Re: just injuried in a well known store
I have read some of the responses and respectfully disagree with those that advised you not to worry about the benefits.
First, if she receives substantial recovery and fails to reimburse medi-care and/or medi-cal, then she'll be risking losing her medical benefits.
Second, ANY income from ANY source must be reported to the SSA for the purposes of SSI as it is a needs based program. Hence, funds held by her are and will be considered a "resource."
Recipients of SSI benefits may not have ``resources'' in excess of $2,000 ($3,000 for a married recipient). For this purpose, ``resources'' include cash, other ``liquid assets,'' and any real or personal property that the recipient owns and could convert to cash to be used for support and maintenance.
``Liquid assets'' is defined to mean cash or other property that can be converted to cash within 20 days. It includes such items as checking and savings accounts, bonds, mutual funds, mortgages, and similar financial instruments that can be converted to cash within 20 days. An asset will not be counted for purposes of determining eligibility for SSI if the recipient has no right, authority, or power to liquidate the property, if the property cannot be liquidated, or if it is treated as ``excludable.'' ``Excludable'' resources
include:
1. A home, and the land ``appertaining'' to the home;
2. Household goods and personal effects not exceeding $2,000 in value;
3. An automobile necessary for employment or medical treatment or, if not necessary for
those purposes, with a current market value not exceeding $4,500;
4. Certain property of a trade or business that is essential to the recipient's means of
self-support.
An SSI recipient must also meet a complex income requirement for SSI eligibility. Income is generally classified as either ``earned'' or ``unearned'' income. While both types of income
can result in a reduction of SSI benefits if the income exceeds specified levels, the classification is important in that there are many exclusions for income designed to encourage the SSI recipient's self-sufficiency. In addition, an SSI recipient may also receive ``deemed'' or ``in-kind'' income arising from payments made by a third party for the benefit of the SSI recipient.
Per Social Security Act, the $ your relative is about to get, falls under the category of "Prizes and Awards" and it is considered "unearned income" which is defined as follows, "... An award is what an individual receives through a decision from a court, board of arbitration, or similar body." 20 CFR Sec. 416.1121(f).
Although the SSA may never find out about the settlement, your relative is obligated, under the law, to report the settlement to SSA. The SSA in turn, will either reduce or cease the SSI payments of your relative temporarily, according to a formula.
There are ways to deal with this issue, but the topic is way too extensive for a listserv discussion. Good luck.
