If you are receiving SSI benefits, you are required to continue to provide certain information to the Social Security Administration. You were given this information by Social Security Administration (SSA) at the time that your SSI benefits were awarded to you. The requirement to provide this information never goes away.
The information includes any income that you receive, your living arrangements, any other financial resources that you obtain, any change in your marital status or citizenship or immigration status, if you leave the United States for 30 consecutive days or more, and if you become eligible for any other benefits or assistance.
If you fail to report any of this information to the Social Security Administration in a timely manner, it is possible that you may lose your monthly benefits and also be assessed an overpayment of past benefits. There are several ways to report this information. The Social Security Administration recently published an advisory that outlines those ways to report the information.
We often have clients tell us that they reported everything to SSA in a timely manner, and yet nothing changed with their benefits until months (or even years) later when they received a letter from SSA telling them that they were overpaid and that their benefits will be stopped. It is important that you keep track of what you do to report the information. If SSA tells you that you have an overpayment, this will help to prove that it is not your fault and hopefully have the amount that you owe reduced or eliminated.
Remember, it is YOUR obligation to report this information to SSA and track what and when you reported it.
