Millions of Americans receive some form of Social Security benefit that they may rely heavily on in their lives. This could be retirement, disability, or SSI.
What many may not know is if they fail to report a change to the Social Security Administration, they run the risk of losing their benefits entirely.
The reason for reporting these specific changes is because it could impact your eligibility. Should it make you ineligible, you could be committing fraud to keep the benefits. If the changes do not impact your eligibility, you may still get payments. In some cases, changes could make it so your payment benefit is actually worth even more money.
What are the changes people are required to report to the Social Security Administration?
The changes that need to be reported are usually major life changes, according to The Sun. Some of these changes include if you move, your change of address as well as any change in your living arrangements. If you have an income, you must report any changes surrounding your earned and unearned income. This includes changes in your wages from self-employment, your spouse’s income, and in the case of a child, its parents income. Aside from income, a change in resources needs to be reported for yourself, spouse, or parents of a child receiving benefits.
If someone in the household dies, like a spouse, it must be reported. Any divorces or marriages that happen need to be reported as well.
Changes in residency need to be reported, like citizenship status, immigration status and legal alien status. If you receive more help with your living arrangements from friends or family it must be reported. Going into or getting out of an institution of any kind or a change in school if under age 22 needs to be reported. If you leave the country for a full month or 30 consecutive days, you need to let the SSA know. Any warrant for arrest and attempt to evade prosecution or jail could cause you to lose your benefits.
Those who receive SSI benefits can expect their second check in September this week
Those receiving SSI through Social Security saw their benefits for the month of September on September 1, 2022. Their payments for October will also be sent in September due to when the dates fall.
Everyone that gets SSI gets their payments on the first of each month. This changes when the first of the month falls on a weekend. October 1, 2022 lands on a Saturday this year, so the payment will be made the business day before. That means everyone on SSI will see a second check in September on Friday, September 30. There will be no payments in October.
The average payment is around $621 each month. The maximum payment for SSI is $841 per month. Couples can receive as much as $1,261 if they see benefits together.
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Samantha edits our personal finance and consumer news section. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].