How Do Living Arrangements Impact SSI Benefits?

When the federal government calculates how much Supplemental Security Income (SSI) you will receive, they take into account your living arrangements.

Here’s the basic math. If you live in a house or apartment that you own, and you pay your own food and shelter costs, then you will get the full amount of SSI benefit. If you live in a place owned by someone else, you’ll still get the maximum amount as long as you pay your own food and shelter costs.

However, if you live in a place owned by someone else, and they pay all or part of your food and shelter costs, then your SSI benefit might be reduced by up to one-third of the SSI federal benefit rate. This might be the case, for instance, if you share a rented apartment with another person who pays the rent. It doesn’t apply to parents paying for their children’s living arrangements.

There are some other circumstances that can impact your SSI benefits, though. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look.

Understanding Living Arrangements and SSI Benefits

In general, your living expenses do not affect the amount of SSI benefit that you receive. Your SSI benefit is based on your income, not on your expenses.

However, money for food or shelter that you receive from someone else may reduce your SSI benefit. For example, if you live in shared accommodation with another person and pay less than half of the rent, this might reduce your SSI benefit. It might also be reduced if you live in your own house, apartment, or mobile home, and someone else pays for all or part of your food, rent, mortgage, or other things like electricity and heating fuel.

There are exceptions to this rule:

• If you are living with a spouse, and they pay for living or food expenses for you, this doesn’t affect your SSI benefit.
• Similarly, parents can provide this for their children without it affecting their child’s SSI benefits.
• If someone buys you items that are neither food nor shelter—such as kitchen appliances—this doesn’t count toward the total.

There are also limitations to this rule. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will count only one-third of the maximum federal SSI amount payable for a month plus $20. And they can only reduce your SSI by this amount as well.

The ABLE National Resource Center (NRC) team also points out another potential benefit of ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts when it comes to your living expenses: When family or friends deposit funds into an ABLE account owned by someone who receives SSI, the funds may be used to help pay for housing, utilities, and food without jeopardizing the SSI benefit.

“In many areas of the country,” the ABLE NRC team points out, “the amount [people receive in] SSI is not enough to cover housing expenses without relying upon other government assistance programs. An ABLE account can help to ensure housing in such cases.”

SSI Benefits If You Live in an Institution

If you live in an institution, even temporarily, this will also affect your SSI benefits. Generally, if you live in a hospital, nursing home, prison, or jail, you will either lose your eligibility for SSI or it will be limited to $30 a month. There are some exceptions, though, and some states supplement this $30 benefit.

This also applies if you have to go to the hospital for more than a month. If Medicaid is paying for more than half the cost of your hospital care and you are in the facility for the whole month, then your SSI benefit is limited to $30 (plus any supplementary state payment). The SSA may lower this benefit further if you have other income.

SSI Benefits If You Are Homeless

You don’t need to have a home to receive SSI benefits. You may receive up to the maximum SSI amount payable in your state if you are homeless. In addition, if you are receiving SSI benefits, then you may be able to receive subsidized housing.

If you live in a public shelter, you can still receive SSI benefits. These can be paid for up to six out of any nine months that you live in the shelter. You also don’t need an address to get SSI benefits—the SSA will make arrangements to pay you once you apply for SSI.

The Bottom Line

Your living arrangements can have a big impact on your level of SSI benefit. If you live with someone and they pay more than their fair share of food and shelter costs, you may find your SSI reduced.

There are limitations to this rule. If you live with a spouse and they pay for living or food expenses for you, this doesn’t affect your SSI benefit. Similarly, parents can provide this for their children without it affecting their child’s SSI benefits. If you live in an institution, you might also see your SSI reduced.