HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SSI & DISABILITY CHECK

I know what many are going to think, is this guy off his rocker, there is no way to legally increase the size of your SSI or Disability checks, but trust me when I tell you there in fact is a way to get a larger monthly check, but it does take some work, as you will see.
But we first must understand the formula SSI uses to determine what the amount of your monthly check will be, at the time of retirement or at the time you go onto disability.  They use a formula based on the largest 12 quarters of your lifetime earnings, in other words, the three highest paying years you worked will be the base from which they begin to determine the size of your monthly check.  Understanding this method the government uses will help you greatly to understand how it is that you do have some power over the size of your monthly checks as well as the ability to increase the size of your checks, even if your already collecting monthly checks.
Now that we have established how the government uses those 12 quarters to determine your check size, the next and most important thing you must understand is that "all states are not created equal" when it comes to how much money is taken out of your earnings while you were or are working, and this is very important to understand because as important as those quarters are, how much any given state withholds from your earnings  plays a major role in what your monthly check size will be.  I will use an actual example of two people I know, who live in two different states.  Helen worked for nearly twelve  years as a dishwasher in Mass. before going on to disability, because Mass. withheld a much higher amount from her weekly earnings, she ended up receiving roughly $2,400 a month in disability payments.  Steve on the other hand spent over twenty years  working at landscaping  in Maine, and Maine with holds a much smaller amount from your weekly earnings, so Steve's monthly checks on disability ended up being just under $1000 per month.  Steve worked nearly twice as many years as Helen, yet his monthly checks were less than half of what she received.  Remember the formula, it is not how many years you work, that has nothing to do with the size of your monthly check, it all comes down to those magic 21 quarters and to how much the state you worked in withheld from your earnings.  The state of Maine withholds much less from a persons earnings than does Mass, no fault of Steve, but because of it he receives a much smaller monthly check than does Helen.
I spent some time talking to the fine folks at SSI office trying to understand all this, and was surprised at what I learned, which I have passed along in this article.  I learned another very important lesson as well, each of us has the ability to increase our monthly earnings, weather it be for retirement purposes or for disability.  Remember those quarters we talked about, that is the key to increasing the amount of your monthly check. 
If your planning on retiring  but have not done so yet, or if you have already retired, or even if your on disability right now, here is how you can increase the size of your monthly check, and I do want to add that the person at SSI told me the government would not be very happy with them if they knew they were giving this information out.  You could only imagine how happy they would be if everyone was to double the size of their monthly checks.
In Steve's case, because he was already on disability, increasing his check size meant moving to Mass and working there for three years, this greatly effected what his 12 quarters were as well as how much money was withheld from his checks during those three years living in Mass., which more than doubled his monthly checks, once that was done Steve moved back to Maine and continued to receive the higher monthly check.  Helen was just fine with the money she was making on disability and remained in Mass..  So what you need to do to get the most out of SSI and disability is to work one to three years in a state that withholds the higher amount from your weekly earnings, because those quarters the government uses to determine your monthly check size are not set in stone, and the magic number you are shooting for is 3 years, or 12 quarters.
So if you live in a state that withholds less from your earnings, you really want to strongly consider moving for a time to a state that withholds more, three years is nothing compared to getting a much larger retirement check for the rest of your life.  And if your on disability, the same applies to you, every state has its own version of Vocational Rehabilitation, a government program that helps people on disability get back to work.  Just like Steve, moving from a low withholding state to a state that withholds more will increase your monthly check size.  If your already retired, and you research it and find out a nearby state withholds a higher amount from wages, you may very well want to consider moving for a few years and returning to the work force for one to three years to increase your monthly check you are already receiving. 
Remember, the government uses a 12 quarter formula, or 3 years of your highest earnings, as well as how much the state you worked in withheld from your weekly earnings, that formula never changes, so in order to recieve the highest amount in your monthly check you need to work a full three years in a state with a higher withholding.  But even if you worked for one full year, even than you would see an increase in check size.  I put this information out there mainly for people who have or are about to retire, so that they can have more money to live off of and have a better life in their latter years.

THE MEADOWS - ELLSWORTH, MAINE

THE MEADOWS
21 Edgewood Way
Ellsworth, Maine

Rent appears to be based on 30% of income.

snow removal
lawn care
on site laundry room
community room
smoke free apartments
small dog or cat welcome
accepts section 8 vouches
parking spaces available
rent includes some paid utilities
wall to wall carpets

within walking distance to a mall with Reny's, Shaws food supermarket and a dollar store. The area is serviced by the Downeast Transportation buses, $1 in city fares.  One or two days a week buses go to the city of Bangor, as well as Bar Harbor.  Bar Harbor is a $6 two way fare.  A second mall just down the road has a Shop & Save food supermarket as well as a McDonalds and a Goodwill Store is across the street from that mall.  The city buses run over to Wallmart as well.

