The Social Security Act provides that a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient or eligible spouse cannot receive payments for any month in which the recipient or spouse is an inmate of a public institution throughout a full calendar month. For that reason, claimants and recipients who reside in public correctional institutions cannot receive SSI payments.
a claimant residing in a public correctional institution on the effective date of filing. The claimant cannot attain eligibility until the correctional institution discharges them. (For information on the filing date, see SI 00601.008. For instructions on when an individual is considered discharged, see SI 00520.001B.8.); or
a recipient residing in a public correctional institution throughout a full calendar month. (For a definition of “throughout a month,” see SI 00520.001B.6.)
For additional information about residence in correctional institutions, see SI 00520.009. For information on suspending SSI payments while a recipient is residing in a correctional institution, see GN 02607.705.
A recipient may remain a correctional institution resident even when they have periods of temporary or recurrent absences from the institution, and thereby remain ineligible for payment. For additional information on absence from residency and its effects, see SI 00520.009D.
For more definitions regarding recipients residing in public institutions, see SI 00520.001B.
A public correctional institution is one that the Federal or State government (or political subdivision of a State; e.g., a city or county) operates or over which it has direct or indirect administrative control. These institutions supervise, house, feed, and maintain control of individuals in their custody.
Common types of public correctional institutions include: