SSI Questions

[AnalogWife]

This morning I received a call to inform me that my DS (3, autism) was approved for SSI. That's how she said it, and then she said that one more thing had to go through their legal department (to determine whether one item is considered a resource for $, if yes, then no SSI) and that it may take up to 60 days to get the verdict.

My gut feeling is that the legal dept will say that DS is fully approved. I work PT and desperately want to quit my job, the case worker told me when we first applied that to tell her immediately if my income changed because it would affect the payout (presently calculated at $30.)

I didn't want to quit my job before knowing that the SSI is approved, so I'm still stuck in a bit of a limbo, waiting on the legal dept's decision. In the meantime I have some questions for those familiar with SSI, how long does it take to get the first check? What might the turnaround time be to update the payout amount if I am no longer employed? Does it look "suspicious" if I quit my job very soon after learning that DS is approved? Are there periodic eligibility evaluations? Are SSI benefits ever withheld for any reason?

This is all new territory for me, I've never received monthly gov't benefits and I'm a little nervous about it. I do know that it feels right to be able to stay home with DS full time, and the SSI would make it possible and for that I'm grateful but I don't know what attitudes there are about it, please be gentle.

[~cassie]

Aidan receives SSI, to the tune of 667$ a month. They calculate the pay based on 2 months prior. You have to be careful with 3 check months(July and December) b/c we tend to get only 300$ those months so we have to adjust our budget.

We have had it since ds was 6 mths so I don't really recall how long, it didn't take us long at all, I want to say once we were approved we got a check within 2 weeks, and I think they do backpay from the date you applied-right? Sorry it has been a while since we started all that. Every 6 months we have to do a report-saying how the money was spent--it's no big deal though and we have never had to show proof of where it went, etc-not that we buy whatever we want lol, ours goes to our credit card from us having to charge all of his treatments. And I don't think it looks suspicious if you quit at all, sometimes that is best for the kids, I know it is for mine, they aren't going to think anything badly of you quitting your job.

[AnalogWife]

Thank you. Do you have to submit paystubs every month?

[bandgeek]

We got the first check quickly, less than a month I think. I don't think it's "suspicious" at all to quit your job after getting SSI. That's one reason families get it, is to stretch their budget in any way that benefits the child. Using the money for bills so you can spend less time at work IS benefiting the child. It shouldn't be an issue. We've been using DD's check for rent and bills for years and it's never been a problem.

[~cassie]

Originally Posted by AnalogWife

Thank you. Do you have to submit paystubs every month?

Yes you do. I send them in at the end of the month. You don't want them to pay you out too much and then have to repay them-we have had it happen--mainly during a 3 check month or when dh is paid a lot of OT.

[AnalogWife]

Thank you. This makes me more confident in quitting my job. Re: pay reporting, my DH gets a 1099 at the end of the year, is there any info on how that is handled? When the case worker called me the other day she advised me to save my paystubs, but DH didn't have to because he's technically self employed.

[CherryBomb]

I quit my job after dd2 got approved for SSI. She basically gets what I made working part time, I think it's better for her to have me here full time. It wasn't an issue, they don't require you to work, and you don't have to give a reason for losing employment. I just called and said "I need to report an income change, I'm no longer working" and that was it. I can't remember how long it took to get the first check, honestly. But she did get paid retroactively for all the months they determined she was eligble, so her first check was fairly large.

We don't submit paystubs every month, I think you can if you want, though. They just do an income reevaluation every 6 months or whatever and we give them all the paystubs then. Sometimes it turns out they overpaid us, sometimes they underpaid. If they overpaid us, they just reduce the next few checks some. If they underpaid they make a deposit of the difference.

You should try to keep track of receipts for what you spend on the child. Although you aren't required to turn them in regularly, they randomly audit people and then ask for stuff like that. I was really good the first year or two about it, though I never remember to now. Though dh has been unemployed for the last 6 months, so I don't think it would be hard to prove that the money was being used to take care of her. Basically they just want to know you're not using it to like, buy yourself jewelry and go on vacation.

The maxium payment you can get right now on a monthly basis is $674.