Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in 2027: Payment Amounts, Rules and Payment Dates

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a monthly federal payment for people with very little income and savings who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled. In 2027 the most SSI pays from the federal government is $1,029 a month for one person and $1,544 for a couple, after the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment. You don't need a work history to get it. You do need to pass strict income and resource tests, and your check can be lower than the maximum.

The Short Answer

• 2027 maximum federal SSI: $1,029 a month for an individual and $1,544 for an eligible couple, up from $994 and $1,491 in 2026.
• Resource limit: $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. These limits have not changed since January 1, 1989, and they stay the same in 2027.
• Payment day: SSI is paid on the 1st of each month. When the 1st is a weekend or a federal holiday, it comes on the business day before.
• First payment at the new rate: the January 2027 payment arrives on Thursday, December 31, 2026, because January 1 is New Year's Day.
• How many people get it: 7,306,000 people received SSI in August 2026. The average payment that month was $738.73, well under the maximum, because most people have some other income.

Source: SSA, 2026 and 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment Fact Sheets. The 2026 federal payment rates also appear in SSA's operations manual (POMS SI 02001.020).

Who Qualifies for SSI

Under SSA's rules (20 CFR 416.202), you can get SSI if all of these are true:

• You are 65 or older, blind, or disabled. Children with disabilities can qualify too.
• You live in the United States and are a U.S. citizen or a qualified noncitizen.
• Your countable income and your countable resources are under the limits.
• You apply. SSI does not start on its own.

People who are fleeing a felony charge or violating probation or parole can't get SSI for those months. Our SSDI guide explains how SSA decides whether an adult is disabled.

SSI starts in the month after the month you file. It does not pay for months before your application (20 CFR 416.335), so filing early matters.

Here is who received SSI in August 2026:

Source: SSA, Monthly Statistical Snapshot, August 2026 (released September 2026). Averages include federally administered state supplements and exclude retroactive payments. About 2,516,000 of these people also got a Social Security benefit.

How Income Lowers Your SSI

SSI is reduced by your countable income, roughly dollar for dollar. But SSA does not count all of your income. The main exclusions are:

• $20 general exclusion. The first $20 of most unearned income each month is not counted. Unearned income includes things like a Social Security benefit or a pension. If you have no unearned income, or less than $20, the unused part applies to your wages.
• $65 earned income exclusion. After the $20, the first $65 of earnings in a month is not counted.
• Half of the rest. SSA then counts only one half of your remaining earnings.
• Students under 22. A student can exclude earnings up to $2,500 a month in 2027, to a maximum of $10,080 for the year (2026: $2,410 and $9,730).

Because only half of earnings above the exclusions count, working almost always leaves you with more total money than not working.

Worked example (hypothetical, our arithmetic)

Maria is single, lives in her own apartment and pays her own rent. She gets SSI based on disability. In a month in 2027 she earns $500 from a part-time job. She has no other income. Her state supplement, if any, is left out.

Our arithmetic using the exclusions in 20 CFR 416.1112 and 416.1124 and SSA's 2027 federal benefit rate. Illustrative only. SSA's own calculation for a real person can differ, for example because of other income, living arrangements or a state supplement.

By the same arithmetic, a single person with only wages and no other income would see federal SSI reach zero at about $2,143 a month of earnings in 2027 ($1,029 times 2, plus the $85 of exclusions). That is our calculation, not an SSA figure.

The $2,000 Resource Limit and What Doesn't Count

Resources are cash, bank accounts and other things you own that could be turned into cash. Your countable resources must be at or under $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. The limits are set in law and are not adjusted for inflation.

Many things do not count toward the limit:

• Your home and the land it sits on, no matter what it is worth, if you live there.
• One car, no matter what it is worth, if it is used to get you or someone in your household around.
• Household goods and personal effects.
• Burial spaces, and burial funds of up to $1,500 each for you and your spouse.
• Life insurance, if the total face value of all policies on one person is $1,500 or less.
• Money set aside under an approved Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS).
• Back payments of SSI or Social Security, for a limited time after you receive them.

ABLE accounts

An ABLE account is a tax-advantaged savings account for people with disabilities. For SSI, the first $100,000 in an ABLE account is not counted as a resource, and money paid out of it is not counted as income. If the balance goes over $100,000, SSA suspends your SSI payments rather than ending your eligibility, and you keep Medicaid during the suspension.

Starting January 1, 2026, more people can open one. Your blindness or disability now has to have started before age 46. Before 2026 the cutoff was before age 26.

Living in Someone Else's Household

Where you live can change your SSI. Under 20 CFR 416.1131, SSA reduces your federal payment by one third if, for a full month, all three of these are true:

• You live in another person's household.
• That household gives you your shelter.
• Others in the household pay for or provide all of your meals.

The one-third reduction applies in full or not at all. It does not apply if the home counts as your own household, for example because you own it, you are liable for the rent, or you pay your share of the household costs.

2026: SSA, POMS SI 02001.020. 2027: one third of SSA's 2027 federal benefit rates, our arithmetic; SSA had not published the 2027 figures in its manual when we checked.

If you get help with shelter but the one-third rule does not apply, SSA can still count that help as income and lower your payment, by as much as $351.33 a month in 2026. That cap equals one third of the federal rate plus $20, which works out to $363.00 for 2027 (our arithmetic).

Food no longer counts. Since September 30, 2024, food that others give you is no longer counted as in-kind support for SSI. Shelter still is. The one-third rule above still asks whether others provide all of your meals, because that is one of its conditions.

State Supplements

On top of federal SSI, 44 states and the District of Columbia pay a supplement. Six states pay none: Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia. The Northern Mariana Islands pays none either.

