If you live with family and receive free rent and help with food, the Social Security Administration (SSA) may reduce your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits by around one-third of the federal benefit rate. That’s because the SSA counts free rent as unearned income, which can reduce disability benefits. Free food by itself doesn’t count as income. Understanding how living arrangements can significantly impact monthly payments is crucial for SSI beneficiaries.
Call the Chicago SSI disability lawyers at Ankin Law at 872-529-9377 to schedule your free consultation and get more personalized assistance.
How Living With Family Affects SSI Monthly Payments
Living with family can lower your SSI monthly payments if you receive in-kind support and maintenance (ISM), which the SSA considers unearned income. The SSA treats Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and SSI benefits differently. The agency generally doesn’t reduce SSDI benefits for beneficiaries who receive assistance from family members to pay for living expenses, as long as their income doesn’t rise above the substantial gainful activity limit. SSI is a needs-based program, and any earned income, such as wages, and unearned income can reduce disability benefits.
Many disabled people receiving SSI benefits in Chicago and throughout Illinois may live with family or have a family member covering some or all of their household expenses. According to the Illinois Aging and Disability Care Factsheet, 4 in 5 household residents with long-term care needs in Illinois live with family or relatives. Things that the SSA could consider in-kind support include when someone other than your spouse pays for your rent, mortgage payments, real estate taxes, or utilities.
The SSA pays SSI benefits up to the federal benefit rate ($994 per month for an individual in 2026). Receiving ISM from family members can lower your SSI monthly payments by as much as one-third of the federal benefit rate plus $20, which is $351.33 in 2026. SSI payments are not reduced when you live with family and pay your fair share of household expenses.
When Free Rent or Food Support Can Reduce SSI Benefits
If you’re on SSI and live in someone else’s household, such as a parent, sibling, or adult child, and you’re not paying for food or shelter, the SSA would consider you to be receiving in-kind support and maintenance and reduce your monthly SSI benefits.
The SSA may apply the one-third rule, reducing your monthly SSI payment by one-third of the federal benefit rate if others in the household pay for or provide all your meals and shelter expenses. The agency may also reduce your SSI benefits if you get free shelter but not free meals. In this case, the presumed value rule would be applied, which caps the reduction at one-third of the federal benefit rate plus $20.
Free food received from family, by itself, won’t affect your SSI payments. That’s because Social Security no longer counts food assistance that SSI beneficiaries receive from family members and others as ISM. However, cash or a gift card given to buy food is still considered unearned income and can reduce disability benefits.
Not all free rent and food is considered ISM. There are certain circumstances when the SSA doesn’t reduce SSI benefits. These include when you’re receiving free rent as a loan that you’ll need to repay, you live in a house with someone else who receives public assistance like SSI, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or the person providing your food and shelter is your spouse, whom you live with. Parents providing food and shelter to a minor child isn’t counted as ISM. As a result, the child’s SSI won’t be reduced.
Actual calculations of SSI benefits can be complex as they take several other factors into consideration.
What SSI Recipients Must Report About Household Support
People who get SSI benefits must report any changes in their household support and living situation to the SSA. This includes reporting:
- When someone gives you money or free housing
- Someone helps pay for your rent, mortgage, or utilities
- The amount of help changes, or the help stops
- Someone moves into or out of your household
- The death of anyone in your household
- Changes to your bank account, account balances, or property values
You should report changes within 10 days of the end of the month in which the change happened. Failure to report promptly and accurately could lead to overpayments that you’d need to pay back, underpayments, or suspensions of your SSI payments. You can report changes by calling the SSA or visiting a local Social Security field office in Chicago.
At Ankin Law, our SSDI and SSI disability lawyers have been providing Social Security disability assistance in Chicago and ensuring our clients get the maximum benefits they’re entitled to for more than 14 years. If you need help with SSDI or SSI benefits, contact Ankin Law for a free consultation with our experienced lawyers.
FAQs
Does Living With Family Reduce My SSI Benefits?
Living with family can affect how much disability pays and reduce your monthly SSI benefits, depending on how much help you’re receiving with household expenses.
Can Free Rent or Shared Food Lower SSI Payments?
Free rent can lower your SSI payments. However, free or shared food won’t reduce your SSI benefits due to a major rule change that came into effect on September 30, 2024.
Should I Talk to an SSI Disability Lawyer Before Reporting Household Help?
It’s beneficial to talk to an SSI disability lawyer before reporting household help, as a lawyer can evaluate your income, living situation, and reporting needs, clarify your SSI reporting obligations, and provide personalized guidance to ensure you comply with SSA rules and protect you from reporting incorrectly and facing unnecessary SSI reductions.
