Resource And Income Limits

The Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are working together to get you Extra Help with your Medicare prescription drug plan costs. If you have limited resources and income, you may qualify for Extra Help with the costs—monthly premiums, annual deductibles, and prescription co-payments—related to a Medicare prescription drug plan. To find out if you qualify, Social Security will need to know the value of your savings, investments, and real estate (other than your home), and your income. If you are married and living with your spouse, we will need information about both of you.

By filing an Application for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs (Form SSA-1020), Social Security will determine if you are eligible for the Extra Help. Most of the questions on the application deal with resources and income. Social Security will not ask for documentation initially to support the information you provide, but will match your information with data available from other Federal agencies.

What is the resource limit?

To qualify for Extra Help, your total resources must be limited to $12,510 for an individual ($25,010 for a married couple living together). Resources include the value of the things you own. Some examples are:

• Real estate (other than your primary residence);
• Bank accounts, including checking, savings and certificates of deposit;
• Stocks;
• Bonds, including U.S. Savings Bonds;
• Mutual funds;
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs); or
• Cash at home or anywhere else.

What does not count as a resource?

Social Security will not count:

• Your primary residence;
• Your personal possessions;
• Your vehicle(s);
• Resources you could not easily convert to cash, such as jewelry or home furnishings;
• Property you need for self-support, such as rental property or land you use to grow produce for home consumption;
• Non-business property essential to your self-support;
• Burial spaces;
• Life insurance policies;
• Interest earned on money you plan to use for burial expenses; and
• Certain other money you are holding is not counted for nine months, such as:
• Retroactive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments;
• Housing assistance;
• Tax advances and refunds related to earned income tax credits and child tax credits;
• Compensation you receive as a crime victim; and
• Relocation assistance from a state or local government. You should contact Social Security for information about other exclusions.

You should contact Social Security for information about other exclusions.

What is the income limit?

To qualify for Extra Help, your annual income must be limited to $16,245 for an individual ($21,855 for a married couple living together).

Even if your annual income is higher, you still may be able to get some help. Some examples where your income may be higher include if you or your spouse:

• Support other family members who live with you;
• Have earnings from work; or
• Live in Alaska or Hawaii.

What does not count as income?

Not all cash payments count as income. For example, Social Security will not count:

• Food stamp assistance;
• Home energy assistance;
• Medical treatment and drugs;
• Housing assistance;
• Disaster assistance;
• Earned income tax credit payments;
• Economic recovery payments;
• Assistance from others to pay your household expenses;
• Victim’s compensation; and
• Scholarships and education grants.

Note: Beginning January 1, 2010, more Medicare beneficiaries may qualify for Extra Help because some things no longer count as resources and income. We will no longer count as a resource any life insurance policy; and we will no longer count as income the help you receive regularly from someone else to pay your household expenses—food, mortgage, rent, heating fuel or gas, electricity, water, and property taxes.

Can state agencies help with my Medicare costs?

Beginning January 1, 2010, when you file your application for Extra Help, you also can start your application process for the Medicare Savings Programs—state programs that provide help with other Medicare costs. Social Security will send information to your state unless you tell us not to on the Extra Help application. Your state will contact you to help you apply for a Medicare Savings Program.