What's the difference between SSDI and SSI?

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Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) both pay benefits to people that the Social Security Administration deems to have a disability.

are SSI and SSDI?

With their similar initials and overlapping missions, the two programs can be easy to confuse — but they differ in fundamental ways. Here are some of the key distinctions.

Members only Who qualifiesSSDI is available to people with physical and mental impairments severe enough to prevent them from engaging in their normal occupations or any other substantial

work. The disability must be expected to last for at least 12 months or to end in death.SSI is a safety net program that pays benefits to people with very limited income and assets, who are

65 or older, blind or are deemed to have a disability, usually based on the same definition used for SSDI. How to qualifySSDI is an earned benefit. As with Social Security retirement

benefits, you qualify by working and paying Social Security taxes. How long you must have worked to be eligible varies based on your age when your disability began. As it does for the

spouses and children of retirees, Social Security can pay additional benefits to the spouses and children of disabled workers. Adults who have had a disability since childhood may qualify

for SSDI on a parent's record even if they've never worked.

SSI is not tied to a recipient's work history. You can receive SSI if you've never worked or paid Social Security taxes. But your income and other financial resources, such as bank accounts

and property, must not exceed strict caps. In 2025, the maximum federal SSI payment is $967 a month for an individual and $1,450 a month for a couple receiving SSI jointly. Income up to

those levels can result in your benefit being reduced; income above them can render you ineligible for the program.

The resource limit is $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple.

Not all income and assets count against the caps. For example, Social Security exempts the value of your home and about half of earnings from work, among other things.