My SSI benefits stopped while I was incarcerated. How do I restart them?

Follow the instructions in the chart below based on your situation.

BEFORE RELEASE:
AFTER RELEASE:

Once you know your release date, notify your correctional counselor (or another staff member at your facility) that you want to restart your SSI benefits. It’s best to start this process at least 3 months before your release.[1756]

    If your facility has a pre-release agreement with Social Security, staff should be available to help you complete and submit the necessary paperwork in a timely way.[1757]
    If your facility doesn’t offer pre-release assistance—and/or you have trouble working with correctional staff—call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY: 1-800-325-0778) to notify Social Security that you were getting SSI before incarceration, and you want your benefits to restart as soon as possible after your release. The toll-free line is open Monday to Friday, 7AM to 7PM. Be prepared to provide your Social Security number and release date. A representative will set a post-release appointment for you at a local Social Security office, ask you to provide official release documents, and tell you what else you need to do.[1758]
    You can also ask a friend, family member, or trusted advocate to communicate with Social Security about your benefits on your behalf. See Appendix G, PG. 523 for paperwork to complete.[1759]

If you weren’t able to do this while incarcerated, call Social Security to report that you were released from prison and want to restart your SSI benefits. A representative will set an appointment for you at a local Social Security office, ask you to bring your official release documents, and tell you what else you need to do. You will also need your social security number.[1760]

    If your SSI has only been suspended and not terminated, it may take only a month to restart your benefits. If your SSI has been terminated, you may have to file a new application and wait 12-18 months.[1761]
    In special cases, you may be able to get benefits on the day you walk into the local Social Security office to complete your SSI paperwork. This is possible if (1) your SSI was only suspended and not terminated during incarceration, or you filed a new SSI application while incarcerated and it was approved before your release; and (2) you can show proof of a financial emergency; and (3) you haven’t already received benefits for the month.[1762]

Helpful HintSSI Backpayments

You can’t get back-payments of SSI for any months you spent incarcerated.[1763] In other words, you can never collect checks you otherwise would have gotten if you weren’t incarcerated. But you should be able to collect benefits dating back to your release. So, for example, if you were incarcerated on June 7, 2014 and released on September 7, 2014, your SSI can be restarted as of September 7. You’ll be eligible for a partial SSI payment for September and full benefits for October.[1764] If your SSI application is approved pre-release, SSI benefits should be paid to you immediately upon release. If your SSI application is approved post-release, SSI benefits should be paid to you immediately upon approval; and you should get backpayment to the date of your release.[1765]

  1. 1756

    See Benefits After Incarceration, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/reentry/; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf; Arrested? What Happens to Your Benefits?, Bazelon Center, http://www.kitsaPGov.com/pubdef/Forms/LinkClick.Benefits.pdf. ↑

  2. 1757

    What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf; Arrested? What Happens to Your Benefits?, Bazelon Center, http://www.kitsaPGov.com/pubdef/Forms/LinkClick.Benefits.pdf. ↑

  3. 1758

    Your Right to Representation (2011), Prison Law Office, http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/BenefitsLetter,Aug2011.pdf; What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf. ↑

  4. 1759

    See Your Right to Representation, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10075.pdf. ↑

  5. 1760

    Benefits After Incarceration, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/reentry/; What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf. ↑

  6. 1761

    What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf; Entering the Community After Incarceration—How We Can Help, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.3ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10504.pdf; Your Right to Representation (2011), Prison Law Office, http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/BenefitsLetter,Aug2011.pdf; Arrested? What Happens to Your Benefits?, Bazelon Center, http://www.kitsaPGov.com/pubdef/Forms/LinkClick.Benefits.pdf. ↑

  7. 1762

    Your Right to Representation (2009), Bazelon Center, www.bazelon.org/News-Publications/Publications/List/1/CategoryID/7/Level/a/ProductID/17.aspx?SortField=ProductNumber%2CProductNumber. ↑

  8. 1763

    42 U.S.C. § 1382 ↑

  9. 1764

    20 C.F.R. § 416.211; Your Right to Representation (2009), Bazelon Center, www.bazelon.org/News-Publications/Publications/List/1/CategoryID/7/Level/a/ProductID/17.aspx?SortField=ProductNumber%2CProductNumber. See also What Prisoners Need to Know, Soc. Sec. Admin., http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10133.pdf ↑

  10. 1765

    Your Right to Representation (2009), Bazelon Center, www.bazelon.org/News-Publications/Publications/List/1/CategoryID/7/Level/a/ProductID/17.aspx?SortField=ProductNumber%2CProductNumber ↑