I got a letter from the Social Security Administration today telling me that I’ve been informally determined ineligible for SSI (Supplemental Security Income). Per the SSA website, SSI is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income; and provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. I believe when I called the SSA to apply for Medicare, they automatically evaluated me for SSI eligibility.
One of the reasons listed under Why You Are Not Eligible is “You (or you and your spouse) have monthly income of about $3,500.00. This is too high for SSI payments in you State.” I wonder where they obtained this information since the SSA knows how much I made for the past 30+ years.
Looking at the SSA website, determining eligibility for SSI is fairly complicated. I get a feeling all federal programs for the poor or disabled are this convoluted. Maybe Andrew Yang has a point replacing welfare with a $1,000 per month check for everyone.
Life with chronic diseases 