How Do Family Income and Other Resources Affect My Claim?

If you are applying for disability insurance benefits, then family income and resources do not affect your claim, except that if you are earning over $1040 per month then you cannot be considered disabled for that month. Your income and resources from sources other than your personal earnings will not affect your claim for disability insurance benefits at all. However, if you are applying for Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”), then your income and resources will affect your claim. SSI is a means based program. This means that you are only eligible for SSI if your income is low enough and you do not have over a certain level of resources. Your spouse’s income will count as yours. If your spouse is working full time there is a good chance you would not be eligible for disability benefits. The monthly SSI payment and the limit for income and resources will vary from state to state.