Can I Get Interim Assistance (IA) While Waiting for SSI?

Waiting for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to decide on your disability claim can be agonizingly slow. An initial determination often takes several months, and many people must appeal their claims before being awarded benefits—a process that can take a year or more.

Some disability applicants have little to no income while waiting for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Fortunately, most states offer cash assistance while you wait for disability, through Social Security's Interim Assistance Reimbursement (IA or IAR) program.

But not every disability applicant can qualify to receive IA benefits.

What Is the Interim Disability Assistance Program?

Interim assistance is a temporary cash benefit you can use to pay your basic living expenses while you wait for a decision on your disability application or appeal. IA funds can be used to pay for essential items, such as:

• food, clothing, and shelter
• personal hygiene and grooming items
• transportation to obtain basic needs
• emergency medical needs that aren't reimbursable under another federal program, and
• other basic needs.

But IA isn't a grant. It's really a type of loan, because you have to pay it back once Social Security approves your disability benefits.

Interim assistance also isn't provided by Social Security or the federal government. Instead, it comes from your state government, usually through your state's public assistance (welfare) agency or social services department. And not all states offer it.

Do You Qualify to Get Cash Assistance While Waiting for Disability?

To qualify for interim assistance, you must apply for SSI or for both SSI and SSDI (called a "concurrent" application). If you apply only for SSDI or you don't meet the financial criteria for SSI, you won't be eligible for IA.

Interim assistance is generally available to new SSI applicants and to those waiting for an appeal decision after Social Security has denied SSI benefits (including an appeal for suspended or terminated benefits).

To get interim assistance, you must also:

• live in a state that participates in Social Security's IAR program
• qualify financially for your state's public assistance program, and
• be very likely to receive Social Security approval for disability benefits.

Which States Participate in the Interim Disability Assistance Program?

According to the 2023 SSI Annual Report, 36 states and the District of Columbia have IAR agreements with Social Security. The following chart details which states participate in the SSI IA program.

Note that three states with IAR agreements (Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) no longer pay state or local assistance that meets the IAR criteria. And in two states, New Hampshire and New Mexico, IA isn't available during SSI suspension or termination appeals.

If you aren't eligible for IA or you live in a state that doesn't offer it, you might qualify for other financial assistance programs, such as SNAP (food stamps) or TANF (cash benefits for families). And if you meet the financial criteria for SSI, you might also be eligible for Medicaid—especially if you meet the requirements of your state's "medically needy" program.

Getting Interim Cash Assistance While Waiting for SSI

Only after you've applied for SSI disability benefits or filed an appeal for SSI benefits that have been denied, suspended, or terminated can you apply for interim assistance. But you don't apply for IA at Social Security. Each state runs its own program, so you must file your IA application at the appropriate state office. (You can find the social services agency where you live at USA.gov.)

Once you're approved for IA, your state will send you payments (or pay vendors on your behalf) starting the month after you apply for SSI, or the month after you file an appeal. Your IA benefits should continue through the month before your SSI benefits begin.

For example, if you apply for SSI in May 2024, you could get IA starting in June 2024. And if Social Security approves your SSI benefits and sets them to begin in October 2024, your IA payments would stop after September. In this example, you'd receive interim assistance for four months: June, July, August, and September of 2024.

How Do You Repay Your State for the IA You Receive?

When Social Security approves your SSI benefits, you should receive them starting the next month. But you'll also get SSI back pay covering the time you waited for a decision (generally dating back to your disability application date).

When you apply for interim assistance, you sign an "interim assistance agreement" or "interim assistance reimbursement agreement." This agreement allows Social Security to take a portion of your SSI back pay to reimburse your state for the interim assistance money you receive. (20 C.F.R. § 416.525.) Social Security would then pay any remaining back pay to you.

Learn more about how much SSI you can receive.

_{Updated April 5, 2024}