How much will SSI pay in 2022 per month and per year?

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a need-based federal aid program designed to help some groups cover basic expenses for food and shelter. Unlike Social Security which is an entitlement program that workers pay into,  SSI does not have these requirements. SSI is means-tested, which means that there are no contribution or labor requirements and it is distributed on the basis of need.

The program which was established in 1974 has two eligibility thresholds. The first is that a person must be sixty-five and older, AND/OR disabled, AND/OR blind. The individual must also have an income under a certain level, be a citizen or legal immigrant, and remain in the United States. In most cases, an individual cannot have assets worth more than $2,000, excluding their home and car. For couples, the asset limit stands at around $3,000.

 SSI payments will be paid on the first day of each month in 2022.

How does the 2022 COLA impact SSI benefits?

In October, the Social Security Administration announced that a 5.9% COLA would be applied to benefits beginning in 2022. This increase will also be applied to SSI payments.

Benefits are paid to eligible individuals, couples, and essential persons. An essential person is an individual who lives with an SSI beneficiary and provides them with care. All those within these categories receive the same benefit amount, unlike Social Security where the number of years worked and your annual salary factor into the benefit amount.

Individual

2022 Supplemental Security Income Amounts

Couple

2022 Supplemental Security Income Amounts

Essential Person

2022 Supplemental Security Income Amounts

Source: Social Security Administration

However, these amounts represent the upper limit of the benefit amount and many see smaller payments because they have additional income which is subtracted. The Congressional Research Service reported that this year the average benefit amount was $586.

How many people receive SSI?

The Social Security Administration reported that in July 2021, over 7.8 million people in the US received SSI benefits. The majority, 4.4 million were between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four, 2.3 million were seniors, and 1.1 million were children and teenagers. The average monthly benefits for each of these groups varied widely.

Researchers have highlighted that most seniors receive smaller benefits because "some of them also receive Social Security, which reduces their SSI payments. Benefits for children are typically higher because they often do not have an income of their own." In July, the average for children was $693, for adults (18-64) it was $617, and for seniors, it was $417.

The organization, Justice In Aging found that fifty-three percent of SSI recipients were women. The disproportionate dependence of women on the program could be "because they are more likely to have spent time out of the workforce caring for their families, or to have worked in low-wage or part-time jobs."