Can I Sell Property for Cash and Keep My SSDI Benefits?

If you are disabled and planning to seek Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, or you are currently receiving benefits, we know that you may have questions about how your assets and income could impact your payments. We often hear from disabled adults who want to apply for Social Security disability benefits but do not understand how their assets will affect their eligibility, or whether they will be able to earn any kind of money while they are receiving Social Security disability benefits. With these questions in mind, disabled adults often want to know if they are able to obtain extra money by selling certain assets they own without being penalized by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

In short, you should know the following up front: your income and assets do not affect eligibility for SSDI, but they do affect eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Accordingly, you can sell property for cash without impact to your SSDI benefits, but your SSI benefits could be impacted. Our national disability benefits lawyers can explain.

SSDI Eligibility Requirements Do Not Include Your Income or Assets 

To be eligible for SSDI, you will need to prove that your medical condition meets the definition of a “disability” used for determining Social Security benefits, and you will need to show that you have earned sufficient work credits (by working enough hours, and for a lengthy enough period of time) to qualify. To be sure, you can have substantial assets and qualify for SSDI payments. The SSA will not look at your assets or use them to make any determination about your eligibility for benefits.

As such, you can feel free to sell any assets you have for cash while receiving SSDI benefits without having to be concerned that your SSDI payments will be affected.

Receiving Cash Can Impact SSI Eligibility 

Unlike SSDI benefits, SSI benefit eligibility is determined in part on your limited assets and resources. While SSI also requires your medical condition to be a disability as the SSA defines it, the SSA explains that you also must have “little or no income, and little or no resources, and a disability, blindness, or are age 65 or older.”

How will SSI be impacted by selling an asset? In general, it is unlikely that you would be eligible for SSI benefits in the first place if you had one or more assets of substantial value. As such, making money from a sale of certain tangible property may not impact your benefits. But you should seek advice from an attorney.

Contact a National Social Security Disability Attorney Today 

Seeking disability benefits can be a complicated process, and it can be difficult to understand the differences between the different types of disability benefits administered through the Social Security Administration. To ensure that you take all necessary steps and meet all requirements to receive the benefits you need, you should get in touch with one of the experienced national SSDI benefits attorneys at the Law Offices of Stephen Barszcz as soon as possible. Contact us today for assistance with your Social Security disability application or to begin working on an appeal if you have initially been denied benefits.

Sources:

ssa.gov/benefits/disability/qualify.html

ssa.gov/ssi?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI34LCs8SQhwMVyUn_AR2GqAh1EAAYASAAEgLGJPD_BwE