How Money in the Bank or Other Assets May Affect Your Eligibility for Social Security Disability Benefits (2024)

FAQs

How Money in the Bank or Other Assets May Affect Your Eligibility for Social Security Disability Benefits? ›

Qualifying for SSDI is based on your inability to work and your benefits payment is based on your lifetime average earnings before you became disabled. SSDI payments are not affected by having a house, a car, money in the bank, or owning other possessions.

The SSDI program does not limit how much money you can have in the bank because there are no resource limits as you find with SSI.

Assets ONLY affect your eligibility for SSI benefits

Assets and resources are not taken into consideration for an SSDI claim.

For those receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the short answer is yes, the Social Security Administration (SSA) can check your bank accounts because you have to give them permission to do so.

Current beneficiaries who exceed the limits are suspended and then terminated from program participation if their savings remain above the limits, and they must repay any benefits paid while they are over the limit. SSI beneficiaries are limited to only $2,000 in assets of any kind.

(a) To be eligible for SSI payments you must give us permission to contact any financial institution and request any financial records that financial institution may have about you. You must give us this permission when you apply for SSI payments or when we ask for it at a later time.

That being said, how frequently does the Social Security Administration check your bank account? While the number of times SSI checks your bank account is not standardized, it may be anywhere from a single year to six years. The SSI can also check when you go through life-altering experiences.

In the case of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), the SSA does not physically check bank accounts for asset limits. However, you may lose benefits if you have an increase in income or assets that is discovered during a review process.

The value of your resources is one of the factors that determines whether you are eligible for SSI benefits. However, not all resources count for SSI. If the value of your resources that we count is over the allowable limit at the beginning of the month, you cannot receive SSI for that month.

A person who is receiving SSI cannot have income that exceeds certain limits. As of 2018, you cannot receive SSI benefits if your monthly earnings exceed $1,180. However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does not consider all income toward the SSI limit.

Can you have money in the bank and still get disability? ›

SSDI payments are not affected by having a house, a car, money in the bank, or owning other possessions.

Yes, under specific circ*mstances, Social Security has the authority to check your bank account without requiring your consent. These checks are conducted to verify eligibility for benefits and prevent fraudulent activities.

The Social Security five-year rule is the time period in which you can file for an expedited reinstatement after your Social Security disability benefits have been terminated completely due to work.

Not working long enough is the most obvious reason someone wouldn't be eligible for Social Security retirement benefits. You must have a work history of at least 10 years to earn the credits you need to be eligible for Social Security as a retiree.

Utilizing a “Spend Down” to Maintain SSI Benefits

If you're on SSI and recently received a large sum, you can utilize a “spend-down” to ensure that you remain with SSI's resource minimums. Per the SSA, a “spend-down” involves spending the cash that you've received until you're below the resource maximum.

If the original overpayment, not the balance, is $1,000.00 or less, the recipient, representative payee, or other authorized representative may make a verbal waiver request. Technicians may not initiate waiver processing unless the debtor (or representative) requests a waiver.

There are several factors that can affect your Social Security Disability benefits including changes in your employment income, retirement benefits, or if you start to receive other forms of disability benefits.

In terms of the timeframe, it can be anywhere between one and six years. They can also have another look when you go through life-altering experiences to see how your finances have been affected. Many wonder whether the money in their savings account will disqualify them from receiving social security benefits.

The current FDIC coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, per financial institution. So if you have checking and savings accounts at multiple banks, each one is FDIC-insured up to that limit.