Hi Larry I recently moved from my 91 year old mother's house where I was her care taker. I'm 67 now and collecting SSI 784/m I can't work because of age and health issues and could no longer care for my mother so my sister took her into her home. As a result I had to get my own apartment which is 900/m when my case worker asked me how much my rent is she said you couldn't pay for an apartment for that much until I got a room mate which I did and she still lowered my benefit 300.00/m now even with the room mate. In other words she was saying I must have another source of income that I'm not showing. I really thought 900.00/m for a place to live was about as cheap as I could find. Do I have any recourse to get back the full amount I was receiving I need it more now than ever. Thank you, David

Hi David. My technical expertise is limited to Social Security benefits, and I only have a limited knowledge of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. It sounds to me like your SSI benefit payments were cut either because the Social Security Administration (SSA) redefined your living arrangement as a result of your getting a roommate, or they're counting the amounts contributed by your roommate to the household as support and maintenance income. There could certainly be other explanations for your payment cut, though, so you'll have to get and explanation from Social Security.

Regardless of the cause of your payment reduction you should have the ability to either appeal Social Security's decision (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf), or at least rebut their determination by presenting evidence to show that you're paying your fair share of the household expenses (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0500835320). I would suggest contacting Social Security to discuss your options with them.

Best, Jerry