Can I Travel Through Different States on SSI

[orbital]

Hiya, Im getting SSI in California which pays a little more money, I was living there in my motorhome when I decided I had enough of California and decided to travel through different states and find a new place to live. SSI rules say I have to give them my new address before I move, but I didnt have one to give them so I didnt and I didnt know where I would end up.

Its been about 2 months since I have been in California and Im still getting benefits from there, ive been through 5 states and spent a few weeks in each one just parking on the side of the road, now Im in a town in Idaho and have been here 4 days. Im wondering, If Social Security finds out ive been doing this could I get in trouble? Or do they Actually expect me to go to the nearest SSI office and tell them every time I enter a new state? Even though I have no address to give them. (I get direct deposit)

I guess this may fall under "vacation" rules. Can a person on SSI go on vacation to another state and keep the benifits from where they live? Or is there some kind of time limit like maybe if your vacation is longer then 60 days maybe you have to notify them?

What if I keep doing this for a year until I find a state to settle down in and get an address?

Anyone have any ideas about this?

Thanks for any help

Orb

[Janke]

You are a transient with no permanent place of residence which means you have no state of residence. You are not entitled to money from the state of California since you do not have a residence in California that you are maintaining and do not have any intention to return to California. If you were on a vacation, you would be temporarily absent from a permanent residence and if you left one month and came back the next month, you could still be a resident of that state. But even that doesn't apply to you. You have no home in California, no intent to return AND you have been out of the state for over two months.

You are commmitting fraud agains the state of California.

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0501410040

[orbital]

1st off, the term "transient" is a derogatory term and is insulting, please dont reply to my topic if you cant be nice and not use insulting terms like that.

I know of nobody who is poor, homeless, or who lives in an RV as I do who refers to themselves as a "transient" no matter if they travel around or not.
its VERY insulting. If your grandparents sell their house and decide to spend their retirement years traveling around the country in a $50,000 RV would you refer to them as "transients"? No. Just because my RV isnt that nice does not make me a transient.

2nd, your link has nothing to do with my question, that page just states what happens when a normal person in a normal circumstance moves from one state to another when either state has a state supplement and the other does not. The word "fraud" or "transient" are nowhere in that document.

3rd, whos to say I wont go back to California? Perhaps I will return just because I get more money in that state. Then perhaps it would just turn out to be just a 90 day cross country vacation.

Hardly Fraud. Unless you can find a document that states how long I am allowed to be away from Califiornia before claiming residence in another state, which is what I hoped someone here may know.

[Janke]

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.n...0!opendocument

A transient has no fixed place of abode. It is not necessarily a derogatory term, however, I can see that a person could consider it such. Not my intent.

The first link I gave you had additional links to other information like a temporary absence from a permanent living arrangement. If you were truly on a vacation, you would have a home from which you are absent and intend to return. You do not have a home from which you are absent and using your own words, "...had enough of California..." and "...look for a place to live." That does not indicate you left with the intention to return. You left with the intention to live somewhere else. Your words.

So, you are not maintaining a home in California, and currently, you do not have the intention to return. You have been gone for two months. If you had a home and an intention to return, you could be considered temporarily absent if you left one month (like July) and returned the following month (like August) to your permanent residence. Again, not what you have done.

Doesn't sound like a resident of California to me. There are no vacation rules for SSI recipients except that leave one month, return the next and maintain a home in the state. And you must have at least an inkling that you may not be a California resident otherwise you wouldn't be asking the question. So, perhaps not intent to defraud, but certainly a hint of fraud.

SSI recipients are supposed to provide mailing addresses so they can be reached by the Social Security Administration. If SSA tries to contact you at your last mailing address and your mail is returned, your checks will be suspended and you won't know it (since you don't have a mailing address) until the money is not in your bank account.

SSI recipients are supposed to provide residence addresses also. And technically, if you move every month, you need to report your first of month living arrangement every time it changes. There are several categories of residence types: house/apartment/mobile home; room rental in a private home; room rental in a commercial establishment; institution; transient (no fixed place of abode), non-institutional care. No boxes for California residents on long term vacations. You can call it whatever you want, SSI has to fit you into the rules.

[Janke]

I suppose you could also be considered a resident of whatever state you happen to find yourself on the first day of any month, living in your fixed abode that moves all the time (???), your motor home.

You just are not a resident of California. I really don't think you are a resident of any state.