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A trust is a legal arrangement regulated by State law in which one party holds property for the benefit of another. In certain situations, a trust can be set up for an SSI recipient. A trust can contain: cash or other liquid assets; and. real or personal property that could be turned into cash.
The trust principal is also a resource for SSI purposes if the trust beneficiary can direct the use of the trust principal for their support and maintenance under the terms of the trust. Additionally, if the trust beneficiary can sell their right to receive payments from the trust, that right is a resource.
Jun 2, 2024 · SSI benefits will be suspended if the balance in the account reaches $100,000 or more. In contrast to special needs trusts, an ABLE account is managed by the person with a disability. They can control how the money is spent, rather than relying on a trustee to act in their best interests. This can make an ABLE account an appealing option for a ...
- SSI Income and Resource Limits
- Does A Special Needs Trust Affect Ssi?
- Choosing A Trustee For A Special Needs Trust
- A Trust Created For The Sole Benefit of The Disabled Person
- How The Money from The Trust Can Be Used
- An Alternative to Special Needs Trusts
- Setting Up An SSI Trust
The SSI monthly income limit is the amount of the federal benefit rate (FBR) plus your state's supplementary SSI payment(if your state has one). For 2024, the FBR is $943 for individuals ($1,415 for married couples). If your countable income is more than the FBR plus your state supplement, you won't be eligible for SSI.
A trust is a legal arrangement that allows for a trustee to manage money (or other assets like stocks and bonds) on behalf of someone else. Social Security will usually count the assets in a trust toward SSI eligibility. All the assets in a revocable trust would be counted as resources for SSI purposes because you can end the trust and access the a...
The trustee is the person selected to manage and spend the funds in the trust. A trustee should be someone who will only act in the best interest of the disabled person. Often third-party special needs trusts are part of the estate planning process, and the trustee is named in the will that established the trust.
To qualify as a special needs trust or SSI trust, the trust must have been created for the sole benefit of the disabled person—meaning there can't be any other beneficiary named in the trust instrument. You also can't create the trust to benefit yourself (for example, to dispose of excess assets).
Money from a special needs trust shouldn't be paid directly to the SSI recipient because Social Security counts funds paid to the person as income for that month. The extra income would cause the SSA to reduce or even eliminate the person's monthly SSI benefit. Also, if the funds in a special needs trust are used to buy basic necessities like food ...
The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act allows for the creation of "ABLE savings accounts," special bank accounts for those with disabilities. Money in an ABLE account—up to $100,000—doesn't count as an asset or resource for SSI disability benefit purposes. Unlike a trust, an ABLE account has no trustee, and the money in the account can b...
Special needs trusts, whether third-party, self-settled, or pooled, can be great tools for protecting a disabled person's access to means-tested benefits like SSI. But a trust that's not created correctly can cause an SSI recipient or applicant to exceed the SSI resource limit (except when counting the trust as a resource would lead to "undue hards...
Maintaining Eligibility and Benefits with a Special Needs Trust. Preserving your loved one’s eligibility for government benefits is one of the primary functions of a special needs trust. Medicaid and SSI provide vital support, so keeping that access is crucial. Here are some best practices for trustees to maintain benefits: Keep meticulous ...
A first-party trust is intended to hold the assets of an SSI beneficiary, but it must be established by the beneficiary's parent or grandparent or by a court, even though the beneficiary's assets fund the trust. During the beneficiary's lifetime, the trust funds are utilized for their benefit. Upon the beneficiary's death, any remaining assets ...
People also ask
How does a trust affect SSI benefits?
Can a third-party special needs trust hold assets for SSI benefits?
What should a payee do if a trust is a SSI Trust?
Do you qualify for SSI if you have a trust?
Can a special needs trust help with SSI disability benefits?
Does a Medicaid Trust qualify for SSI disability benefits?
Discuss with the payee their responsibilities as described in GN 00602.075C.1. •. Ask the payee to submit a copy of the trust to the FO for review and approval to ensure the terms of the trust are in compliance with use of benefits policies (GN 00602.001) and SSI trust policies, if applicable (SI 01120.201, SI 01120.202 and SSI 01120.203).
