B3-3.4-15, Social Security Income (03/04/2026)

The lender must obtain evidence of regular receipt of payments, as verified by the following, depending on the type of benefit and the relationship of the beneficiary (self or other) as shown in the table below.

In addition, an SSA Award letter may be used to document the income if the borrower is receiving Social Security payments or if the borrower will begin receiving payments on or before the first payment date of the subject mortgage as confirmed by a recently issued award letter.

Retirement/Long-Term Disability based on own account/work record: Lenders are not required to verify continuance unless they have reason to believe the income may not continue.

Other scenarios: The lender must document that income is expected to continue for at least three years from the note date.

Note: Confirmation of three-year continuance does not require documentation that provides a defined expiration date and can be assessed by verifying the SSA's requirements related to the specific benefit(s) being paid. For example, if the SSA ties receipt of the benefits to the beneficiary's age, confirmation of a three-year continuance can be met by verifying the beneficiary's age supports that benefit(s) will continue for at least three years from the date of the loan application.

The monthly income amount as documented above may be used as qualifying income. 

Note: The lender is not required to provide documentation to support that 15% of the Social Security income is nontaxable. 

Example:

• Benefit amount: $1,500
• Nontaxable amount: $1,500 x 15% = $225
• Gross-up amount: $225 x 25% = $56 (rounded to the nearest dollar)
• Qualifying income: $1,556 (does not required additional documentation

If the lenders opts to gross-up more than 15% of Social Security income, then additional documentation to support that nontaxable income must be included in the loan file. See B3-3.1-01, General Income InformationB3-3.1-01, General Income Information for nontaxable income guidelines.