Social Security Ruling SSR 97-1p. Title XVI: Supplemental Security IncomeIncomeWhen Inheritances Become Income

In accordance with 20 CFR 422.406(b)(1), the Acting Commissioner of Social Security gives notice of Social Security Ruling SSR 97-1p. This Policy Interpretation Ruling clarifies the Social Security Administration's longstanding policy that State law must be taken into account in determining the point at which an inheritance becomes income under Title XVI, Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled, of the Social Security Act. That is, the earliest point at which an inheritance can become income under Title XVI is the point at which the individual is free, under applicable State inheritance laws, to spend his or her inheritance (if it is cash) or to convert his or her inheritance to cash (if it is not cash).