Can a nursing home take your Social Security check?
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Key takeaways
- A nursing home cannot take your Social Security benefit on its own. Apart from a few exceptions set by law, such as child support, Social Security pays only you or a representative payee that it appoints.
- If Medicaid pays for your care, your income after certain protected amounts goes toward the cost. You keep a personal needs allowance of at least $30 a month, and states may set it higher.
- A nursing home cannot require you to deposit your money with it, and it cannot require a family member to guarantee the bill as a condition of admission.
- A power of attorney does not give anyone control of your Social Security benefit. Only a representative payee has that authority.
No. A nursing home cannot take your Social Security check on its own. Apart from a few exceptions set by law, such as child support, the Social Security Administration (SSA) pays benefits only to you or to a representative payee that SSA appoints. When a benefit does go toward a nursing home bill, it is usually for one of these reasons: you or your payee chose to pay the bill from it, Medicaid rules count your income toward the cost of your care, or SSA has appointed the home as your payee.
Who can receive your Social Security benefit?
SSA's own rules tell its staff not to pay anyone other than the beneficiary or the beneficiary's representative payee. Federal law also says Social Security benefits are not subject to "execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process."
The exceptions SSA lists for Social Security benefits are child support, alimony, court-ordered restitution, overdue federal taxes and debts owed to federal agencies. A private nursing home bill is not on that list. The same protection applies to Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and SSA's manual says SSI payments are not subject to garnishment.
What if you pay the nursing home yourself?
Your benefit stays yours, and the bill is a separate debt under your admission contract. Federal rules give every resident of a certified nursing home the right to manage his or her own financial affairs and to know in advance what the home may charge. The home may not require you to deposit your personal funds with it.
You can choose to have the bill paid automatically from your account. SSA allows arrangements like that as long as you can end them at any time.
What if Medicaid pays for your care?
This is where most of the confusion comes from. Medicaid does not take your check. The state works out how much of your income is left after certain protected amounts, pays the home that much less, and you pay that share to the home. Federal rules start from your "total income," which for most residents includes Social Security.
| Protected amount | What federal rules say |
|---|---|
| Personal needs allowance | At least $30 a month for an individual, or $60 for a married couple when both spouses live in a facility. States may set a higher amount. |
| Allowance for a spouse at home | Part of your income can go to your spouse when his or her own income is below the state's standard. That standard runs from $2,705 to $4,066.50 a month as of July 1, 2026 (the minimum is higher in Alaska and Hawaii). A fair hearing or a court order can set a higher amount. |
| Allowance for dependent family members | For minor or dependent children, dependent parents or dependent siblings who live with your spouse. A resident with no spouse at home may still have an amount set aside for family at home. |
| Health insurance and uncovered medical costs | Medicare and other health insurance premiums, deductibles and coinsurance, and necessary care the state's Medicaid plan does not cover, within limits the state may set. |
| Keeping up a home | Optional for states. For up to 6 months, when a doctor certifies that you are likely to return home within that time. |
The home must accept Medicaid's payment plus your share as payment in full for covered care. During a stay paid by Medicare or Medicaid it may not charge your personal funds for nursing care, meals, an activities program, room and bed maintenance or routine personal hygiene items.
Differs by statePersonal needs allowance, by state
This is what a Medicaid resident keeps each month in the states checked so far. Your state Medicaid agency can tell you the amount where you live.
- Arizona
- Arizona's Medicaid long-term care program (ALTCS) lets a resident who lives in a nursing home or other medical institution for a full calendar month keep a personal needs allowance of 15% of the SSI Federal Benefit Rate: $149.10 per month for January 1-December 31, 2026. The amount can be increased by court-ordered child support or spousal maintenance that is garnished. The rest of the resident's counted income, after allowed deductions, goes toward the cost of care (share of cost).
- California
- A Medi-Cal resident keeps $35 a month for personal needs. Most of the rest of the resident's monthly income goes toward the cost of care.
- Florida
- A nursing home resident on Medicaid keeps $160 a month of income for personal needs. The state budget for 2023-24 raised the amount from $130; the state's administrative rule (65A-1.7141) has not been updated and still shows $130.
- Georgia
- Georgia Medicaid's personal needs allowance for an individual in a nursing home is $70 per month, effective July 2019. For a VA pensioner or surviving spouse in a nursing home who has no dependents, the allowance is $90.
- Illinois
- A Medicaid resident keeps $60 a month for personal needs. The amount rose from $30 on January 1, 2024.
- Indiana
- Indiana Medicaid lets a nursing facility resident keep a personal needs allowance of $52 a month. The state's Medicaid policy manual lists $52 as effective July 1, 2002 and calls it the minimum amount. In specific situations an additional amount for increased personal needs may be allowed, such as court-ordered guardianship fees of up to $35 a month.
