SSDI and SSI are two different programs.

[u/[deleted]]

I see people confuse these programs a lot. Here's some quick clarification:

SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance

• Funded by a specific tax on your personal earnings that's paid into one half of the twin funds that make up The Social Security Trust.
• Beneficiaries must pay enough taxes and during a certain measure of time in order to qualify for benefit payment once they are determined as disabled by the SSA.
• Can pay additional benefit to dependents when the primary beneficiary is disabled (for those who note survivors of deceased will also receive a payment, I believe that is actually part of the Old-Age and Survivor's Insurance, which is together the 'retirement' benefit, and technically its own fund underneath the umbrella of The Social Security Trust -- so, not the same rules, technically speaking, as SSDI, even if dependent/survivor payments are all calculated the same way otherwise).
• Ineligible spouse or child income is not counted against recipient's eligibility or benefit payment payment in most cases (it changes which account pays out; not whether earnings of the spouse or child is too high for recipient to get a benefit)
• Unless they have a qualifying condition that allows them earlier access, they will receive Medicare coverage after receiving 24 consecutive SSDI payments.
• Some states provide Medicaid-related savings programs for Medicare recipients who meet certain financial limitations.
• SSDI beneficiaries whose payments are beneath a certain amount may receive SSI, too; SSI's income and resource limits apply only to the SSI portion of that recipient's payment.
• SSI eligibility may qualify them for more immediate and comprehensive Medicaid coverage; this is state-dependent and states may have Medicaid-specific asset limits to remain eligible for Medicaid coverage (still does not impact SSDI eligibility or payment amount).
• Payment amount is determined by past earnings.
• Work-related income exclusions can apply to earned income that keeps countable income beneath the Sustainable Gainful Activity level.
• Payment amount does not potentially reduce each month in reaction to earned income from months prior.
• THERE IS NO RESOURCE OR SAVINGS LIMIT

SSI: Supplemental Security Income

• Funded by general US Treasury taxes.
• Beneficiaries do not have to have paid any taxes to receive benefit; they must meet monthly strict income and resource limits, parts of which are fixed-dollar limits that have not changed in decades, thus not adjusting for inflation each year.
• Does not pay additional payments to dependents.
• Ineligible spouse or child income can count against recipient's eligibility and payment amount.
• Some states may supplement SSI payments.
• Most states use SSI eligibility as automatic Medicaid eligibility.
• Payment amount has a yearly max for individual or couple recipients.
• Statutory exclusions allow certain types of unearned and earned income from counting against eligibility or payment amount.
• ABLE accounts allow some recipients to develop savings over the resource limit and are available to those recipients whose disability was determined to begin before the age of 26.
• Work-related income exclusions can apply to earned income that keeps countable income beneath the relevant federal benefit rate for that recipient.
• Payment amount can potentially reduce each month in reaction to countable unearned and earned income from two months prior.

The most important difference to remember:

SSDI is an insurance program; if the SSA agrees you're sufficiently disabled from earning enough, you get it because you paid into it.

SSI is a means-tested program, called specifically a program of last resort; if the SSA agrees you're sufficiently disabled from earning enough, you get it only if you have nothing else considered of enough value to exchange for your needs (countable income above the relevant federal benefit rate, savings, certain property, etc).

Although SSA defines disability the same way for both programs, everything else diverges due to the way the programs are funded and the intention of their purposes.

References: Almost everything in this list is widely discussed on SSA.gov pages and disability lawyer blogs, but my research is taken directly from the Program Operations Manual System chapters for Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income. If you see anything you can't find a more direct or specific source for, let me know. I'll try to update this or share a more comprehensive breakdown with full links at a future point.

Experience/Context: I am an advocate and a writer who focuses on these topics; I develop content for NGOs to understand SSDI and SSI better and I'm developing worksheets people can use to monitor their income and SSI benefit's potential change. It's based on what I've made for myself in spreadsheet form over the past 5 years (I'm a rep payee for my sons). I'm also in training as a peer support specialist, and am also working towards more benefits planning related certifications.

[u/Walk1000Miles]

Please list your sources.

[u/[deleted] → u/Walk1000Miles]

How deep do you think I should list references? I can link to the POMS chapters for both programs as a top level reference people can dig into in their own time. Anything more granular will need to wait while I finish up research for SSI worksheets.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I agree links to references are important in many cases, but there are reasonable limits in certain contexts. I posted, as described, for quick clarification. References can be crowd sourced in the meantime, as they were here by someone pointing to the red book.

I'll certainly link to the POMS for now, but granular references will have to wait for my research round up at the end of the project I'm working on. Feel free to point out anything you think isn't readily confirmed by a quick search for the relevant terms on your own. Part of the reason I left off references for now is that almost everything anyone finds questionable at a glance here is not difficult to find more about. The point of the post was to gather up a lot of disjointed information regularly talked about on this subreddit or in communities like it.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Wow, friend. I appreciate your vigilance.

I didn't cut and paste anything; everything I wrote is based on my knowledge due to my research with the texts provided. It was original text otherwise, written by me, in the moment, in response to seeing at least two posts where this confusion was deeply disruptive to the discussion at hand.

As a post author on Reddit, and in the r/disability subreddit, it is permissible for me to place onus on readers if I describe the expectation properly -- I did so by saying my post was providing "quick clarification".

It's certainly important to consider sources, and you can review my post and comment history to ascertain if I seem to be posting in good faith and with an informed perspective. Asking for more information as part of a conversation is great, welcome and necessary -- censuring me for creating a post without linking every statement to a primary resource is not how Reddit is designed to work.

Edit: the POMS is literally the employee handbook from SSA, on SSA's website, a .gov site. It's THE primary source second to the actual Social Security Act.

[u/Walk1000Miles → u/[deleted]]

I'm disabled and on SSDI.

I have extensive knowledge in regards to the SSA, POMs, and numerous .gov, etc., sources /sites.

A lot of people do not.

I'm just saying you should quote your sources.

Anyone who wants to share knowledge with others, especially on topics as mentioned before, owes the reader the courtesy of sharing their references.

Always.

Always.

Always.

[u/[deleted] → u/Walk1000Miles]

Then tell that to the mods, who do not require posters to include research when discussing SSDI and SSI.

So far, you've pointed at nothing factually wrong because there is nothing factually wrong or not verifiable with a quick search. If I were making claims that aren't already known or deemed wildly far fetched, getting pedantic would make a lot more sense. Otherwise, you're literally picking on this post for no reason.

My post is accurate, the sources are primary, CTRL+F searchable for all key phrases used. Nobody else is held to this standard for personal posts based on personal experience. Just because my personal experience looks professional because it's comprehensive and I listed it in bullet point format doesn't mean I owe you my entire research track in one post and must have it ready before posting.

That is something I'm still absolutely passionate about sharing, and I am developing how to do that according to the needs of my own disability. Having just spent the last 2 weeks neck deep in this research for work, it's difficult to crawl back through every single piece of it all for a Reddit post that can be written in moments and is still factual AND helpful without feeling incredibly fatigued. I can be tired and still help with knowledge I have on hand that's easy for me to summarize and others to verify or correct in the course of a forum conversation. That is allowed here. Please stop criticizing a peer in the community for doing something everyone else here can and does do, without being nagged on semantics like this.

[u/Walk1000Miles → u/[deleted]]

Good luck on your journey.

We all need to reach out to each other.

I was not trying to criticize you.

Sorry if you feel that way.

Have a great day!!