Do I need to report being unemployed to SSI? Lost job 4 months ago

YES! You absolutely need to report this change! SSI (Supplemental Security Income) requires you to report any changes in income within 10 days of the month after the change occurs. Since you're no longer receiving that $420/month, your SSI payment should increase. The good news is that they should adjust your payment going forward, and you might even get some back pay for the months you weren't working but were still receiving the reduced SSI amount. Call them ASAP to report this change - don't wait any longer.

Same thing happened to me last year - lost my job and forgot to tell SSA for almost 6 months! Trying to get through to a real person at Social Security was IMPOSSIBLE. I kept calling and calling - busy signals, disconnects, 4+ hour wait times. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - totally worth it to avoid the frustration. When I finally talked to SSA, they updated my record and my monthly SSI payment went up by almost the exact amount I had been earning. They even gave me some back payments!

I lost a job last year and had the SAME EXACT WORRY! The SSA rep I talked to said they don't consider it fraud if you didn't intentionally try to hide it. BUT YES YOU NEED TO REPORT THIS!!! You're actually missing out on HIGHER PAYMENTS by not reporting it! SSI is reduced based on your income - so when income goes down, benefits should go UP! I ended up getting about $200 more per month after reporting I lost my job. CALL THEM TODAY!!!

Yep you need to report job loss to SSI. When my sister lost her job she got an extra $250/month after reporting. Think about it - they were reducing ur check bc of that work income, so now u should get more.

There seems to be some confusion in the responses here. Let me clarify the SSI reporting requirements: 1. You must report changes (including stopping work) by the 10th of the month AFTER the change occurs 2. The penalty for late reporting can be $25-$100 reduction in benefits 3. However, SSA often waives this penalty for first-time violations if there was no intent to defraud 4. Your SSI will likely increase by approximately $1 for every $2 you were earning (so potentially up to $210 more per month) 5. They may provide back payments for the months you weren't working Call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to report this change. Be honest about when you stopped working and why you didn't report it earlier. Request that any retroactive increase be processed as well.

I JUST REMEMBERED SOMETHING ELSE IMPORTANT!!! If your car was your only significant asset, make sure they know you still have it even though it's not working. SSI has that $2000 resource limit ($3000 for couples) and they count cars that aren't being used for transportation to work differently! You're allowed one vehicle regardless of value if you use it for transportation, but if you have a broken-down car AND another vehicle, they might count one against your resource limit. Just something to keep in mind!

Just wanted to update - I called using that Claimyr service I mentioned, and they were able to process my back payments pretty quickly once I got through. The important thing is documenting exactly when you stopped working. Do you have any final paystubs or anything from your employer showing when your last day was? That will help them calculate exactly how much they owe you for the months you weren't working but were still receiving the reduced SSI amount.

my brother didnt report losing his job for like 6 months and when he finally told them they gave him all the extra money he shouldve been getting the whole time. they backdated it. he didnt get in any trouble at all they just fixed it going forward. dont stress to much

To follow up on my earlier comment - one more thing to remember is that unemployment benefits DO count as income for SSI purposes, so if you're receiving unemployment, you still need to report that. But it sounds like you aren't getting unemployment since you mentioned just living on your SSI payment. Just wanted to clarify that point since it comes up often in these situations.

The good news is that your SSI should increase now that you don't have that income. The general calculation is that SSI reduces about $1 for every $2 you earn (after some exclusions). So if you were making $420/month, your SSI was probably reduced by around $167.50 or so each month. That means you should see your monthly payment increase by that amount going forward. As for back payments, yes, they should give you the difference for each month since you stopped working. When you call, just be honest about why you didn't report it earlier. Saying you didn't realize you needed to report it (especially if this is your first time making this kind of error) usually results in them just fixing it without penalties.