SSI Reporting Duties and Reading Agency Notices

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.

Reporting Responsibilities

What Things You Must Report To Social Security?

You must report any of the changes listed below to us, because they may affect your eligibility for supplemental security income (SSI) and your benefit amount:

• Change of address.
• Change in living arrangements.
• Change in earned and unearned income, including a change in wages or net earnings from self-employment, including your spouse’s income if you are married and living together, and parents’ income if applying for a child.
• Change in resources, including your spouse’s resources if you are married and living together, and parents’ resources if applying for a child. You must report if you obtain new resources, sell or transfer existing resources, and if the value of a resource changes.
• Death of spouse or anyone in your household.
• Change in marital status (including any same-sex relationships).
• Change in citizenship or immigration status.
• Change in help with living expenses from friends or relatives.
• Eligibility for other benefits or payments.
• Admission to or discharge from an institution (such as a hospital, nursing home, or a correctional institution such as prison, jail, detention center, boot camp, etc,).
• Change in school attendance, if you are under age 22.
• Change in lawful noncitizen status.
• Sponsor (or sponsor’s spouse) changes of income, resources, or living arrangement for noncitizens.
• Leaving the U.S. for a full calendar month or for 30  consecutive days or more; or
• An unsatisfied felony or arrest warrant for escape from custody, flight to avoid prosecution or confinement, or flight-escape.

What Must You Also Report If You Are A Person With A Disability?

• Improvement in your medical condition.
• When you start or stop work or have a change in pay or hours worked.
• Any change in your Ticket to Work status.
• Any change in your work or Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) expenses.

When Do You Need To Report?

Report any changes that may affect your SSI as soon as possible and no later than 10 days after the end of the month in which the change occurred.

What Happens If You Do Not Report Changes Timely And Accurately?

You may be underpaid and not receive the benefits due to you, as quickly as you otherwise could, if you do not report changes on time.

We may overpay you and you may have to pay us back.  We may apply a penalty that will reduce your SSI payment by $25 to $100 for each time you fail to report a change to us, or you report the change later than 10 days after the end of the month in which the change occurred.

If you knowingly make a false or misleading statement or knowingly fail to report important changes, we may impose a sanction against your payments.  The first sanction period is a withholding of payments for 6 months.  Subsequent sanction periods are for 12 months and then 24 months.

Social Security Notices And Letters

What Does A Notice Look Like?

A Social Security notice will have the following features:

• A heading that always includes the agency name usually the name of the Social Security program, and the type of notice.  For example:
• Social Security Administration
  Supplemental Security Income
  Notice of Change in Payment
• Social Security’s internet link, toll-free telephone number and the address for your local field office.

Why Do We Send You A Notice?

Notices are one of the ways that we communicate with the public.  Notices are necessary to explain our decisions, inform you of your rights and responsibilities, and explain what you can do if you disagree with our decisions.

We also send notices that may ask you to call or come into the office, or to request information or documents.

When Do We Send You A Notice?

We will send you a notice, to inform you about your claim, benefit status or benefit amount.  A notice will be sent if your benefit amount or eligibility changes and/or terminates. 

For example, if you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and changes in your living arrangement, other income, or resources affect your benefit amount, you will receive a notice each time your benefit amount changes.

What Do We Tell You In Our Notice?

Our notices generally state the following:

• the purpose of the letter;
• any action we plan to take or decision we’ve made and the reason;
• any change in your benefit status or payment amount and the starting date of the change;
• any action you should take;
• what you should do if you disagree with the decision; and
• how to contact us.

What Options Are Available To Blind Or Visually Impaired Individuals?

You can choose to receive notices from us in one of the following ways. Just let us know which you prefer. Your choices for receiving notices are:

• Standard print notice by first-class mail;
• Standard print notice by certified mail;
• Standard print notice by first-class mail and a follow-up telephone call;
• Standard print notice and Braille notice by first-class mail;
• Standard print notice and data compact disc (CD) that contain a Microsoft Word file by first-class mail;
• Standard print notice and audio CD by first-class mail; or
• Standard print notice and large print (18-point size) notice by first-class mail.

To select or change the way you wish to receive information from Social Security, go to our secure internet application, my Social Security or contact us.

What Options Are Available To Limited English-Speaking Individuals?

Most notices from Social Security are available in Spanish.  Notices that are not available in Spanish include a Spanish cover letter offering translation services from a local Social Security office.

What Should You Do If You Have Trouble Understanding Or Responding To Our Notice?

Contact us if you do not understand a notice, or if you cannot do what we ask in the time allowed. Have the notice with you when you contact us, so we will be able to help you more quickly. We will explain the letter to you and help you do what you need to do to meet your responsibility.

If you misplace a notice that we have sent to you, please contact us.  Do not ignore the letter under any circumstances.  If you do, you could lose benefits or the chance to exercise your rights. 

Sources and publication details

• Reporting Responsibilities — Social Security Administration; source date: 2026 edition.
• Social Security Notices And Letters — 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.