SSI Calculations

Welcome to the automated SSI calculation worksheet!

This tool, which was developed by the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, provides a unique calculator and text companion that explains each step in the SSI benefits calculation process and provides proper calculations and results for your SSI clients attempting to make a return-to-work effort.

As you input your client's information, appropriate deductions will be taken automatically and pre-populate the fields requiring this information later in the process. ALL deductions and exclusions available to an SSI recipient are presented in the proper order for the best possible benefits and income estimates. The calculations will not end with a new SSI award amount, but instead will inform your client of their total financial outlook for the month's income including both benefits and earnings.

This tool is provided to assist your effort to provide correct and timely information to SSI recipients. It has been developed for federal purposes and will provide information using only the current federal benefits rates. For a beneficiary in a state providing a state supplement, you will need to also consider the impact of the state supplement.

Please note that this tool is using 2020 figures and will be updated annually.

For more information and for other course offerings and informational materials please see www.ytionline.org

Step ONE

Treat all unearned income first as is required by the SSI program. NEVER include any SSI received as this tool is to be used to determine how much SSI will be received.

Enter the total unearned income. The GIE will be applied and the "countable unearned income" will be determined as well as pre-populated into the form where necessary in Step Three. The "unearned income" amount will be pre-populated where necessary in Step Five.

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Step TWO

Treat all earnings in this step. Simply follow the list and apply all deductions (SEIE, IRWE, etc.) applicable to the recipient's situation. The General Earned Income Exclusion (GEIE) and any remaining GIE will be automatically deducted. When in doubt, refer to the POMS to determine if the deduction will apply. All mathematical functions will be completed as you enter amounts into each deduction field. Once input has been completed, the "countable earned income" will be determined and pre-populated where necessary in Step Three. "Gross earned income" amounts will be pre-populated where necessary in Step Five. IDA, IRWE and BWE amounts will be totaled and pre-populated where necessary in Step Five.

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Divide by 2

Step THREE

Both "countable earned income" and "countable unearned income" will be pre-populated. Simply input any PASS deduction, if applicable, and "total countable income" will be determined. This amount will be pre-populated where necessary in Step Four. PASS deductions will be added to IDA, IRWE and BWE amounts and pre-populated where necessary in Step Five.

Step FOUR

The SSI "base rate" is the maximum amount of SSI that the recipient is eligible to receive given living arrangements. A recipient who lives alone and meets all living expenses will receive an FBR maximum of $794 (2021). If the recipient lives in the household of another or has in-kind income, that recipient may be subject to the 1/3 reduction or PMV rule; either of which will result in an SSI "base rate" of $530 (2021). For states that supplement SSI payments, the state supplements must be included at this point by being added to the FBR. Payment levels for states supplementing the SSI FBR can be found in the POMS as well as the varying definitions of state living arrangements that will apply to a given recipient's situation. IT IS CRITICAL THAT THE APPROPRIATE SSI "BASE RATE" BE INPUT AT STEP FOUR.

After inputting the "base rate", the "adjusted SSI payment" will be determined and pre-populated where necessary at Step Five.

Step FIVE

Step Five calculations will be completed at this point. The pre-populated figures representing the "adjusted SSI payment", "gross earned income", "gross unearned income", and the total of IDA, IRWE, BWE and PASS deductions will automatically be tallied to provide the "total financial outcome" for a recipient in the month being considered.

The result is a worksheet that both shows the recipient how the SSI treats income but also shows the recipient the actual benefit of work in real dollars.