I receive SSI and SSDI. I have two children who also receive SSI. My roomate gets PCA services and it was offered to me to be her adult foster parent. I currently get paid as a PCA and it counts against me. Would this stipend for adult foster care be counted as income? I have called the SS office multiple times and get a different answer every time... they say no it's foster care or yes it counts as income since you are performing a service. I can find publications that say foster care payments do not count but she is an adult foster.. if it would not count, is there a publication by SS I could have in my records in case SS tells me it does if I do this? Thank you so much for you time.

Hi,

I'm not familiar with the PCA program, so I can't really give you a definitive answer. Furthermore, my expertise is limited to Social Security benefits, and my knowledge of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) rules is limited. What I do know about SSI is that almost any type of income that a person receives can potentially affect their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. SSI is needs based, and as the name implies it's designed to supplement other income that a person may already receive from other sources.

Generally, if the payments you receive are a reimbursement for services that you perform, then they almost certainly would as income that could reduce your SSI. On the other hand, if the payments are simply a reimbursement for the expenses that you incur for providing care to another person, then they may not count as income that would reduce your SSI payments. I believe that the same principle applies for either child or adult foster care payments (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0500830410). If you believe that your SSI benefits have been reduced erroneously, you may want to consider filing an appeal (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10041.pdf).

Payments received for providing foster care wouldn't affect a person's Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits unless the person is providing foster care services as an employee or in the operation of a trade or business. Based on your description of your circumstances, that doesn't appear to be involved in your case.

Best, Jerry