Your daughter receives SSI. Her grandmother just died and left her $5,000. You deposit it in her savings account. Three months later, Social Security suspends her benefits because she's over the resource limit.

This happens more often than it should. The SSI resource limit is $2,000 for an individual ($3,000 for a couple). But the calculation isn't straightforward because not everything you own counts as a resource. Your house doesn't. Your car might not. An ABLE account with $80,000 in it doesn't count at all.

Here's what counts, what doesn't, and how ABLE accounts change the math entirely.

What Counts as a Resource for SSI

A resource is anything you own that can be converted to cash and used for food or shelter. Social Security counts these assets on the first day of the month. If your resources exceed $2,000 on that date, your SSI payment is suspended for that month.

Bank accounts: Checking, savings, and money market accounts count. The full balance, not just what you deposited this month.

Cash: Any cash you have on hand counts.

Stocks, bonds, and investments: Mutual funds, CDs, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts you can access without penalty. All countable.

Second vehicle: If you own two cars, the second one counts. The first vehicle is excluded (see below), but any additional vehicles are resources unless you can prove a specific exemption (for instance, if the second vehicle is modified for a disability and required for medical treatment).

Vacation home or second property: Any real property beyond your primary residence counts at fair market value minus any mortgage or liens.

Life insurance with cash value over $1,500: Term life insurance doesn't count because it has no cash value. Whole life or universal life policies count if the total cash surrender value exceeds $1,500 per person.

Prepaid funeral contracts over $1,500: Burial funds are excluded up to $1,500. Anything beyond that counts.

The $5,000 inheritance counts. So does the $3,000 settlement check your lawyer deposited for your son. So does the $800 your mother sent to help with expenses, if it's still sitting in the account on the first of the month.

What Doesn't Count

Social Security excludes several major assets from the resource calculation. These don't count toward the $2,000 limit at all.

Your primary home: The house you live in is excluded, no matter its value. If you own a $400,000 home outright, it doesn't count. The land it sits on is also excluded.

One vehicle: Social Security excludes one vehicle regardless of value if you or a household member use it for transportation. This applies even if the car is worth $40,000.

Household goods and personal effects: Furniture, clothing, appliances, electronics. None of it counts.

Burial funds up to $1,500: You can set aside $1,500 per person for burial expenses without it counting as a resource. This can be a separate burial account, a prepaid funeral contract, or a designated account.

Property essential to self-support: If you use property to earn income (tools, equipment, inventory for a business), Social Security excludes up to $6,000 of that property, or all of it if you're actively using it in a trade or business.

ABLE accounts up to $100,000: This is the game changer. If you have an ABLE account, the first $100,000 in that account doesn't count as a resource for SSI purposes. You can have $99,000 in an ABLE account, $2,000 in a checking account, and still qualify for SSI.

Beyond $100,000, the ABLE account balance counts. But the $100,000 exclusion is significantly larger than the $2,000 limit you're working with otherwise.

How ABLE Accounts Interact With the SSI Resource Limit

ABLE accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts for people with disabilities. The account is in the beneficiary's name, they control it, and they can use it for qualified disability expenses (housing, transportation, education, assistive technology, healthcare, employment support).

For SSI purposes, the first $100,000 in the ABLE account is excluded from the resource calculation. That's the federal rule.

Here's how it works in practice:

Scenario 1: Your son has $1,500 in a checking account and $85,000 in an ABLE account. Total countable resources: $1,500. He's under the limit.

Scenario 2: Your daughter has $2,200 in savings. She's $200 over the limit and her SSI is suspended. You move $1,000 into a newly opened ABLE account. Now she has $1,200 in savings (countable) and $1,000 in the ABLE account (excluded). Total countable resources: $1,200. Benefits resume.

Scenario 3: Your son has $110,000 in an ABLE account and $500 in checking. The first $100,000 in the ABLE account is excluded. The remaining $10,000 counts. Total countable resources: $10,500. He's over the limit.

The 2026 ABLE contribution limit is $20,000 per year. If your child is employed and not participating in an employer retirement plan, they can contribute an additional amount through the ABLE to Work provision (up to the federal poverty line for a one-person household, which is $15,060 in 2026 for the continental U.S.).

If that $5,000 inheritance had gone into an ABLE account instead of a savings account, your daughter's SSI would not have been suspended.

What Happens If You Go Over the Limit

If your countable resources exceed $2,000 on the first day of the month, Social Security suspends your SSI payment for that month. They don't terminate your benefits, just suspend them.

You have until the first of the next month to reduce your resources below $2,000. If you do, benefits resume. If you don't, they remain suspended.

