As someone who is unable to work due to a disability, you know the stress of wondering how you will support yourself and your family. Finding the right benefit programs is only the first step. One well-known benefit program is Supplemental Security Income (SSI). If you decide to apply, you then have to go through a difficult, often complicated application process. After submitting your claim with all its supporting documentation, you still have to wait. As you do, you may ask yourself, “When do SSI benefits start?” In this article, we will take a look at the application process and how soon your benefits may begin hitting your bank account.
What are SSI benefits?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers several programs, including Supplemental Security Income or SSI. Each program the SSA manages addresses specific needs.
SSI benefits are provided to people who meet certain requirements. Unlike its cousin, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), people who qualify for SSI benefits must meet certain income and resource limits. For example, you must be:
- At least age 65,
- Blind, or
These eligibility requirements are just the beginning, however. If you meet these criteria, you also must have income and resources below the current limits set by the SSA.
If you are eligible for SSI benefits, you will begin receiving monthly payments. However, knowing this still does not answer the question, “When do SSI benefits start?”
When to expect your SSI benefits
You generally will start receiving SSI benefits the first full month after your application has been approved. However, it may take six months or more for your approval to come through. If you appeal a denial, your payments will take much longer to appear if your appeal is granted.
Some people qualify for expedited payments. The SSA moves more quickly in the following situations:
- Presumptive disability or presumptive blindness payments may be paid for up to six months while waiting for a decision on your application.
- One emergency advance payment might be paid to someone facing a financial emergency.
- An immediate payment might be paid to new applicants, people whose SSI benefits are delayed, or people with an immediate financial emergency.
- Expedited reinstatement cases occur when someone’s benefits ended, perhaps because they were working, but need to be reinstated.
Ask a Disability Lawyer
Social Security Administration rules and regulations are not easy to understand. It can help to have someone on your side. The attorneys at The Law Offices of Martin Taller have more than 50 years’ experience helping clients like you. For a free consultation, call us at 714-385-8100. Though our office is located in Anaheim, we assist clients throughout Southern California.
