Working part-time usually lowers Supplemental Security Income (SSI) old-age benefits but leaves you with more total income. SSI counts only part of your wages, so the benefit falls by less than your paycheck.
SSI is a federal safety-net payment for people with limited income and resources. SSI old-age benefits begin at 65 and are separate from Social Security retirement. About 2.5 million people received both programs in 2022, according to the Brookings Institution.
Table of Contents
- How Does SSI Count Part-Time Wages?
- What If You Receive Both SSI and Social Security?
- How Do Social Security Retirement Work Rules Differ?
- When Can Wages Stop Your SSI Check?
How Does SSI Count Part-Time Wages?
SSI does not count all wages. According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, SSI applies any unused 20 dollar general exclusion, then excludes the first 65 dollars of earnings plus one-half of the remainder when computing countable income, as stated in the federal earned-income exclusion rule. Monthly SSI equals the federal benefit rate minus countable income.
Indiana University Shared Solutions reports that in 2025 the maximum was 967 dollars for an individual and 1,450 dollars for an eligible couple before income reductions, in the 2025 federal payment summary. For example, 1,000 dollars in monthly wages with no other income leaves about 467.50 dollars countable after the 85 dollar exclusion and halving. Evans Disability shows this calculation and notes that the SSI check falls by less than earnings, so total income rises, in the worked Ticket to Work example.
What If You Receive Both SSI and Social Security?
Many low-income retirees receive a small Social Security retirement check plus SSI. The two programs use different income rules. A low retirement check reduces SSI nearly dollar-for-dollar after 20 dollars, according to Brookings Institution analysis.
That interaction matters for part-time work. Wages receive the SSI earnings exclusions described above. Retirement benefits do not receive the same earnings exclusion. A worker should therefore consider wages and Social Security income separately when estimating SSI.
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How Do Social Security Retirement Work Rules Differ?
Social Security retirement has its own earnings test. It withholds benefits when wages exceed annual limits before full retirement age. It does not use the SSI 65-and-one-half formula.
Motley Fool, citing SSA figures, reports the below-full-retirement-age and full-retirement-year thresholds for 2025 and 2026 in the Social Security work-rule figures. FinanceBuzz explains that the test ends after full retirement age. A retiree past that point can work part-time without Social Security withholding, although SSI still counts wages.
- Below full retirement age all year: SSA withholds 1 dollar for every 2 dollars earned over 23,400 dollars in 2025 and 24,480 dollars in 2026.
- In the calendar year the worker reaches full retirement age: SSA withholds 1 dollar for every 3 dollars over 62,160 dollars in 2025 and 65,160 dollars in 2026, counting only pre-birthday months.
- After full retirement age: the earnings test ends, so wages cause no withholding.
When Can Wages Stop Your SSI Check?
High part-time wages can reduce SSI cash to zero. Monthly countable income at or above the federal benefit rate eliminates the cash payment. The effect is gradual, not a sudden cutoff at the first dollar.
Evans Disability notes that provisions 1619(a) and 1619(b) can preserve SSI eligibility and Medicaid while a person remains disabled, needs Medicaid, and stays below state thresholds. Those protections do not guarantee cash in every month without countable income room. Workers near the limit should check their countable income and state Medicaid threshold before increasing hours.
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