Social Security doesn't take the money. They don't require you to spend it on specific things. They just stop sending your SSI payment until your resources drop back below the threshold.

Ways to reduce countable resources:

• Move money into an ABLE account (the deposit happens the day you initiate the transfer).
• Pay off debt (car loan, credit card, medical bills).
• Buy exempt resources (prepaid funeral contract up to $1,500, household goods, repairs to your primary home or vehicle).
• Spend it on qualified disability expenses (assistive technology, medical equipment, therapy services).

You can't give it away. Social Security treats gifts as transfers for less than fair market value, and those transfers can result in a penalty period where you're ineligible for SSI.

If you're over the limit for 12 consecutive months, Social Security terminates your benefits and you have to reapply. That's the bright line. Under 12 months, it's a suspension and you can bring it back into compliance.

Real-World Examples

Example 1: The second vehicle problem

Your family owns two cars. One is used for your daily commute; the other is a van modified with a wheelchair lift for your son. Social Security excludes one vehicle automatically. The modified van qualifies for a separate exclusion because it's used for medical transportation. Both vehicles are excluded.

But if you own a third vehicle (say, an older car you're planning to sell), that one counts at its fair market value. If it's worth $3,500, you're $1,500 over the limit.

Example 2: The settlement deposit

Your daughter receives a $12,000 personal injury settlement. The lawyer deposits it in her account on the 28th of the month. On the first of the next month, she has $12,000 in countable resources. Her SSI is suspended.

You have until the end of that month to reduce resources below $2,000. You open an ABLE account and deposit $11,000. Her countable resources drop to $1,000. Benefits resume the following month.

Example 3: The vacation cabin

Your parents left you a vacation cabin in their will. It's worth $150,000. You don't live in it. It counts as a resource at its fair market value (minus any mortgage). You're over the limit. You have to sell it or transfer it out of your name to maintain SSI eligibility.

When You Need to Report Resource Changes

Social Security requires you to report any change in resources within 10 days, including:

• Receiving money (inheritance, settlement, large gift, back pay from a job)
• Selling property or a vehicle
• Opening or closing a bank account
• Transferring money between accounts

You report changes by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, visiting your local office, or submitting a report online through your my Social Security account.

If you don't report a change and Social Security finds out later (they do periodic reviews and data matches with banks), they'll calculate an overpayment for every month you were over the resource limit and still received SSI. You'll have to pay that back.

It's better to report, suspend the benefit for a month or two while you restructure, and resume than to continue receiving payments you'll have to repay later with interest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my spouse's income affect the SSI resource limit?

If you're married and living together, Social Security counts both spouses' resources. The limit for a couple is $3,000. If you're married but living apart, they count your resources separately using the $2,000 individual limit.

Can I have a checking account and an ABLE account?

Yes. Most people do. The checking account balance counts toward the $2,000 limit. The ABLE account balance (up to $100,000) doesn't. You can have $2,000 in checking and $75,000 in an ABLE account without exceeding the resource limit.

What if my ABLE account earns interest and grows past $100,000?

The first $100,000 is always excluded, even if it grows through investment returns. Once the account exceeds $100,000, the amount over that threshold counts as a resource. If your ABLE account has $105,000 in it, $5,000 counts toward your $2,000 limit.

Do retirement accounts count as resources?

If you're receiving SSI because you're over 65 or blind, retirement accounts you can't access without penalty are excluded. If you're under 65 and receiving SSI based on disability, retirement accounts count if you can access them, even with a penalty.

What happens to SSI when my child turns 18?

At 18, Social Security no longer counts parental income and resources when determining your child's SSI eligibility. Many children who didn't qualify for SSI before 18 become eligible at 18. The $2,000 resource limit applies only to your child's assets, not yours. This is the age 18 redetermination, and it's a separate review process.

Can I keep a savings account for emergencies?

Yes, as long as the balance stays under $2,000 when combined with all your other countable resources. Many families keep a small emergency fund in checking ($1,000-$1,500) and use an ABLE account for everything else. That way the emergency fund is immediately accessible but doesn't push them over the limit.

Additional Government Benefits and Resources

SSI isn't the only program with asset limits. Medicaid uses a similar resource test, though the threshold and exclusions vary by state. ABLE accounts are also excluded from Medicaid resource calculations in most states, and housing expenses paid from an ABLE account don't count as in-kind support and maintenance for SSI purposes, which protects your benefit amount.

If you're managing resources across multiple benefit programs, an ABLE account is one of the most effective tools. It protects assets from the SSI and Medicaid limits, it grows tax-free, and it gives your child control over their own money without jeopardizing their benefits.

The resource limit is strict, but it's also predictable. You know exactly what counts, exactly where the line is, and exactly how to stay under it.