Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under Title XVI

To apply for Supplemental Security Income, an applicant must either be both disabled and impoverished, or over the age of 65 years and impoverished. Generally, if you are hurt and eligible for welfare benefits, you will be eligible for SSI. Your Social Security lawyer may suggest applying for SSI in your case to help secure you additional income if you are totally disabled.

Some people whose Social Security insured status has expired because they have not worked recently may be able to get SSI if they are able to prove disability. You may also be able to secure both Social Security Disability benefits and SSI, although frequently a person's monthly Social Security Disability benefit is too high to enable them to receive additional SSI benefits. Consult with the North Carolina attorneys at James Scott Farrin to help you determine the best way to proceed in your particular case.

When to Apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

If you meet the requirement for SSI benefits, you should apply for them as soon as you become disabled. There is no retroactivity prior to your application, unlike Social Security Disability; so the sooner you file the better.

Your benefits and Medicare/Medicaid

Medicare and Medicaid benefits are health benefits only. If you win Social Security Disability benefits, you will receive Medicare benefits twenty-nine (29) months after your disability onset date, or twenty-four (24) months after the first date you were eligible for cash benefits, whichever is later. If you win SSI you will receive Medicaid benefits, effective the day you applied for your SSI.

Some exceptions apply for people with Lou Gehrig's disease, know as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or end-stage renal disease. In these cases, benefit recipients are eligible for Medicare without the normal waiting period. Contact us today to see if there are exceptions applicable in your special situation.