The Qualifications for SSI and Your Eligibility

The general qualifications for SSI benefits or eligibility for participation in the Supplemental Security Income program are fairly easy to meet.  An applicant seeking benefits with the SSI program must show one or more of the following primarily qualifying criteria:

• Age sixty five or older
• Blind
• Disabled

If the applicant can satisfy the above qualifications he must then move on to the next set of program qualifications by meeting the following requirements:

• Limited income
• United States citizen
• Limited assets or financial resources
• Allows Social Security permission to contact his financial institutions and obtain personal financial records and data from them
• Resides in the continental United States with certain exceptions
• Is not absent from the United States for more than thirty days
• Submitted applications for any other benefit program he is eligible for participation in such as a pension or Social Security

Proving Disability Eligibility Requirements

Supplemental Security Income program will review an applicant’s claim based on a disability resulting from a medical or mental condition to establish the following elements:

• The claimed impairment is a Social Security recognized medical condition allowed for approval of benefits
• Impairment claimed precludes or severely limits an adult applicant’s ability to engage in gainful employment
• Impairment claimed severely impacts on a child applicant’s ability to engage in fundamental daily life activities

The applicant must then provide the Supplemental Security Income program with verifiable medical documentation of (1) the diagnosis of his disabling medical or psychological condition and (2) comprehensive medical documentation of (a) work related impairments if an adult or (b) daily functional impairments if a child and the documentation must evidence the required level of severity of impairment caused by the disabling conditions in order to be approved for benefits. 

Getting Legal Help

Applying for benefits with Supplemental Security Income program can be something of a process.  If you or a member of your family needs benefits and is unclear as to how to best proceed with submitting an application and providing all the required medical documentation it may be helpful to contact a disability lawyer to discuss the circumstances of the disability and access important guidance on how to successfully navigate the system and be approved for the benefits you need in the least amount of time.  Talking with an attorney can allow you to avoid some of the common application errors that can lead to denials of an application and require an applicant to file appeals and appear at hearings which might be avoidable with the help of an experienced attorney that understands the qualifications for SSI approval.