5 Things to Be Aware of if You’re Getting Married and Receive SSA Cash Benefits
Getting married is an exciting moment in a person’s life. If you get cash benefits like SSI, SSDI, or SS CDB/DAC, you should think about how getting married might affect these benefits. To help you out, we’ve put together five important tips for married couples.
Before You Dive In: It’s important to know that SSI and Title II benefits like SSDI or SSCDB / DAC are very different programs with their own sets of rules. If you are uncertain of which benefits you receive, we encourage visiting our ‘What Cash Benefits Do I Receive’ page and if you are still uncertain, connecting with a benefit planner who can verify what is currently in place and how these may change because of the change to your relationship status.
Tip #1: SSI + SSI Eligible Couple – Know Your Resource Limits
Getting married can change income and resource limits. As you’re planning for your big day it’s important to know how this may impact benefits. For example:
Resource Limits: Resource Limits for an SSI benefit increases from $2,000 to $3,000 for an eligible couple where both people are eligible for SSI cash benefits, even if they don’t receive a monthly SSI check because their earned income makes them ineligible for a cash benefit.
Resource Allowances: When you get married, the resource allowances don’t necessarily double. For instance, if you’re unmarried and receive SSI, you can own a home and a car. However, when you’re married, as a couple, you can still only exclude one house and one car when determining your resources.
Deeming: If one person receives an SSI benefit and the other does not, the spouse’s income will be subject to ‘deeming’.
Tip #2: SSI + SSI Eligible Couple – Married Does Not Mean Double the Benefit
When two individuals who receive SSI cash benefits decide to get married, the amount they receive will be adjusted according to the annual Federal Benefit Rate, also known as the Federal Payment Standard. It’s important to note that this adjustment doesn’t simply combine the two SSI amounts; instead, there’s a different rate applied for married couples. You can find the current maximum rate by checking here.
Tip #3: All SSI Beneficiaries – Be Aware of What Social Security Considered to be ‘Married’
Even if the SSI beneficiary lives in a state that does not recognize Common Law Marriage, couples who are not legally married but meet the Social Security definition of presenting as or “holding yourself out as married” may still be considered ‘married’ by Social Security for SSI purposes.
Example: Couple has a commitment ceremony but is not legally married.
Example: Couple lives together, shares bank accounts and household expenses.
Tip #4: Title II Beneficiaries – Childhood Disability Benefits Can be Terminated Due to Marriage
Eligibility for certain Title II benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or the Childhood Disability Benefit (SS CDB) may change when married.
Example: If a person is receiving a SS CDB and marries someone else receiving a SS CDB benefit, there is no change to those cash benefits for either person. However, if one person is receiving SS CDB and their spouse does not, SSA policy states that this will result in the SS CDB benefit terminating.
FYI: Married more than 10 years? You may be eligible for a spousal benefit if your spouse is eligible for retirement or disability benefits.
Tip #5: All Beneficiaries – Always Update Social Security When You Become Married (or Divorced)
Whether it’s Social Security, housing, food benefits, or other public benefits, it is critical that you update each entity of your relationship status change to ensure your situation is being considered accordingly.
Keep in mind that you may be asked to provide additional information regarding these updates to your life.