Who runs the supplement depends on the state:

• SSA pays it with your SSI check in 11 states and DC: California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. In Delaware, DC, Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, part of the supplement is also handled by the state.
• The state pays it itself in the other 33 states that have one. You usually deal with a state agency for that part.

Supplement amounts and rules differ a lot by state and by living situation, so check with your state's human services agency. In calendar 2024, SSI payments totaled about $63 billion, of which $3.4 billion was state supplements that SSA paid out for the states.

SSI Payment Dates

The rule in 20 CFR 416.502 is simple: SSI is paid on the 1st of the month. If the 1st falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, you are paid on the business day before. An early payment is that month's payment, not an extra one. If you get both Social Security and SSI, SSA pays the Social Security part on the 3rd of the month.

SSA confirms the December 31, 2026 date for January 2027 payments. The other dates are our arithmetic from the 20 CFR 416.502 rule and the calendar. All other months in 2026 and 2027 are paid on the 1st. SSA's own payment schedule is the final word.

Because January 2027 is paid on December 31, 2026, and November 2026 on October 30, some months will show two SSI deposits and some will show none. That is normal.

SSI and Medicaid

In most states, SSI and Medicaid go together. How you get Medicaid depends on which of three groups your state is in (SSA, POMS SI 01715.010):

• 34 states and DC (called 1634 states): if you are eligible for SSI, you are eligible for Medicaid. SSA's SSI decision handles it, with no separate application.
• 8 states use the SSI rules but need a separate Medicaid application with the state: Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah (plus the Northern Mariana Islands).
• 8 states use their own, stricter Medicaid rules (called 209(b) states): Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Virginia.

SSI vs SSDI

Both programs are run by SSA and both can pay people with disabilities, but they work differently. SSDI is an insurance benefit you earn through work and Social Security taxes. SSI is based on financial need. Some people get both. Our SSDI guide covers work credits, the waiting period and how the benefit is figured.

Sources: SSA Monthly Statistical Snapshot, August 2026; SSA 2027 COLA Fact Sheet; IRS Publication 915.

Among people under 65 with disabilities in August 2026, 6,124,000 got Social Security only, 3,708,000 got SSI only and 1,084,000 got both.

Is SSI Taxable?

No. IRS Publication 915 says Social Security benefits for tax purposes "don't include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments, which aren't taxable." You do not report SSI as income on your federal return. Social Security and SSDI benefits are different and can be partly taxable; see is Social Security taxable? for how that works.

Sources & Methodology

• SSA, 2027 COLA Fact Sheet: 2027 SSI federal payment rates, resource limits, student exclusion and average disabled-worker benefit.
• SSA press release, October 14, 2026: the 3.6% COLA and the December 31, 2026 date for January 2027 SSI payments.
• SSA POMS SI 02001.020: 2026 federal benefit rates and one-third reduction amounts.
• 20 CFR 416.202: who is eligible for SSI. 20 CFR 416.335: first month of payment.
• 20 CFR 416.1112 and 20 CFR 416.1124: earned and unearned income exclusions.
• 20 CFR 416.1205, 416.1210, 416.1212 and 416.1218: resource limits and the home, car and other exclusions. 42 U.S.C. 1382: the statutory limits.
• SSA POMS SI 01130.740: ABLE account exclusion and the age-46 change effective January 1, 2026.
• 20 CFR 416.1131: the one-third reduction.
• SSA, Understanding SSI: Income (2026 edition): food removed from in-kind support on September 30, 2024. Archived copy, because ssa.gov blocks automated fetching.
• SSA, Understanding SSI: Resources (2026 edition): resource limits and exclusions.
• SSA, Understanding SSI: Benefits (2026 edition): which states pay a supplement and who administers it.
• SSA, SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2024 (released December 2025): total payments and state supplementation in 2024.
• 20 CFR 416.502: payment date rule.
• SSA POMS SI 01715.010: Medicaid state groups (1634, SSI criteria and 209(b) states).
• SSA, Monthly Statistical Snapshot, August 2026 (released September 2026): recipient counts and average payments.
• IRS Publication 915: SSI is not taxable.

Method notes. The worked income example, the $2,143 earnings point, the 2027 one-third reduction amounts, the 2027 in-kind support cap and every payment date except December 31, 2026 are our arithmetic from the official rules and rates listed above. All statistics carry the date of the data they describe.

This article is for general information and is not financial, legal or benefits advice. Figures are from the Social Security Administration, the Code of Federal Regulations and the IRS, checked against the primary sources on 2026-10-20. The worked example is hypothetical. Your SSI amount depends on your income, resources, living arrangement and state, and only SSA can decide your eligibility and payment.

FAQ

How much is SSI in 2027?
The maximum federal SSI payment is $1,029 a month for an individual and $1,544 for a couple, up from $994 and $1,491 in 2026. Many people get less because other income is subtracted, and many get more because their state adds a supplement.

When is the SSI payment?
On the 1st of each month, or the business day before when the 1st is a weekend or holiday. The January 2027 payment, the first at the new rate, arrives on Thursday, December 31, 2026.

Can I work on SSI?
Yes. SSA ignores the first $20 of income and the first $65 of earnings, then counts only half of the rest. In our hypothetical example, someone earning $500 a month in 2027 would still get $821.50 in federal SSI, for $1,321.50 in total.

How much can I have in the bank on SSI?
Your countable resources, including bank accounts, must be $2,000 or less for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. Your home, one car and up to $100,000 in an ABLE account do not count.

What is the difference between SSI and SSDI?
SSI is based on financial need and does not require a work history. SSDI is based on your work record. SSI is not taxable; SSDI can be. See our SSDI guide.

Does the 2027 COLA apply to SSI?
Yes. SSI rises by the same 3.6% as Social Security. Details are on our 2027 COLA page, and average Social Security amounts are in our average Social Security check guide.