How SSI eligibility and payment are figured
Supplemental Security Income is the U.S. means-tested benefit for people who are 65 or older, blind or disabled and have little income and few resources. It plays much the same role as Korea's basic pension, but the test is built differently: instead of converting property into an assumed monthly income, SSI applies a hard resource limit and then subtracts countable income from the federal benefit rate.
Countable income is not the same as gross income. Under 42 U.S.C. 1382a the first $20 of most monthly income is excluded, then the first $65 of earnings plus any unused part of that $20, and only half of the remaining wages counts. This calculator applies those steps in order, checks your resources against the limit you enter, and shows the resulting monthly and yearly payment along with the wage level at which the payment would reach zero.
Figures are on a 2026 basis. The federal benefit rate changes with the annual cost-of-living adjustment and state supplements vary widely, so both are editable fields. The calculation does not model in-kind support and maintenance, deeming from a spouse or parent, student earned income exclusions or work incentives such as a PASS plan, any of which can change the result. Confirm your own figures with the Social Security Administration rather than relying on this estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Cash, bank accounts, stocks and land you do not live on generally count. The home you live in, one vehicle, household goods and personal effects are excluded, and burial funds get a limited exclusion. Check the current list with the Social Security Administration before assuming an item counts.
The earned income exclusion in 42 U.S.C. 1382a drops the first $65 of monthly earnings, plus any unused part of the $20 general exclusion, and then counts only half of what is left. That is why working does not reduce an SSI payment dollar for dollar.
No. Some states pay a supplement on top of the federal benefit rate, some administer it themselves, and others pay nothing extra. Enter your own state figure, or leave it at zero if your state has no supplement.