- Iowa
- Iowa law sets the Medicaid personal needs allowance for a nursing facility resident at $55 per month. A 2025 law (House File 1049) raised it from $50. A resident whose income is below $55 a month receives a state-funded supplement to reach $55, if the legislature has appropriated money for it. Residents with earned income may keep an additional $65 per month from that income.
- Kansas
- Kansas Medicaid lets a nursing home resident keep $62 a month for personal needs (the 'protected income level' for institutional care); for two people the standard is $124. Income above this amount, after any allowed allocation to a spouse or dependents and allowable medical expenses, is the resident's monthly 'patient liability' toward the cost of care. This standard does not apply to residents whose eligibility is determined under the state's spenddown rules. State law sets the minimum at not less than $60 a month and allows cost-of-living increases. The $62 figure appears on the state's Medical Assistance Standards sheet dated July 2026.
- Maine
- A MaineCare nursing home resident generally keeps $40 a month for personal needs. A resident who receives the reduced $90 VA pension keeps $130.
- Massachusetts
- MassHealth's personal needs allowance for a resident of a nursing facility, licensed rest home or chronic-disease hospital is $72.80 per month. MassHealth lists the same $72.80 figure for 2023 through 2026. The amount was raised to $72.80 in 2007.
- Michigan
- Michigan Medicaid's patient allowance (personal needs allowance) for a resident who is in, or expected to be in, a nursing home and/or hospital for the entire month is $60 per month. For a veteran, or a veteran's surviving spouse or other family member, whose VA Improved Pension is limited to $90 by the VA, the allowance is $90 per month.
- Minnesota
- Minnesota Medical Assistance lets a nursing home resident keep a Clothing and Personal Needs Allowance of $132 per month, effective January 1, 2026 (it was $128 in 2025). State law sets a floor of $45 and requires the amount to rise by the same percentage as Social Security/SSI cost-of-living increases. The allowance can be increased to include court-ordered child support garnished from income (up to $250 a month, in some cases). The nursing home and DHS may not withhold or deduct any of the allowance for any purpose contrary to the law.
- Missouri
- Missouri Medicaid (MO HealthNet) allows a nursing home resident to keep a personal needs allowance of $50 per month; the rest of the resident's income goes toward the cost of care, apart from allowed deductions such as health insurance premiums and income set aside for a spouse or dependents. The $50 amount took effect January 1, 2015. State law says that once the allowance reaches $50 there are no further increases unless authorized by annual appropriation.
- New Hampshire
- A Medicaid resident keeps $93 a month for personal expenses, effective January 1, 2026. State law calls for a cost-of-living adjustment every year.
- New Jersey
- In New Jersey, Medicaid (NJ FamilyCare Aged, Blind, Disabled) nursing facility residents keep a personal needs allowance of $50 per month; the state Medicaid plan lists $100 for couples. The amount rose from $35 to $50 effective July 1, 2017. Legislative documents describe the $50 rate as set through the state's annual appropriations act.
- New York
- A Medicaid resident keeps $50 a month for personal needs, or $55 a month if they receive or are eligible for SSI or the state supplement. A veteran with no spouse or child, or a veteran's surviving spouse with no child, who receives a reduced VA pension keeps an amount equal to that pension, up to $90 a month.
- North Carolina
- North Carolina Medicaid lets a nursing home resident keep $70 a month as a personal needs allowance, or $140 for a married couple who share a room and are both on Medicaid. The amount rose from $30 ($60 for a couple) effective January 1, 2024.
- Ohio
- A Medicaid resident keeps $75 a month for personal needs, effective January 1, 2026. A resident with earned income may keep up to $65 more of it.
- Pennsylvania
- A Medical Assistance resident keeps $60 a month for personal needs ($120 for a couple), effective January 1, 2025.
- Rhode Island
- A Medicaid resident keeps $75 a month for personal expenses. That amount has applied since July 1, 2023.
- Tennessee
- Tennessee law sets the personal needs allowance for a TennCare (Medicaid) nursing home resident at $70 per month for nursing home care on or after January 1, 2025. The resident keeps this amount from his or her monthly income. TennCare also subtracts certain other items (such as health insurance premiums and, for a married resident, an allowance for a spouse at home); the remaining income goes toward the cost of care. TennCare's eligibility manual (Oct. 1, 2026) applies the $70 allowance for people in a nursing facility.
- Texas
- A Medicaid resident keeps $75 a month for personal expenses ($150 for a couple). The amount rose from $60 ($120 for a couple) on January 1, 2024. State law sets it at not less than $75 a month.
