Social Security Disability & Food Stamps
Can I Get Food Stamps and Social Security Disability at the Same Time?
It’s a lot of work to apply for Social Security Disability benefits.
Getting food help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has its own share of red tape. Exceeding the income limits means you’ll be denied.
So if you get food stamps and Social Security Disability, will that put any of your benefits at risk?
Answer: You can receive both.
The monthly checks you get from Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) do count as income when you’re applying for SNAP, but it doesn’t automatically mean you can’t get nutrition assistance.
Your income has stopped because you can’t work. You need any economic help you can get. SNAP plus Social Security Disability can go a long way to let you cover your needs and lead a more secure life.
The Michigan disability lawyers at Levine Benjamin Law Firm can help you complete the Social Security Disability process. (You apply for SNAP separately.)
We’ve helped over 80,000 people in Michigan, Ohio and across America.
From applying to appealing, we help you every step of the way.
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Which Disability Benefits Recipients Can also Get SNAP?
The part of the government that runs SNAP—the U.S. Department of Agriculture—lists people receiving several kinds of disability benefits as being able to qualify for food support:
- Social Security Disability
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- State-run disability programs
- Government agency disability retirement programs
- Military veterans with disabilities
- Surviving spouses and children of veterans who received VA benefits
- Railroad Retirement Act annuity recipients
Having a limited income is the main requirement for SNAP. They calculate your limit based on the official poverty line and the number of people in your household.
But the program has special rules allowing aid for people with disabilities who receive disability income.
As for Social Security Disability, it takes time, and jumping many hurdles, to win benefits. If you can’t work because of health problems, it’s best to start right away no matter your status with SNAP benefits.
The highly experienced Social Security Disability attorneys at Levine Benjamin can help you prepare for your benefits claim by providing a free case consultation.
How Does SSDI Income Affect Food Stamps?
Some disability benefits programs, like SSI, require you to have low income and financial resources to get benefits, as does SNAP. So you’re not likely to have a conflict between those programs.
SNAP won’t penalize you for getting SSI. And SSI won’t count SNAP benefits as economic resources that disqualify you for disability benefits.
But in deciding whether you qualify for food stamps, SNAP will count your SSDI income.
SSDI isn’t based on your economic assets. It’s based on your history of working and paying taxes. So that income can make you ineligible for food stamps.
But it often doesn’t.
An approach suggested by the National Council on Aging is that even as you have to count disability income, you can subtract out-of-pocket medical expenses from what SNAP calculates as your qualifying income.
You may have significant costs related to your health problems that aren’t covered by another program.
These costs could include transportation to health clinics, over-the-counter medicines, insurance premium costs, dental care, nursing home costs, eye glasses and vision care, service dog expenses, child care services and more.
You could be able to deduct enough expenses that your official income stays under the SNAP guidelines.
If you live in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Toledo or any community in Michigan and Ohio, work with Levine Benjamin disability attorneys to secure crucial benefits when medical issues leave you unable to work.
Social Security Disability and food stamps are important pieces in building a more stable life when you’re facing debilitating medical conditions.
We’re here to support you on the way to a better situation.