Can someone receive SSI and retirement benefits simultaneously after reaching full retirement age?

1. How the programs differ: why “retirement” is not the same as “SSI”

SSI is a needs‑based federal program whose payments depend on income and resources, not on a work history, while Social Security retirement benefits are earned based on work credits and past earnings; that structural difference explains why SSI does not automatically “turn into” retirement pay at full retirement age ^{[1] [5]}. SSDI, in contrast, is tied to an earnings record and is legally converted into retirement benefits when a beneficiary reaches full retirement age, because SSDI essentially pays the same monthly amount as retirement would at that age ^{[3] [4]}.

2. What happens at full retirement age: conversion rules and continuations

When a person receiving SSDI reaches full retirement age the SSA automatically changes the benefit label from disability to retirement — the payment continues under the retirement program and the agency stops disability reviews tied to medical eligibility ^{[3] [4]}. SSI recipients do not experience that automatic conversion; SSI payments continue after age 65 or full retirement age if the recipient still meets the SSI financial and non‑financial criteria ^{[2] [1]}. The available reporting makes clear the SSA treats SSDI-to-retirement as an administrative conversion but treats SSI as a separate means‑tested cash assistance that persists so long as need is demonstrated ^{[3] [1]}.

3. Can someone get both SSI and retirement benefits at the same time?

Yes—but with important caveats: an individual may be eligible for both SSI and Social Security retirement benefits, but the combined rules and offset mechanics matter. SSI is reduced by other income, including some Social Security payments, so if a person becomes eligible for retirement benefits those retirement payments are counted as income and typically reduce the SSI payment dollar for dollar up to program limits (this dynamic is described across SSA materials and analyses noting that SSI is means‑tested and that other benefits affect SSI amounts) ^{[1] [5]}. The sources explicitly state SSI does not convert into retirement and can continue, and they also note that some SSI recipients can qualify for some retirement benefits, implying possible concurrent receipt subject to SSI income rules ^{[2] [1]}.

4. Earnings, full retirement age, and recalculation rules that matter for income planning

Once a beneficiary reaches full retirement age there is no earnings test that will reduce Social Security retirement payments for working income — the SSA will stop withholding benefits for excess earnings and will recalculate to credit months where benefits were withheld due to earnings limits ^{[6] [7] [8]}. That matters for dual recipients because their retirement payment might change due to recalculation, and any increase in retirement benefits can change the SSI offset; the SSA’s earnings and recalculation guidance shows the agency restores withheld retirement dollars and applies standard income counting for SSI ^{[6] [7]}.

5. Practical implications, disputes and where reporting can obscure tradeoffs

The plain reading of SSA guidance is authoritative: SSDI becomes retirement automatically at FRA and cannot be paid together on the same record as retirement; SSI does not convert and can continue if financial eligibility remains, but SSI’s means test will usually reduce or eliminate SSI when a person begins to receive substantial retirement benefits ^{[3] [1]}. Some secondary sources emphasize that beneficiaries “don’t lose” SSI when they age in ^[2], which is true in the abstract but risks understating how retirement benefit amounts often reduce SSI dollar‑for‑dollar — an implicit policy tradeoff that affects low‑income elders and merits close review rather than headline reassurances.