- Vermont
- A Medicaid resident keeps $79.93 a month for personal expenses ($159.85 for a couple). That amount has applied since January 1, 2024.
- Virginia
- Virginia Medicaid lets a nursing home resident keep a personal needs allowance of $40 per month; a couple's allowance in the state regulation is $60. Certain veterans and surviving spouses may keep $90 per month. The allowance is deducted from the resident's income before the rest is applied to the cost of care; Virginia Medicaid calls the resident's share 'patient pay'.
- Wisconsin
- Wisconsin Medicaid lets a nursing home resident keep up to $55 a month of income for personal needs; the rest of the resident's income goes toward the cost of care, after amounts allowed under DHS rules (such as a spouse's allowance under the spousal impoverishment rules). The $55 amount took effect July 1, 2024 (it was $45 before). A resident receiving a veterans pension under 38 USC 5503(d) may keep that pension amount if it is greater.
Checked against state sources in Oct 2026. State rules are added here as each state's rules are checked against its own sources.
What if you receive SSI?
SSI works differently from Social Security retirement or disability benefits. When you live for a whole month in a facility where Medicaid pays more than half the cost of your care, the federal SSI payment is limited to $30 a month, less any countable income. SSA's rules for payees say that payment may be used only for your personal needs, not for the home's charges.
For a short stay, full SSI can continue for up to 3 months. You must have been eligible for SSI the month before, a doctor must state in writing that the stay is not likely to last more than 90 days, and you must need to keep paying for the home you will return to. Both the statement and the evidence have to be submitted to SSA by the day you are discharged or the 90th day of the stay, whichever comes first. A home that serves as payee may not keep these continued benefits for the cost of your care.
Can the nursing home be your representative payee?
Yes, but only if SSA appoints it. A home cannot appoint itself.
- Family and friends rank ahead of institutions. For adults, SSA's order of preference lists relatives and friends ahead of institutions. SSA describes the order as flexible.
- You can appeal. You have 60 days to appeal SSA's decision that you need a payee, or its choice of payee.
- The payee acts for you. A payee must use the benefit only for your use and benefit and keep it separate from its own money. It may pay the home's customary charges from it.
- Personal money is set aside. SSA's guide tells payees they should set aside at least $30 a month for your personal needs, and SSA's operating manual says that amount may not be used for the home's charges or for past-due debt.
- A fee needs SSA's approval. Only certain organizations, such as state or local agencies and community nonprofits, can be approved in writing to charge a fee, and SSA never approves an individual. In 2026 the fee is the lesser of 10% of the monthly benefit or $57 ($106 for beneficiaries SSA has identified as having a drug or alcohol condition).
- So does paying old debts. A home that serves as payee must get SSA's approval before it pays itself for a past debt.
Does a power of attorney cover Social Security?
No. SSA's guide for payees says: "For our purposes, a power of attorney isn't an acceptable way to manage a person's monthly benefits. We recognize only a designated representative payee for handling the beneficiary's funds." A payee's authority covers only Social Security and SSI. It does not reach a pension or other income.
What if the home holds money for you?
You can ask the home to hold your personal funds. It needs your written authorization, and federal rules then require it to:
- Keep funds over $100 (over $50 if Medicaid pays for your care) in an interest-bearing account that is separate from its own accounts, and credit the interest to you.
- Never mix your money with the home's money.
- Give you a statement every quarter and whenever you ask.
- Carry a surety bond or similar protection for all the resident funds it holds.
- Hand over your money and a final accounting within 30 days if you are discharged, or to your estate if you die.
CMS tells inspectors that a home may not charge residents a fee for managing their funds. A bank's own account fee can be passed on to the resident.
Can a family member be made to pay?
A certified nursing home may not request or require a third-party guarantee of payment as a condition of admission, expedited admission or continued stay. It may require a resident representative who has legal access to your income or resources to sign an agreement to pay the bill from your money, without becoming personally liable. State law on a relative's responsibility is a separate question that this guide does not cover. See also what an admission agreement cannot require.
Where can you turn if something looks wrong?
- The home's business office, for your quarterly statement and a written list of charges.
- SSA at 1-800-772-1213, to ask who is listed as payee or to report a payee misusing a benefit.
- The SSA Office of the Inspector General, online at oig.ssa.gov or at 1-800-269-0271, to report suspected misuse.
- Your state's long-term care ombudsman. See how to reach the ombudsman.
If the home gives you a discharge notice for non-payment, see residents' rights and discharge notices. CMS guidance to inspectors says a resident cannot be discharged for non-payment while a Medicaid application is being decided. For how Medicaid eligibility works, see how Medicaid pays for a nursing home.