Social security income is a broad term that can refer to different programs, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI). SSI is available to anyone who qualifies, while OASDI is based on credits earned through work. SSI payments are lower but can be received by anyone, while OASDI payments tend to be higher and are usually only available to those who have earned them.
The term social security income is difficult to define because it could refer to several programs. In fact, social security income is often a misnomer for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a special US government program intended to help those young or old who are usually legally blind or have severely disabled in another way. This should be understood as completely different from the payroll tax-funded program called Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI), which is based on money collected as social security taxes. SSI does not work this way.
There are some real big distinctions between the different types of social security income. SSI is available to anyone who qualifies, not just workers. In fact, it can be collected by any eligible person of almost any age, as long as the person or their caregivers meet certain income requirements. SSI checks may well go to the parents of a severely disabled baby, and if that baby can never develop the skills to work, she could receive payments for a lifetime. These are not huge and are barely enough to support life in shared rooms; they increase as any other income decreases and can be stopped if a person earns a high enough income.
By contrast, social security income referred to as OASDI generally goes only to the people who have earned it or their survivors. As people work throughout their lives, they build credits, which make them eligible to collect the “retirement pay” or to collect part of this pay if they become permanently disabled before retirement age. This payment is not only available to the worker, but also a spouse is generally eligible to collect part of it when they reach retirement age. In the event a person with children dies before those children are 18 years old and have already earned the right to collect the OASDI social security income form, the children may be eligible to collect survivor benefits.
OASDI and SSI disability payment can vary a little or a lot. First, most people who have never worked cannot get disability through OASDI and are therefore not eligible to participate in programs like Medicare. However, sometimes a person receiving disability payments through OASDI may be eligible to receive additional SSI, and if they cannot pay Medicare they may qualify for Medicaid. Currently, those who receive even one dollar of SSI must automatically receive Medicaid. They get it even if they are insured elsewhere, and no matter how old they are.
However, the OASDI social security income is usually more attractive because the payments tend to be a bit higher. On the other hand, some people may qualify for both. The amount of disability payment is often not based on current income, but rather is the amount that has been considered “earned” by lifetime salary. This is usually a larger amount than the SSI payments, though not always.
In general, you could say that social security income is any income derived from the government for retirement, disability, or other reasons. However, these programs have different means of funding and determining eligibility. They are clearly not the same, although they may share a common purpose.
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