Hi Gina, thank you for watching our video. Medicaid benefits provide many services that may differ based on the benefits each person receives and what other insurance coverage they have. To get more information, please contact Medicaid directly or visit the NY Medicaid website.

Hi Chryl, thank you for reaching out and for watching our video. If you have questions about a change to the amount of your SSDI check, you can contact the Social Security Administration or your local field office for more information.

Great question! If you are eligible for SSI and receive any amount of those benefits, you are subject to the $2,000 resource limit. If your assets exceed that amount, you can deposit those funds into a qualified SNT or pooled trust as a way to set that money aside and plan for expenses you may have in the future.

We agree, Chad. It is not much money at all when you need it to last a lifetime. That is why using both a special needs trust or pooled trust, which has no limit on how much money you can put into it, and an ABLE account, can help maximize the amount of money a person can have available to them while still being able to receive the benefits that support their basic living needs. Yes, a person on SSDI can typically have a private retirement account, like a private IRA or 401K, and it will not affect their SSDI payments, since those benefits are not means-tested. However, some retirement accounts, like a government pension, can reduce a person’s SSDI payment. See this resource from SSA for more information: www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf. Income received from a retirement plan, can however affect a person’s financial eligibility for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, as eligibility for those programs are based on the individual’s income and resources. For Medicaid eligibility, a person can typically deposit that income into a special needs trust or pooled trust to qualify and maintain their eligibility for services. Parents, who want to leave retirement funds to a loved one with a disability, can also name a SNT or pooled trust as the recipient of those funds in order to protect a person’s financial eligibility for benefits. We strongly advise that you speak with a legal and tax professional before making any decisions with regard to a person’s retirement assets. Please contact our office at (518) 439-8323 if you would like to discuss further.

@@nysarcinc Thanks, that's helpful. Past the Able accounts I wasn't sure what is/was available for SSDI. As participates lose Medicaid if they have too much money. Which will likely be back on Medicaid with in a few months or years because they spent there money down on medically bills. Instead of enjoying there days. Which doesn't seem fair for someone who can't earn a good income and has a disability.

​@@chadwiley6917 a person on SSDI who has too much money for Medicaid, may have a monthly income spend-down. For qualifying adults, that excess income can go into a pooled trust on a monthly basis. That allows the money to be used to pay for living expenses and other personal needs rather than having to use it towards the cost of medical services. This allows people to maintain their financial eligibility for Medicaid and use the funds in a trust to supplement the services they receive by paying for items and services they are not covered by their benefits. For more information, check out our Pooled Income Trust program: www.nysarctrustservices.org/nysarc-trusts/pooled-trusts/community-trust-ii

Our trust programs are for New York State residents or people who are receiving government benefits in New York. There are other programs in Florida, and in many other states around the country, that are similar to ours. You might find this list of trust providers helpful: specialneedsanswers.com/pooled-trust

There are discussions of raising the resource limit for SSI recipients. The Savings Penalty Elimination Act is a bill that seeks to increase the SSI resource caps to $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples. www.disabilityscoop.com/2022/11/11/congress-faces-pressure-to-raise-ssi-asset-limits/30132/

Hi Anna, thank you for reaching out. If you are looking for information about our webinar training discussing the new Third Party Pooled Trust program, that will be on Tuesday, February 22nd @ 4 PM. Here is a link to register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3016439007644/WN_o0FP9MVYQo2blxcC2BGLRQ

At this time, our trust programs will only accept cash-based assets. However, there may be other trusts that are willing to accept this type of currency.