Will my CalWORKs benefits decrease if I marry someone receiving SSDI? Urgent financial planning question

yes his income will totally count!! my sister married a guy on disability and her calworks dropped like 60%. its cause they count ALL household income for ur aid amount, doesnt matter if its SSDI or work or whatever. my sis said she whises she waited longer bc its been a huge adjustment but idk maybe u shud just talk to ur worker

Oh no, that's what I was afraid of. Did your sister's benefits get cut immediately after marriage or at her next SAR7? I'm wondering how long we'd have before the reduction kicks in.

When you get married, your boyfriend's SSDI will definitely count as household income for CalWORKs purposes. Since he's not the parent of your children, only a portion of his income will be counted against your grant (what's called the

Thank you so much for breaking this down! I had no idea about the \

HOLD UP!!! why would u even tell them ur married????? They dont check that stuff unless someone reports u. My cousin been with her man for 3 years and they just dont tell CalWORKs. As long as he doesnt live at the same address on paper u should be fine. Just saying what lots of people do....

This is absolutely terrible advice that could result in an overpayment, fraud investigation, and potential criminal charges. CalWORKs regularly conducts income verification through various databases and marriage records are public. The penalties for intentional program violations can include permanent disqualification from benefits and even prosecution in serious cases.

ok whatever miss perfect!! just sharing what ppl ACTUALLY do in real life vs what the rule book says. but u do u

I'm a CalWORKs case manager (not speaking officially). Here's how it typically works when you marry someone on SSDI who isn't the parent of your children:1. Your household size increases, but your assistance unit (AU) stays the same (just you and your children)2. Your spouse's income is subject to what's called \

Thank you for the detailed explanation! Would we still be eligible for CalFresh? And what about Medi-Cal? My kids and I currently have full coverage.

Your CalFresh would likely decrease as well since his income would count toward household resources. For Medi-Cal, your children would likely still qualify, but your own eligibility might change depending on your total household income. SSDI recipients typically have Medicare after 24 months on disability, so your boyfriend probably has his own health coverage already.

This is really helpful, thanks. It sounds like we'd lose quite a bit in benefits. I'm going to try to schedule a meeting with my worker to get exact numbers before we decide anything.

I went through exactly the same thing last year!! Was getting CalWORKs for me and my daughter, then married my husband who gets SSDI for his back injury. My grant went down by about half. BUT honestly it was still worth it because we save so much by living together (one rent, shared utilities, etc). Just make sure you report it properly - I didn't realize I had to report within 10 days and ended up with a small overpayment I'm still paying back.

One thing no one mentioned yet - if you decide to get married, make absolutely sure you report it within 10 days. I've tried calling my county office about 50 times to report a change and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I finally used this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at my county office in like 20 minutes. Saved me so much stress. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE that shows how it works. You might want to check it out if you decide to go ahead with the marriage and need to reach someone quickly to report it.

Oh, that sounds helpful. I always struggle with getting through to anyone at my county office. I'll check out that video if we decide to move forward. Thanks!

has anyone here tried just doing domestic partnership instead of marriage? does calworks treat that different? asking for a friend lol

CalWORKs treats registered domestic partnerships the same as marriage. Both require reporting and both will result in the partner's income being counted toward household resources. The only real difference would be for tax purposes and certain federal benefits.

Another important thing to consider: Even though your CalWORKs will decrease, getting married might make your family eligible for different benefits through your boyfriend's SSDI. For example, if something were to happen to him, your children could potentially qualify for SSDI dependent benefits as step-children after the marriage (after a certain waiting period). There are pros and cons both ways, which is why getting those exact calculations from your worker is so important before deciding.

this system is such BS!!! they basically punish people for getting married. like why should u lose benefits just cause u want to have a legal relationship?? so stupid

If you do end up getting married and your CalWORKs decreases, make sure you connect with your Welfare to Work specialist right away. With lower cash aid, you might qualify for more supportive services like additional childcare hours or transportation assistance. I actually ended up qualifying for their education program after my benefits decreased from getting married, and they're helping me get my medical assistant certification now. Sometimes one door closes and another opens!

That's actually really good to know! I've been wanting to go back to school for nursing. Maybe this could be an opportunity to get more education support through WTW. I'll definitely ask about that. Thanks for sharing your experience!