I'm 67 & took early retirement at 62 with the intent of still working part-time. I had to stop working last Mar. due to health reasons. At that point I qualified for Medicaid(fla.) and snap benefits. I live in a gov't controlled apt. complex. My landlord informed yesterday that I qualified for rental assistance and my rent would be over half what it was. Now I'm facing the possibility of having all or some benefits taken away when I report this. I could be wrong. I couldn't find any info on the SS website. Am I worrying about nothing? I have a lot of health issues and most of my treatments are free or almost free. If I lose those benefits I won't be able to afford any of that. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

My advice is to always be honest with Social Security, not only because it's a requirement but also because you can be charged with a crime if you give them false information or withhold material information. In any case, though, the amount that you pay for rent would have no effect on your Social Security benefits. Social Security benefits are earned based on your years of working and paying into the program, and changes in your income and resources would have no impact on your Social Security benefits.

However, if you are receiving any Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments from Social Security you should probably check with them to see if the change you refer to would have any effect on your SSI. My only area of expertise is Social Security, so I don't know what if any effect a change in your rental payments might have on your Medicaid and SNAP benefits.

Best, Jerry