Does household deeming affect SSI payment amount for child under guardianship?

Yes, household deeming absolutely applies in your situation. When a child under 18 lives in a household, SSA "deems" a portion of the guardian/parent's income to be available to the child. This reduced payment amount is definitely from deeming calculations. Even as a legal guardian (not adoptive parent), your household income affects her payment because she lives with you. The exact calculation is complex and involves your income, your husband's income, and allowances for your other children.

Same thing happened with my grandson! They cut his payment down to practically nothing because of our income. Its so FRUSTRATING because his medical expenses r way more than what SSI gives!!!! The system is totally broken if u ask me.

To add some clarification here - deeming applies when the child lives in the same household as parents or guardians. SSA considers part of your income and resources to be available to the child. The calculation is based on several factors: 1. Your total household income 2. Number of non-SSI children in household (your biological children) 3. Whether guardian/parents have income 4. Certain expenses like medical expenses may reduce countable income You should request a detailed breakdown of the deeming calculation from SSA so you understand exactly how they arrived at $456. You have the right to this information and can appeal if you think there's an error.

I spent WEEKS trying to get someone at Social Security to explain deeming calculations for my disabled daughter. Kept calling that 800 number and either waited for hours or got disconnected. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent walked me through the whole calculation and found they had incorrect information about my household size which was affecting the payment. Got it fixed and my daughter's payment increased by $230/month. Definitely worth requesting the detailed calculation breakdown like the previous poster suggested.

my sisters kid gets ssi and she said something about an ABLE account helping with the money situation maybe check that out

Wait I'm confused... is SSI different from SSDI? My daughter gets disability but we don't have any income limits. Is that because she's getting a different program?

FYI they always mess up the calculations!!! When my sister became guardian of her granddaughter they calculated wrong THREE TIMES before getting it right. Keep pushing them!!!

Something else to consider: If your niece has significant medical expenses, you might want to document all of them. Certain medical expenses and disability-related expenses can sometimes be excluded from deeming calculations, which could potentially increase her payment. When you speak with SSA, specifically ask about IRWE (Impairment-Related Work Expenses) exclusions or medical expense exclusions that might apply in a child's SSI case.

Just wanted to add another perspective here - I work as a benefits coordinator and see this situation frequently. The deeming rules can be really harsh, especially for guardians who step up to care for disabled children. A few additional things to keep in mind: 1. The deeming calculation uses a specific formula that subtracts allowances for you, your spouse, and your other children before applying the deemed amount to your niece's case. 2. If your niece has her own income (like from a special needs trust or other sources), that gets factored in too. 3. Sometimes there's a delay in SSA updating their records about household composition changes, which can affect the calculation. I'd strongly recommend getting that detailed breakdown others mentioned, and also consider consulting with a disability attorney who specializes in SSI cases if the numbers still don't make sense. Many offer free consultations and can spot calculation errors that might not be obvious to us non-experts. Your niece is lucky to have someone advocating for her - don't give up if something seems off with the math!

I went through something very similar when I became guardian of my nephew last year. The deeming calculation is incredibly frustrating because it assumes you have more disposable income than you actually do after taking on a disabled child's care. What really helped me was creating a detailed monthly budget showing all of his disability-related expenses - not just medical copays, but things like specialized equipment, transportation to appointments, respite care, etc. When I presented this to SSA along with requesting the calculation breakdown, they found they had missed some exclusions. Also, don't forget that as his guardian, you might be able to claim him as a dependent on your taxes and potentially qualify for certain credits that could help offset the reduced SSI payment. The system is definitely not set up well for guardianship situations, but keep advocating - there might be more room to work with the numbers than it initially appears.