If you are disabled there are two different programs that you can possibly apply for through the Social Security Administration. One is Social Security Disability. Social Security Disability Benefits come from the FICA taxes that have been deducted from your pay checks for all those years. It pays anywhere from almost nothing to a maximum of approximately $2300 per month for and individual depending on how much you have earned and how much social security taxes have been deducted from your checks. It has no income or asset rules. You can have a million dollars in the bank and have a spouse who makes $10,000 per month. Your money does not matter.

The second type of benefits is SSI or Supplemental Security Income Benefits. It is basically a welfare program for disabled people. It does not come from your payroll taxes. You can get it if you have never worked a day or have worked very little. The maximum in many states is $674 per month. Being a welfare type program it does matter how much money or income you have. However, any assets above $3,000 for a couple and $2,000 for an individual will prevent you from getting SSI. If your earned income or unearned income is too high you cannot get SSI even if you are disabled. Beyond the basic asset and income rules just mentioned the regulations are very complex.

It is important to know that you have to prove the exact same level of disability to get Social Security Disability or SSI. However to get SSI, you have to prove you are disabled, AND prove you do not have too many assets or too much income.

You can apply for Social Security Disability and SSI at the same time. An SSI application is automatically an application for Disability, but a disability application is not automatically an application for SSI.