The summer vacation is here again. While that will hopefully mean such fun things as a trip to the ocean and plenty of excuses for staying up late every night, there is also the opportunity for teens to pick up some valuable work experience. That might be either through their independent endeavors or through summer programs especially geared to giving youngsters a taste of the wonderful world of work.
For all of those students on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who are under the age of 22 and who are planning to return to school on a regular basis the hugely helpful work incentive the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) still applies even though school’s out.
If you are working over the summer simply let Social Security know that your plans for the fall and you can expect to have them apply the SEIE. If you do qualify you’ll keep all of your SSI check if your earnings are under $1,930 each month. If you were working before the summer or you carry on into the fall and beyond you’ll still keep your full check until you’ve earned $7,770 in the year.
If you’d like a bit more information on the whole program you can have a look at Social Security’s page here : SSI Spotlight on Student Earned Income Exclusion (ssa.gov)