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All Santa Clara programs

Supplemental Security Income / State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP)

Monthly cash for people 65 or older, blind or disabled with limited income and resources; SSI recipients in California get Medi-Cal automatically.

Food & money · Santa Clara County · Reviewed 2026-09-04

Check my possible matches

A directory listing, not an eligibility decision.

UniHealth can identify a possible match, but the responsible program makes the final decision.

What to know

Why it may fit
Your circumstances can be checked against the program’s published guidelines.
What to do next
Monthly cash from Social Security for people 65 or older, blind, or disabled with little income and savings. In California, it comes with Medi-Cal.
Who runs it
Social Security Administration (federal SSI) and California Department of Social Services (SSP)

What the program may consider

  • Age 65 or older, blind, or disabled
  • Countable resources at or below $2,000 (single) or $3,000 (couple)
  • Countable income below the 2026 California SSI/SSP payment standard
  • Social Security decides SSI; California adds the SSP

How to get it

Monthly cash from Social Security for people 65 or older, blind, or disabled with little income and savings. In California, it comes with Medi-Cal.

Before you start

  • Apply for both at the same time Social Security retirement benefits. You must also apply for other benefits you may get, like Social Security or a pension. Social Security can take both at once.

How to apply

Social Security application for SSI

People applying because of age apply by phone or in person. Some adults with disabilities can apply online. In California, an SSI approval also brings Medi-Cal.

Getting help

Someone can apply for you

Anyone can tell Social Security you want to apply. That can save your start date. You must sign the application yourself, unless you are not able to. A helper can join your interview. To have someone act on your case, name them on form SSA-1696. It must be a person, not an organization. That person must be registered with Social Security.

A helper can fill it out, but you still sign: ask for Claimant's Appointment of a Representative (SSA-1696).

What happens after you apply

  1. You or a helper tells Social Security you want to apply. That day can count as your start date.

    By phone, in person, or in a signed note

    Social Security Finish the application within 60 days of Social Security's letter, or you lose that date.

  2. Social Security interviews you by phone or in person and fills out the application with you. If you apply because of age, you cannot apply online. Some adults under 65 who apply for disability too can apply online.

    Social SecurityA helper can help with this

  3. You sign the application. You also let Social Security check your bank records. Without that, you cannot get SSI.

    YouOnly you can do this

  4. Social Security asks for papers. They show your age, citizenship or immigration status, income, savings, and where you live.

    Social SecurityA helper can help with this

  5. If you may get other benefits, like Social Security or a pension, you must apply for them too.

    YouA helper can help with this

  6. A state disability office reviews your medical records. It may ask you to see a doctor. Social Security pays for that exam.

    Only if you apply because of blindness or disability

    The stateA helper can help with this

  7. Social Security mails you a letter. It says yes or no, and how much you will get. If no, you have 60 days to appeal.

    Social Security

  8. Payments come on the 1st of each month to a bank account or a Direct Express debit card. The first one can go back to the month after you applied.

    Social SecurityOnly you can do this

  9. Medi-Cal starts on its own. You do not need a separate Medi-Cal application. If you have Medicare, the state starts paying your Part B cost. You also get Extra Help with drug costs automatically.

    The state

What only you can do

  • Sign your own SSI application, unless you are not able to.
  • Give Social Security permission to check your bank and money records.
  • Take part in the interview by phone or in person.
  • Send the papers Social Security asks for.
  • Apply for any other benefits you may get, like Social Security or a pension.
  • Report changes in income, savings, address, or who lives with you. Do it by the 10th of the next month.
How long it takes
There is no set time. If your claim is about a disability, the medical review often takes about 3 to 6 months. Payments can go back to the month after you applied.
You are enrolled when
You are enrolled when you have an approval letter and your first SSI payment has come. Medi-Cal should then show as active.
To keep it
Report changes by the 10th of the month after they happen. Social Security checks your income, savings, and living situation from time to time. Answer its letters within 30 days, or payments can stop.

Can’t be combined with

  • Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI). You cannot get CAPI while you can get SSI. CAPI is for some people who cannot get SSI because of immigration status.
  • General Assistance. County General Assistance usually stops when SSI starts. Money the county paid while you waited may be paid back from your SSI back pay.