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You may be able to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) even if you have other income.

SSI is a federal program that provides monthly payments to people who have little or no income and who don't own many things. SSI is for elderly people, as well as blind or disabled people of any age, including children. To get SSI, you must be 65 or older, be totally or partially blind, or have a medical condition that keeps you from working and is expected to last at least one year or result in death.

In addition, to be eligible for SSI, you also must be a U.S. resident and have resources worth less than $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. The resources usually do not include the home you live in, vehicle you drive, funds set aside for burial or personal items.

Some people believe that if they have other income, they cannot apply for SSI. The fact is that you can apply, as long as your current income is limited. The type and amount of additional income you receive may have an effect on your SSI amount.

Right now, the maximum monthly payment for SSI is $637 for an individual and $956 for a couple.

For SSI purposes, we look at your monthly income. For unearned income, such as Social Security benefits, unemployment, worker's compensation or insurance payments, we do not count the first $20 you receive each month. So, if you get a check for $200, only $180 would be counted as income for SSI purposes. After the $20 exclusion, the remaining money counts dollar-for-dollar against your SSI. So in this example, $180 would be deducted from the base amount of your SSI payment.

For earned income (like wages or self-employment) we exclude an additional $65 per month. If your only income besides SSI is wages or self-employment and there is no unearned income, the additional $20 exclusion is added on. This means your exclusion for earned income would be $85 per month.

When your income is from work, as in this case, we only subtract 50 cents for every dollar you earn out of your SSI check base amount. So in this example, even though you worked and earned $200, your SSI payment would only be reduced by $57.50.

It is important to remember that we use your gross income, not your net income, to compute the monthly amounts. Also, there are some sorts of income which we do not count at all, such as food stamps, food from churches and soup kitchens, and shelter you receive from most private, non-profit organizations. We also exclude most home energy assistance.

If you believe you might qualify for SSI, call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or check out our Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov. You can also read our online publication, You May Be Able to Get SSI, at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/11069.html.

SSI may be just the thing you need to supplement your income.

The Tyler office is located at 5509 South Donnybrook Avenue.