Resource limits

Resources are the things you own that SSA counts when deciding SSI eligibility: cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and most property. The limits are $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, and they apply at the start of each month — if your countable resources are above the limit on the first moment of a month, you generally cannot receive SSI for that month.

These limits have not risen in decades. Unlike payment rates, which rise with COLA, the resource limits are fixed by law and have stayed at $2,000/$3,000 since 1989. Any proposal to raise them is a change in the law, not something SSA can do on its own — do not assume a higher limit applies to you.

Key points

Limits: $2,000 (individual), $3,000 (couple), measured at the start of each month.
Excluded: your home, one vehicle, household goods, personal effects, burial funds up to $1,500.
ABLE accounts: up to $100,000 excluded for eligible disabled people.

Ardmore Residential Units, Fremantle, July 2023 01 — Photo: Calistemon (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What counts — and what does not

Counts: cash, checking and savings accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement accounts you can access, additional vehicles beyond the first, and real property other than your home.

Does not count: the home you live in (and the land it sits on), one vehicle (generally the one you use most), household goods and personal effects, burial funds up to $1,500 per person (or a burial plot), life insurance with a combined face value up to $1,500, and property you are trying to sell in good faith for a limited time. ABLE accounts are the biggest modern exception — see below.

Joint accounts deserve care: SSA generally assumes you own all the money in a joint account unless you can show otherwise. If you share an account with someone, keep records that show whose money is whose.

Classic car show, Boscawen Street, Truro, Cornwall - July 2024 — Photo: Mutney (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

ABLE accounts

An ABLE account (Achieving a Better Life Experience) lets an eligible disabled person save up to $100,000 without it counting as an SSI resource. Money in the account can be used for qualified disability expenses — housing, education, transport, health, assistive technology, and more. Annual contributions are capped (the cap is tied to the gift-tax exclusion and changes over time — check the current cap before contributing). ABLE accounts are run by states, and most accept out-of-state savers, so you can compare programs.

Spending down — and what not to do

If your resources are slightly over the limit, you can spend down on exempt items (for example, repairing your home or buying the vehicle you use) or on ordinary living costs. What you must not do is give resources away to get under the limit: transferring resources for less than fair value can make you ineligible for up to 36 months. The look-back rule is strict, and it is the single most expensive mistake people make with SSI resources. If you are considering a transfer, get advice first — this site cannot advise on your situation, and SSA's own guidance is the safe starting point.

-finance -wealth -savings -security -coin — Photo: Free Images (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources to check: SSA, Understanding Supplemental Security Income — resources (ssa.gov/ssi/text-resources-ussi.htm); SSA, ABLE accounts (ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-able.html).