An individual’s SSI cash benefit is based on countable income. Several incentives exist to help decrease countable income in order to secure you higher net total income each month.
Blind Work Expenses (BWE) – When determining if you are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and calculating your payment amount, SSA does not count any earned income used to meet expenses that you need to earn that income. To qualify for BWEs you must be eligible for SSI due to Blindness under SSA rules.
Examples:
BWE are also treated differently than IRWE in the SSI calculation in order to net you a higher SSI payment.
Student-Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) allows students under the age of 22 who regularly attend school, receive SSI, and work to exclude up to $2,220 per month to a maximum of $8,950 per year in 2023 from their adjusted SSI calculation. These figures usually change annually.
If you receive SSI benefits:
Even if SSI cash payments stop, Medicaid coverage will usually continue until your earnings exceed the state threshold for Medicaid qualification.
A full listing of state thresholds is available at https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/1619b.htm Take a moment to look up your threshold now.
If you receive SSDI:
Resources are available through the following: