Special Assistance SA-3210 INCOME

II. EVALUATE APPLICANT/RECIPIENT’S SSI STATUS

Because SA eligibility cannot be authorized until SSI eligibility has been established, it is important to understand SSI in general and how SSI payment amounts are determined.

SSI is a cash assistance program funded and administered by the Federal Government. The program is authorized by Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) of the Social Security Act. Title XVI of the Social Security Act specifies eligibility criteria for SSI benefits, the amount of cash payments, and the conditions under which payments can be made. A person who applies for SSI and meets the conditions in the law is eligible for benefits. SSI is an economic “needs-based” program and is intended to supplement any income individuals already have, to ensure that they are afforded a minimum level of income. Therefore, the dollar amount of SSI benefits received on a monthly basis may vary from person to person.

The FBR is the maximum dollar amount that individuals or couples can receive in SSI and other cash income on a monthly basis provided that countable resources are less than the SSI resource limit ($2,000 for individuals, $3,000 for couples) and other eligibility criteria are met. The SSI FBR, effective January 2012 is $698/month for an individual.

SA is a state supplement to the SSI Program. If the applicant/recipient’s (a/r’s) non-SSI income is less than the FBR for SSI, the a/r is required to apply for SSI.

Often, individuals already receiving SSI will have income less than the SSI FBR. This section outlines certain situations where this may be the case, and provides guidance on working with a/r’s to increase income to the FBR.

A. Using the Online Verification System (OLV), State Online Query (SOLQ)/State Data Exchange (SDX) or an SSI award notice, verify a/r’s SSI status. Use information in B. and C. below to determine if a/r’s income is below the FBR.

B. Background of Social Security Administration (SSA) Determination of SSI Payment Eligibility and SSI Payment Amount

1. SSA excludes the first $20 of most unearned income sources and then from earnings when determining eligibility for an SSI payment and the SSI award amount. Benefits based on need that are totally or partially funded by the Federal Government or by a nongovernmental agency are not subject to the SSI $20 general income exclusion including certain Veteran’s Administration (VA) benefits. See SA 3210 XIIC.13.c. below for specific Veteran’s benefits and whether or not SSA applies the $20 general income exclusion.).

2. If an individual has less than $20 of unearned income in a month and also has earned income in that month, SSA applies the remainder of the $20 exclusion to the earned income.

3. When an individual has earned income only, and there is no unearned income to which the $20 general income exclusion (or a portion of the $20) can be applied, SSA applies the $20 general income exclusion to the gross earned income amount prior to applying earned income disregards of $65 per month and one-half of earnings over $65 received in a month.

NOTE: When calculating the Special Assistance payment, SA policy applies a $20 income exclusion to SSI income only when SSI has not applied a $20 exclusion to any other income source. Numbers 1-3 in B. above explain how the SSI payment is determined.

C. Identifying Special Assistance Applicants with Income Less than the FBR:

If the SA applicant’s verified income from any source is less than $698, after determining if SSA would apply a $20 exclusion and/or other applicable SSI income exclusions, the individual may be eligible for an SSI payment, if all other eligibility criteria are met. If the applicant is receiving SSI at less than the FBR, refer to IV. below.

D. Identifying Ongoing Special Assistance Recipients with Income less than FBR

Recipients have been approved with income less than the FBR for various, usually temporary reasons. Some SA recipients have been erroneously receiving SA while their income is below the FBR. Instructions for identifying these recipients, the reasons they may have income less than the FBR and how to handle these cases is provided in this policy section.

1. Client Services Data Warehouse (CSDW) maintains a report entitled “SA - below FBR Screening by County and Report Month Amb Code B, C” ( SA-FBR Screening). This report is found in Public Folders/DHHS Main Document/DAAS/State Sanctioned. This Report captures active cases with total countable monthly income (TCMI) less than $698. It also captures cases where TCMI is less than $678 in cases where the SA Program applies a $20 general income exclusion to SSI only income.

2. Counties must run the “SA-FBR Screening” Report monthly and screen budgeted income to identify any ongoing SA recipients whose income in EIS is less than SSI FBR. All cases appearing on this report must have a Case Special Review Code as indicated in V. below, or must be corrected.

3. Cases may appear on this report if income is entered in the incorrect fields on the 8125.

For example, if the SSI code is “Y”, yet no income amount has been entered into the “SSI Amount” and the “Total Countable Monthly Income” field is entered as $654, the case will appear on the “SA-FBR Screening” Report. This case appears to have only RSDI income, according to income fields populated, so a case with RSDI only should have a minimum of $698 in the TCMI field, not $678, as entered.