Dawg is correct that SSI varies by state (I think that stands for State Supplemental Income???). If you're talking about going on disability, you may be eligible for federal SSA payments as well. I believe that payment is the same throughout the country and I think it's somewhere around $800 per month right now. I was on SSA and SSI for a few years, living alone in CA and it was not enough to survive comfortably. I had help from family, but we had to be very careful about it. If you receive gifts, inheritance, ANYthing of value over a certain amount, they will reduce your payments by that amount. For example, the car I had was actually my mother's - she made the payments, paid for the insurance and it was in her name. We had to do it that way because a) I couldn't afford a car payment on my limited income and b) if I had a car of that value in MY name, my SSA payments would have been reduced. There are a lot of ways around those sorts of things - a lot of loopholes. If you really want details and accurate information, I would recommend contacting Beth Sufian, a lawyer with CF who specializes in this sort of thing: <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.sufianpassamano.com/bethsufian.htm">http://www.sufianpassamano.com/bethsufian.htm</a>
It is very complicated and I still don't understand all of it, even after having used the system for several years!! Also, welcome to the forum...hope you stick around; there's a lot of great advice and support here!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">