SSI: Benefit Amount

The federal payment is referred to as the "federal benefit rate" (FBR). The amount varies from year to year.

If your income (as income is defined for purposes of SSI) is below the basic SSI benefit, you will receive the difference each month between what you received as income and the benefit amount. If your state has a supplemental payment, it is paid in addition to the Federal Benefit Rate.

For 2015, the FBR is $733 for an individual and $1,100 for a couple -- living alone and with others. The FBR is lower for a person living in the household of another, or in a Medicaid certified institution.

For example, if a single person has $220 per month in total income, the SSI benefit would be calculated by starting with a determination of "income" for SSI purposes (here it would be $220 less $20 which doesn't count because SSI doesn't count the first $20 of other income), or $200, which is then deducted from the benefit of $733, leaving the person to receive an SSI benefit of $533 per month (the difference between $733 and $200). Plus, if the state in which the person lives provides a supplemental payment, the supplemental payment is in addition to the federal benefit.

The amount of the benefit depends on several factors:

• "Countable income" which includes income you are deemed to receive, such as rent you don't have to pay because you live with a family member. (To learn more, see: SSI: Eligibility: Income.)
• Your living arrangement, such as whether you live alone or with others. (If the state in which you live provides a supplemental payment, the state may define living arrangements differently than the federal definition.)

The actual benefit you receive varies from state to state because SSI is supplemented in differing amounts by different states. These supplements are known as State Supplemental Payments (SSP). The federal law remains the same no matter which state you live in. It's the state laws that differ.

The states fall into three basic categories: :

• States which do not supplement Federal SSI payments
• States with federally administered supplements
• States with state administered supplements

Social Security can tell you the amount of the benefit in your state. 

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