September SSI check will be reduced accordingly. MEDICAID (MEDI-CAL IN CALIFORNIA) & IHSS If your earnings are high enough for the formula to make your SSI payments go down to $0.00, you are automatically put into a category called 1619b. This is a section of the Social Security Act that maintains your Medicaid eligibility if your earnings and any other existing insurance cannot support your medical needs. Example: In my last job I earned $2,200.00/mo. gross. I had medical insurance through my employer, but it didn't cover my in-home care. My Medicaid eligibility kept me eligible for IHSS that paid $2,688.50/mo. for in-home care that I could never afford. I only have to keep reporting my income every month to SSA to remain eligible for Medicaid under 1619b. THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND It's best to either have stable income so the future reduction in SSI doesn't hurt, or to set your earnings aside 'til the month your SSI goes down. Mcs, former Commissioner of SSA's Disability Division said it best, " SSA is like Mc's. " Mc's makes the same thing every day over and over with few errors; but if you ask them to hold the pickle, many things will likely go wrong. SSA sends the right checks to the right people every month bigger and better than anyone in the world. They define disability as an inability to work. When you work you are contradicting the SSA definition, hence, you're messing with a big machine. It's like you're telling SSA to hold the pickle, and many things will likely go wrong. KEEP all your paperwork! There is no statute of limitations on SSA looking back and questioning earnings and SSI payments. Most of this info. is in the Social Security Red Book of Work Incentives. You can get is at you SSA office or online: http://www.ssa.gov/work/ResourcesToolkit/redbook.html At 09:29 PM 1/14/2005, you wrote: >Alana do you know what the earned income for married couples with one >on SSI is for 2005? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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