What Makes Your Client Eligible

To be eligible for SSI, your clients must be elderly or blind or have a disability.

• To be considered “elderly,” your client must be 65 or older.
• To be considered “blind,” your client must be legally blind or have very poor eyesight. Children, as well as adults, can be eligible for SSI benefits because of blindness.
• To be considered disabled, your client must have a physical or mental problem expected to last at least a year or result in death. Children, as well as adults, can be eligible for SSI benefits because of a disability.

The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool
The Social Security Administration has made it easier for your clients to find out if they are eligible for Social Security benefits. The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) is a tool your clients can use to find out if they could be eligible for benefits from any of the programs Social Security administers.

This tool will give your clients eligibility information based on answers they provide to the questions on http://best.ssa.gov/index.cfm. However, it is important to note that BEST is not an application for benefits and:

• Will not give your clients an estimate of benefit amounts
• Does not know, or ask for, your client's name or Social Security number
• Does not access your client's Social Security records