Karen Stevens, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Department of Health & Human Services, Defendant-appellee, 962 F.2d 15 (9th Cir. 1992)

MEMORANDUM^** 

Karen Stevens appeals pro se the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of the Secretary of Health and Human Services ("Secretary"). Stevens appears to contend that the district court erred by adopting the Secretary's conclusion that retroactive Supplementary Security Income awarded under Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1383 ("SSI"), must be offset by the amount of disability insurance benefits awarded under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 401-433 ("Title II"), for which the recipient was eligible during the retroactive period. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

"We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Secretary. To survive our review, the findings of the Secretary must be supported by substantial evidence and the denial of benefits must be otherwise free of legal error." Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991) (citation omitted) (substantial evidence did not support administrative law judge's finding that claimant was not impaired).¹ 

Title II benefits are included as unearned income when determining an individual's SSI benefits, see 20 C.F.R. § 416.1121(a), to ensure that the maximum monthly income allowance for SSI eligibility will not be exceeded, see 20 C.F.R. §§ 416.405 and 416.410. When SSI benefits are awarded on a retroactive basis, any Title II benefits received to cover eligibility during the retroactive period may reduce or completely offset the amount of SSI benefits. See 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-6(a); see also Guadamuz v. Bowen, 859 F.2d 762, 765 (9th Cir. 1988) (reduction of retroactive Title II benefits based on amount of SSI benefits received in the retroactive period).

In February 1987, Stevens was determined to be eligible for both Title II and SSI disability benefits, based on diagnoses of personality disorder and cannabis abuse. In October 1987, Stevens received Title II benefits in the amount of $3168.00 for the months of March 1987 through October 1987. This award was based on a benefit level of $396.00 per month. In December 1989, Stevens was notified that she would be awarded the SSI disability payment for February 1987. She was denied any additional SSI payments because the Title II payments of $396.00 per month, which had begun in March 1987, exceeded the maximum monthly income level of $388.00 for SSI eligibility.

The Secretary properly denied Stevens SSI benefits for the months of March 1987 through October 1987 based on an income level above the statutory maximum for SSI eligibility. See 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-6(a); see also Guadamuz v. Bowen, 859 F.2d at 765. Therefore, the district court properly granted summary judgment on this basis in favor of the Secretary. Cf. Baxter, 923 F.2d at 1396.² 

AFFIRMED.