I won a $10000 lottery ticket. We are a married couple and my husband receives SSI(disability)? Will this stop his SSI benefits because we now have more than $3000 of resources? What if we cash the check and spend it(eating out, lottery tickets, giving it to needy people)?

Hi. Assuming that you and your husband live together, then yes. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is needs based, and the income and resources of a spouse are counted when determining if a person qualifies for SSI payments.

You can't simply give away the money or spend extravagant amounts in order to reduce your resources below the SSI limit. Furthermore, the lottery income itself will likely make your husband ineligible for benefits for at least a month.

There are some types of resources that are excluded from counting for SSI purposes (e.g. a home in which you live, one motor vehicle, burial contracts, etc), so investing in something excludable may be an acceptable way of reducing your resources below the SSI limit. I would suggest discussing your options with an SSI representative when you report your income to Social Security.

Best, Jerry