Social Safety & You: No Social Safety in Jail | Sensible Change: Private Finance

Since the 1990s, the rules have stated that social security benefits cannot be paid for while a person is incarcerated in a prison, jail, or certain other public facility for the commission of a crime. More specifically, benefits are suspended if someone is convicted of a crime and is jailed or jailed for more than 30 consecutive days. Note that belief is key. Many people end up in jail waiting for trials or appeals. But until there is a prison sentence, benefits will continue.

It is also important to note that while the convict’s benefits will be suspended, they will continue to exist if a spouse or child receives monthly social security checks.

Of course, most people don’t spend the rest of their lives in prison. If they are released, social security benefits will be reintroduced from the month following the month they quit.

Speaking of getting out, I’ve heard that there is a rumor going around many prisons that younger convicts – or rather soon to be ex-scammers – believe that once they’re released, they can roll into their nearest Social Security Office and sign up for Social Security benefits and let those checks flow into their bank accounts. There is simply no truth to this rumor. Of course, everyone has the right to claim social security benefits for the disabled. But nobody will get these benefits if he or she doesn’t meet all of the fairly strict qualification criteria. For example, he or she must have worked and paid social security taxes for five of the last 10 years. And he or she must have such a severe disability that they are expected to be unable to work for at least a year. Or he or she must have a condition that is fatal.