SSA recently issued new guidance regarding the use of prepaid debit cards like True Link with Special Needs Trusts. This marks the first tim

Special Needs Planners are excited about the new POMS that the Social Security Administration released regarding Special Needs Trusts. Learn

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that helps people with disabilities and very low incomes pay for food, clothing and shelter. SSI is often confused with Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). One of the main differences between the two programs is that SSDI is available to people with disabilities no matter how much money they earn or have, while SSI places very strict limits on a recipient's income and assets. However, in most states, an SSI bene

The Social Security Administration’s Understanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) website is a recently updated reference for beneficiaries, potential beneficiaries, advocates and interested members of the public. It provides information about SSI eligibility and processes and attempts to simplify complicated regulatory language. In its 2018 update of the section covering SSI Resources, SSA expanded its list and explanation of resources that do and do not count when deter

At long last the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had provided guidance to states on how to treat “ABLE” accounts in Medicaid financial eligibility determinations. The Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (the ABLE Act), enacted in 2015, created a program under which people with disabilities can save money for their disability-related expenses in tax-advantaged accounts. Because disability can serve as a basis for Medicaid eligibilit

If you or a family member are disabled (per social security standards) and the onset of the disability was prior to the age of 26 you may be eligible to set up and fund an ABLE Account. Funds placed into and withdrawn from an ABLE account do not count as resources (or income) for most means-tested federal benefits (SSI; SNAP; Section 8; Long-term care Medicaid) so long as the distributions are for qualified disability expenses. Oregon’s state benefit programs also exempt the

If your child receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and is going to turn 18, you should talk with your special needs planner about some important changes that could significantly impact your child's SSI benefit. About one in three children who receive SSI lose their benefit when they turn 18 years old. This often happens because the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a different test to determine disability once a beneficiary turns 18. Prior to age 1