A person who receives a monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit is allowed to have up to $2,000 in countable assets ($3,000 for a married couple). If you have more than $2,000 or $3,000 in assets, you may be able to “spend down” your assets in order to qualify for SSI. One way to spend down assets is by transferring them to another person by giving them away or selling them. Once you do this, however, you may ineligible for SSI for up to three years, depending on the value of the transferred assets.
If you apply for SSI and the Social Security Administration (SSA) determines that you have transferred assets within the previous three years, the SSA will assess a penalty period that is computed by dividing the amount of the transferred assets by your monthly benefit amount. For example, if you give someone a gift that is valued at $5,000 and then apply for an SSI monthly benefit of $500 within the three years after the gift was given, you will be ineligible for SSI for 10 months, starting with the date of the transfer.
The SSA website ( https://www.ssa.gov) has more information on qualifying for SSI after transferring assets.
