SSI
Supplemental Security Income
SSI is for people with little income and few savings who are disabled, blind or 65 and over. It doesn’t depend on a work history, so it’s the program for people who couldn’t work long enough, and for children.
In West Virginia, SSI comes with Medicaid. The money and the rules about income and savings change often, and an overpayment notice can arrive years later. We help with the application and with the letters that follow it.
Little income and savings
A disability, blindness, or age 65
Medicaid comes with it in this state
Adults and children are judged differently
The medical question isn’t the same for a child, and the money question includes the parents.
For adults
The question is work: can you do any job that exists in real numbers? The same five steps as SSDI decide it.
The five-step test
Savings limit applies
Living arrangements change the amount
For children
The question is function: how the condition limits the child at school, at home and with other children compared with children the same age.
Teacher and school records
Part of parents’ income counts
Reviewed again at 18
What people ask about SSI
Do I have to report every change?
Yes, by the 10th of the next month: income, who lives with you, a move, money in the bank. Late reports are how most overpayments start.
I got an overpayment notice. Do I have to pay it back?
Not always. You can appeal the amount, ask for a waiver if it wasn’t your fault, or ask to repay slowly. The deadlines are short, so call.
Can I get SSI and SSDI together?
Yes, if your SSDI benefit is small. SSI tops it up to the federal rate, less the part it counts.
Applying for a child, or for yourself?
We’ll talk through the income questions before you fill anything in.