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Historical May 1990 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Bank accounts can affect Supplemental Security Income (SSI) eligibility.
And that’s an area that sometimes confuses people who are receiving or applying for SSI.
To be eligible for SSI, a person can’t own resources worth more than $2,000 ($3,000 for a couple). Bank accounts are considered resources.
So are other assets like stocks and bonds and real estate other than the home a person lives in. What’s so confusing about that?
Well, Social Security considers a bank account yours if your name is on it as owner or coowner and there are no legal restrictions that keep you from taking money out and using it for your own benefit.
This is true even if you don’t use the account or don’t consider the account yours. That means it’s important that bank accounts are properly titled to reflect ownership and access. Let’s say Mary Jones applies for SSI.
Her daughter Jane has a $3,000 savings account. Jane listed Mary as a joint owner— primarily so Mary would have access to the money in case something happened to Jane.
Although Mary doesn’t consider the account to be hers, Social Security does.
And she could be found ineligible for SSI because she is over the $2,000 resource limit.
But if the account is titled to restrict Mary’s access, the account would not be considered Mary’s and would not affect Mary’s eligibility.
The best idea is to check with Social Security about how to set up accounts involving SSI recipients.
They can give you specific instructions so you can avoid jeopardizing someone’s SSI eligibility. Call 1-800-234-5772 for more details.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, May 1990.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1990_05.pdf, printed page(s) 7; PDF page(s) 7.