THE MEADOWS APARTMENTS - ELLSWORTH, MAINE

While one website states there are one, two, and three bedroom apartments at this project, their official website states they have one and two bedroom apartments, so if your looking for a three bedroom apartment, you might want to contact them to see if they do have three bedroom apartments.  They say there are 32 apartments here, the photo I put up below shows one of the buildings in a very nice country setting.

Route 3 and route 1 run through the city so traffic is pretty heavy during the summer months as tourists pass through the city making their way to Mount Desert Island and Acadia national Park.  Ellsworth has a large modern library with free computer use, free wi-fi and a genealogy section.

THE MEADOWS APARTMENTS FLOOR PLANS - ELLSWORTH, MAINE

THE MEADOWS WEBSITE

THE MEADOWS

21 Edgewood Way, 
Ellsworth, ME 04065

Phone: 207-945-6292 TTY: 711 TTY: 711Fax: 207-945-9809

MEADOW VIEW APARTMENTS - ELLSWORTH MAINE

PUBLIC HOUSING IN MAINE
BIRCHWOOD-TREMONT   GLENRIDGE GARDENS-AUGUSTA,   EDEN APT.-BAR HARBOR




MEADOW VIEW APARTMENTS
MEADOW VIEW STREET
ELLSWORTH, MAINE

Rent based on 30% of income
Elderly and handicapped

As far as housing projects go, this one is pretty large, consisting of 602 apartments, though I will admit each section of buildings are well spaced with sections of woods separating each building.  Grounds are very well kept up but on the down side, you will not be walking to any stores as this project is located near the outskirts of the city.
"When you choose a one or two bedroom apartment at The Meadows you'll find spacious floor plans with charm and character. Each smoke-free apartment home features fully equipped kitchens, wall-to-wall carpeting, private entrances and some paid utilities. We also welcome Section 8 vouchers."
Some on line sites state that the section of Meadow View Apartments located on Tweedie Lane is for families, the apartments on Tweedie Lane are smaller and well spaced and appear as though they are for families.  Project is serviced by the Downeast Transportation buses - $1 in-city two way trips.

MEADOW VIEW APARTMENTS
ELLSWORTH MAINE

MEADOW VIEW APARTMENTS
ELLSWORTH MAINE

MEADOW VIEW APARTMENTS - TWEEDIE LANE SECTION
ELLSWORTH, MAINE

MEADOW VIEW APARTMENTS - TWEEDIE LANE SECTION
ELLSWORTH, MAINE

Meadow View Apartments

25 Tweedie Lane
Ellsworth, ME, 04605

T +207  667 2651
E meadowvw@gwi.net
F 207 667 7468
TDD 1 800 457 1220

MAPLE LANE APARTMENTS - NORTHEAST HARBOR

PUBLIC HOUSING IN MAINE
WINDSOR HEIGHTS_RANDOLPH   EDEN APT.-BAR HARBOR   ORCHARD HILL-AUGUSTA   GILMAN PLACE-WATERVILLE   TIMBERWOOD APT-FARMINGDALE




MAPLE LANE APARTMENTS
MAPLE LANE
NORTHEAST HARBOR, MAINE
phone;    207-288-4770

An Elderly and handicap housing project.
Rent based on 30% of income.

18 apartments
all 18 are one bedroom apartments
housing takes care of clearing snow
on site trash dumpster
on site laundry room
rent includes heat
site has a community room and lounge with tv
within walking distance to stores
each unit has two large closets
house cleaning available for a fee
rides available for chores for a fee
Noon time meals are served on site for a fee. (optional)

Note;  From Mid June through mid October the free Island Explorer buses serve the town of Northeast Harbor with two bus stops, you can ride the free buses to reach Southwest Harbor or Bar Harbor or other locations across the island.

MAPLE LANE APARTMENTS - NORTHEAST HARBOR, MAINE

Currently the village of Northeast Harbor has antique shops, art shops, a few dining places, a pizza place, a mid-size grocery store, a couple mom and pop stores, churches, schools, and a large modern library.  The neighborhood House is also near by where many community events take place.  The ballfields and harbor are also within walking distance, in the summertime the harbor fills with many vessels of various sizes and there are a number of benches placed along walkways overlooking the harbor.  The Sea Coast Missions ship, the Sun Beam also anchors here in the harbor.  Northeast Harbor also has a golf course as well as a yacht club.
Closest major town is Bar Harbor Maine with a good size shop and save food store, two movie houses, a Rite Aid Store, a golf course, many places to eat, and many shops.  MDI Hospital is also located in Bar Harbor.  In Summer and early fall free buses run between Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor throughout the day and evenings seven days a week.

MAPLE LANE APARTMENTS - NORTHEAST HARBOR, MAINE

NORTHEAST HARBOR, MAINE

NORTHEAST HARBOR MAINE YACHT CLUB

FREE ISLAND EXPLORER BUS
Over 30 free buses service Mount Desert Island