SSI and Social Security: Different Programs and Payment Rules

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from Social Security Administration. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overview

What Is SSI?

SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income.  Social Security administers this program.  We pay monthly benefits to people with limited income and resources who are blind, age 65 or older, or have a qualifying disability.  Children with disabilities or who are blind may also get SSI.

How Is SSI Different From Social Security Benefits?

Many people who are eligible for SSI may also be eligible for Social Security benefits.  A separate application may be filed for each program so that eligibility can be determined.    Although there are similarities, SSI and Social Security are different in many ways.

• Social Security benefits may be paid to you and certain members of your family if you are “insured”, meaning you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes. Unlike Social Security benefits, SSI benefits are not based on your prior work or a family member's prior work.
• SSI is financed by general funds of the U.S. Treasury--personal income taxes, corporate taxes, and other taxes. Social Security taxes collected under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) or the Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) do not fund the SSI program.
• In most States, SSI recipients can also get medical assistance (Medicaid) to pay for hospital stays, doctor bills, prescription drugs, and other health costs.
• Many States also provide a supplemental payment to certain SSI recipients.
• SSI recipients may also be eligible for food assistance. In some States, an application for SSI also serves as an application for food assistance.
• SSI is paid on the first of the month.
• To get SSI, you must be at least 65 years old, blind, or have a disability, and have "limited" income and resources.
• In addition, to get SSI, you must also:
  
• be either a U.S. citizen or national, or a noncitizen in one of the certain alien classifications granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS);


• reside in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands; and


• not be absent from the U.S. for a full calendar month or 30 or more consecutive days.

How Is SSI Like Social Security Benefits?

• Both programs pay monthly benefits.
• The medical standards for disability are generally the same in both programs for individuals age 18 or older. For children from birth to the attainment of age 18 there is a separate definition of disability under SSI. The medical standard is based on the severity of your disability; financial need is not considered at this step in the eligibility process.
• SSA administers both programs.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) General Information

SSI Monthly Federal Benefit Rates (Fbrs) And Living Arrangements

See the chart below to determine the maximum monthly SSI payment you can get in the following living arrangements if both of the following are true:

• your State does not add to the SSI monthly FBR; and
  
• you have no countable income.

See SSI Income for more information on countable income.

Depending on what State you live in, you may receive a supplemental payment. Some States contribute to the total amount payable to SSI recipients. This amount varies from State to State. See SSI Benefits for more information on the State supplement. The chart below refers to the amount you get from the Federal Government only, provided you or your spouse do not receive any other countable income.

What Are Installments?

When you are eligible for past-due SSI payments, Social Security must first reimburse the State if you received any monetary Interim Assistance while you were waiting for your SSI decision. If the remaining past-due benefits are large, we must pay them in installments. The installment payments are made in no more than three payments, at six-month intervals.

There is an exception that allows the amount of the first and second payment to be increased because of certain debts.

There are also two exceptions that would permit payment of all unpaid benefits due an individual to be paid in one lump sum:

• If you have a medical condition that is expected to result in your death within 12 months.
• You become ineligible for SSI and you are likely to remain ineligible for 12 months.

SSI Resource Limits

You can get SSI in all States, if we count the things you own, and they are worth less than the following:

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits

Generally, the maximum Federal SSI benefit amount changes yearly. SSI benefits increased in 2026 because there was an increase in the Consumer Price Index from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025. Effective January 1, 2026, the Federal benefit rate is $994 for an individual and $1,491 for a couple.

Some States supplement the Federal SSI benefit with additional payments. This makes the total SSI benefit levels higher in those States.  SSI benefit amounts and State supplemental payment amounts vary based upon your income, living arrangements, and other factors. 

No State Supplement

The following States or territories do not pay a supplement to people who receive SSI:

Social Security Administered Supplement

Social Security administers the State supplement for the following States and the District of Columbia. You may contact us about your total benefit amount.

*Dual administration State.  In these States, Social Security administers some categories of State supplement payments, while the State administers other categories of supplemental payments.

State Administered Supplement

The following States pay and administer their own supplemental payments, and you may contact the State for payment information.

See the publication titled, “SSI Recipient by State and County, 2022” on our website at www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ssi_sc/ for more information.

Sources and publication details

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Overview — Social Security Administration; source date: 2026 edition.
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) General Information — Social Security Administration; source date: 2026 edition.
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits — Social Security Administration; source date: 2026 edition.

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.