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Can Assisted Living Facilities Take Your Social Security Checks?
Date Updated: July 26, 2024
Written by:
Rachel Lustbader is a writer and editor with a background in healthcare and technology. Her work has been published on websites including HealthCare.com, BiteSizeBio.com, BetterHelp.com, Caring.com, and PayingforSeniorCare.com. She studied health science and public health at Boston University.
Both of Rachel’s grandmothers had very positive experiences in senior living communities, and Rachel saw firsthand the impact that kind, committed caregivers and community managers can have on seniors’ and their family members’ lives. With her work at Caring, Rachel hopes to help other families find communities, caregivers, and at-home products that benefit elderly loved ones and make life less stressful for family caregivers
No, assisted living facilities cannot take your Social Security checks, but they charge for the services they provide, and you’re liable to pay for them. Social Security benefits are deposited directly into your bank account, and you may spend this money however you see fit, including using it for assisted living expenses.
Using Social Security benefits to pay for assisted living
Social Security is a federal government insurance program that provides retirement benefits and disability income to qualifying individuals. The payment you receive each month depends on the amount of Social Security tax you contributed and the number of credits you accumulated while working. Unfortunately, Social Security benefits are typically not enough to cover the entire cost of assisted living. However, you may be able to supplement the amount with Supplemental Security Income or the Optional State Supplement program.
Supplemental Security Income and Optional State Supplement program
The Optional State Supplement program (OSS) is offered in most states and supplements the federal SSI benefit with additional payments to help pay for food and shelter costs, which may include assisted living expenses. This type of payment does not reduce the SSI benefit. Eligibility criteria for OSS vary from state to state, but in many states, the requirements are the same as for SSI.