My friend, age 57, has just been certified by the state as eligible for social security disability. I believe her total wealth is about $30,000. She has been advised she must divest some of that money because she has “too much” to receive assistance. She has been told she cannot just give it away. She has been unable to get an appointment with anyone to discuss this with.
What expenditures can she make that are legal use of some of her funds but still benefit her directly? For example, could she apply the cost of eye glasses? Can she prepay rent for a year?
Can she have maintenance on her car?

Thank you for your assistance,
Missy

Hi Missy. Your friend's total wealth wouldn't matter if what she qualifies for is Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. The only type of benefit that Social Security administers for which a person's wealth could affect their entitlement is Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But, if your friend applied for SSI and if she had more than $2000 in countable assets, then Social Security would normally have disallowed her claim without making a determination on whether or not she meets the medical requirements for benefits.

So, I would first advise making sure you know what type of benefits your friend is applying for. If it's Social Security, she doesn't need to spend down her assets. If it's SSI, your friend would have to have countable assets of less than $2000 to qualify.

About the only way I know of to reduce countable assets other than spending them on everyday needs is to convert the assets to excludable assets. Examples of excludable assets are a home in which the person lives, or a single motor vehicle. For a full list and description of excludable assets for the SSI program, refer to the following section of Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0501110210.

Best, Jerry