Previous posts here have discussed the Social Security Disability program. This program helps many people who live with a disability in Houston. But, there is another program that may prove helpful to people who live with a disability, and this program is also administered by the Social Security Administration. It is the Supplemental Security Income program.
SSI is like SSD in that it provides assistance to eligible people. But, there are a few big differences. For starters, SSI operates as a financial safety net that provides assistance to eligible disabled individuals regardless of their work history. This is different from SSD, which operates as an insurance program that helps people who have paid into the system with their taxable income. This means that people applying for SSD need to have the required amount of work credits, whereas SSI applicants do not need to be concerned about work credits.
Another difference is where the two programs receive their funding. SSI is funded by revenue from the U.S. Treasury. This revenue was collected as taxes. This is different from SSD, which is funded from a Social Security trust fund. This trust fund gets its revenue from Social Security payroll taxes paid by workers. Sometimes the Social Security trust fund is in the news; the Social Security trust fund is not the source of SSI payments.
Applying for Supplemental Security Income can sometimes be a challenging process. Not all applicants are accepted the first time they apply. But, many applicants have been successful in securing SSI benefits through the appeals process.