Social Security is perfectly usable income. The challenge is the amount relative to the price you're chasing. Lenders run the same debt-to-income math on a Social Security benefit that they'd run on a paycheck, with no penalty for being retired. The question is whether the monthly benefit is large enough to cover the payment on the home you want. A quick illustration of the range: someone with $1,100 a month in Social Security trying to buy a $500,000 condo will have a very hard time, because the income doesn't stretch that far. A couple drawing $3,500 each, $7,000 combined, looking at a $200,000 condo would generally have no problem at all. Same income type, opposite outcomes, driven entirely by the ratio. Social Security also carries a helpful advantage. When the benefit isn't taxed, lenders can gross it up, adding a percentage back to reflect that a non-taxed dollar goes further than a taxed one. The allowance varies by program: conventional (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) permits a 25% gross-up, or your actual tax rate if higher; FHA allows the greater of 15% or your actual tax rate; VA permits grossing up as well. That adjustment can meaningfully raise the price you qualify for, so make sure any lender you work with is applying it.