Supplemental Security Income Limits for 2023 and 2024

The monthly maximum SSI benefit in 2023 is $914 for individuals living alone and $1,372 for couples living alone.

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The 2024 monthly maximum SSI benefit is $943 for individuals and $1,415 for couples. In 2025, this will rise to $967 for individuals and $1,450 for couples. To qualify, you must make less than $1,913 per month in wages as a single person or less than $2,827 per month as a married couple and satisfy other eligibility requirements

Social Security Administration. 2023 SSI Income and Resource Eligibility Table. Accessed Jul 20, 2023.
. The Social Security Administration (SSA) adjusts benefit rates and eligibility requirements annually.

2023 SSI maximum benefit amounts

Monthly maximum SSI benefit

Annual maximum SSI benefit

Individuals living alone

$914.

$10,968.

Individuals living in another household

$609.

$7,308.

Couples living alone

$1,371.

$16,452.

Couples living in another household

$913.

$10,957.

2024 SSI maximum benefit amounts

Monthly maximum SSI benefit

Annual maximum SSI benefit

Individuals living alone

$943.

$11,316.

Individuals living in another household

$629.

$7,548.

Couples living alone

$1,415.

$16,980.

Couples living in another household

$943.

$11,320.

Note that the maximum federal benefit will be reduced by your “countable income” — an amount calculated by the SSA that includes earned and unearned income.

Some states also offer supplemental payments to SSI recipients.

2023 SSI eligibility requirements

Total wages or net self-employment income

Income from pensions or gifts

Owned assets and resources

Individual

Less than $1,913 per month.

Less than $934 per month.

Less than $2,000 total.

Couple

Less than $2,827 per month.

Less than $1,391 per month.

Less than $3,000 total.

2024 SSI eligibility requirements

Total wages or net self-employment income

Income from pensions or gifts

Owned assets and resources

Individual

Less than $1,971 per month.

Less than $963 per month.

Less than $2,000 total.

Couple

Less than $2,915 per month.

Less than $1,435 per month.

Less than $3,000 total.

You may still be eligible for SSI even if your income or assets don't seem to meet the requirements. Certain assets are automatically excluded, such as Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts or a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), some trusts and some burial funds.

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For SSI eligibility, what counts as a resource or asset?

  • Cash.

  • Bank accounts.

  • Stocks, mutual funds and U.S. savings bonds.

  • Land. 

  • Life insurance.

  • Personal property.

  • Vehicles.

  • Any additional possessions that can be sold or changed to cash and used to cover living expenses like food or housing.

  • SSA deemed resources. These are assets or resources that belong to an applicant's parent (for children living with parents) or spouse, but count as though they belong to the applicant.

» MORE: SSI vs. SSDI

What isn’t counted as an asset or resource?

  • Your home and the lot it sits on. 

  • One vehicle if it's used for transportation by members of your household. 

  • Household goods and personal items like wedding or engagement rings. 

  • Life insurance policies with $1,500 or less combined value. 

  • Burial plots. 

  • Burial funds of $1,500 or less. 

  • Property used in a trade or business. 

  • Money or property set aside under a PASS if you have a disability.

  • ABLE accounts with up to $100,000 in funds. 

  • A set amount of parental resources. For a child under 18 years old living with one parent, $2,000 of that parent's resources will not be counted in their SSI eligibility. For a child living with both parents, $3,000 will not be counted. Any amounts exceeding the parents' limits will be counted as part of that child's $2,000 resource limit.

Who isn’t eligible for SSI?

Aside from satisfying certain income and resource requirements, here are a few reasons you might not qualify for SSI

Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Eligibility Requirements. Accessed Jul 20, 2023.
:

You have an unsatisfied felony charge or an outstanding arrest warrant or any pending criminal charges that have not been resolved in a court of law.

You are currently incarcerated. This includes prison, jail and correctional facilities like detention centers or halfway houses. You won't be eligible for SSI during any full calendar month that you're incarcerated. However, you should be able to apply for benefits before your anticipated release.

You currently reside in a public institution. If you spend a whole month in any government-run institution, be it federal, state or local, you won't be eligible for SSI during that time. There is an exception if you’re staying in a public emergency shelter for the homeless or a publicly operated community residence.

You transferred or sold resources in order to qualify. This is not a good workaround. If you sold the resource or asset for less than its actual value just to meet the income limit, you may not be eligible for SSI for up to 36 months. Moving resources to certain types of trusts could also prevent you from qualifying for SSI for up to 36 months.

You are a noncitizen who receives SSI, but lose noncitizen status. If you no longer meet the requirements for qualified noncitizen status, or there is an active warrant for your deportation from the U.S., your SSI benefits will stop and you will no longer be eligible.

You are living or traveling outside the United States for a month or more. If you spend a whole month outside the U.S., you won't be eligible for SSI benefits during that time. But there are exceptions for students studying abroad or a child of military parents stationed overseas. Once you've been outside the U.S. for a continuous stretch of 30 days or more, you’ll need to be back in the U.S. for another 30 consecutive days to become eligible for those SSI benefits again.

How to sign up for SSI

Head to the Social Security Administration website to start the SSI application process online. From there, a Social Security representative will contact you to schedule an appointment and assist you in applying for benefits.

You can also call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., in your local time zone, Monday through Friday

Social Security Administration. Call Us. Accessed Jul 20, 2023.
.

Make sure you have the following information and documents:

  • Social Security number.  

  • Proof of age, such as a birth certificate.  

  • Record of citizenship status, such as a U.S. passport or green card.

  • Proof of income, such as payroll stubs.

  • Proof of resources, such as bank statements.

  • Proof of living arrangements, such as a lease.

  • Medical sources, such as medication lists and your doctor’s contact information.

  • Work history, such as information about past jobs.

You can use either original documents or certified copies from the offices that gave you the original documents. The SSA won't accept photocopies.

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