Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
Unearned income is all income other than that received in the
form of salary or wages for services performed as an employee or profits from
self-employment.
a) The following
unearned income shall be exempt from consideration in determining eligibility:
1) Any allotment under SNAP (
7 USC
2017(b) );
2) The value of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture donated foods (surplus commodities);
3) Any payment received under the Uniform
Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (
42
USC 4636 );
4) Any per capita judgment funds paid under
Public Law
92-254 to members of the Blackfeet Tribe of the
Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana and Gros Ventre Tribe of the Fort Belknap
Reservation, Montana (
25 USC
1264 );
5) Any benefits received under Title III,
Nutrition Program for the elderly, of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as
amended (
42 USC
3030(e) );
6) Any compensation provided to individual
volunteers under the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (
42 USC
5001 ) and the Foster Grandparent Program (
42 USC
5011 ) and Older Americans Community Service
Programs (
42 USC
3056 ) established under Title II of the
Domestic Volunteer Service Act, as amended (
42 USC
5001 through
5023
);
7) Income in an amount not
greater than the current amount allowed received by a beneficiary of life
insurance which is expended on the funeral and burial of the insured;
8) Income received under Section 4(c) of the
Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities Property Tax Relief Act. This
includes both the benefits commonly known as the "circuit breaker" and
"additional grants";
9) Payments to
volunteers under the 1973 Domestic Volunteer Service Act ( 48 USC 5044(q) ).
These include:
A) Vista Volunteers;
B) volunteers serving as senior health aides,
senior companions, or foster grandparents;
C) persons serving in the Service Corps of
Retired Executives (SCORE) or the Active Corps of Executives (ACE);
10) Social Security death benefits
expended on a funeral/burial;
11)
The value of home produce that is used for personal consumption;
12) The value of supplemental food assistance
received under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, (
42
USC 1780(b) ) and the
special food service program for children under the National School Lunch Act,
as amended (
42 USC
1760 );
13) Any payments distributed per capita or
held in trust for members of any Indian tribe under
Public Law
92-254, 93-134 or 94-450 (
25 USC
1407 );
14) Tax exempt portions of payments made
pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (
43 USC
1626 );
15) Experimental Housing Allowance Program
payments made under Annual Contributions Contracts entered into prior to
January 1, 1975 under Section 23 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, as amended (
42 USC
1437(f) );
16) That portion of an educational benefit
that is actually used for items such as tuition, books, fees, equipment or
transportation, necessary for school attendance:
A) Veterans Educational Assistance -
Income from educational benefits paid to a veteran or to a
dependent of a veteran shall be exempt only to the extent that it is applied
toward educational expenses;
B) Social Security Administration (SSA)
Benefits -
Income received as a SSA benefit paid to or for an individual
and conditioned upon the individual's regular attendance in a school, college
or university, or a course of vocational or technical learning, shall be exempt
to the extent that it is applied toward educational expenses;
C) Loan and Grants -
Income from educational loans and grants obtained and used
under conditions that prevent their use for current living costs shall be
exempt;
17)
Income from educational loans and grants made or insured under any program
administered by the Secretary of Education is totally exempt whether the grant
is paid directly to the schools or to the student. These loans and grants
include the National Direct Student Loans, Basic Educational Opportunity
Grants, Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant, Work Study Grant, and the
Guaranteed Loan Program;
18) The
following incentive allowances:
A) National
Training Services Grant -
Incentive payments which the Department of Rehabilitation
Services authorizes to be paid for a maximum of 2 years to disabled persons
receiving categorical public assistance and enrolled in the National Training
Service Project;
B) Jobs
Training Partnership Act (JTPA) -
Needs based payments (e.g., transportation); case assistance
(e.g., uniforms and lunches); compensations in lieu of wages; and allowances
received under JTPA are exempt.
b) Unearned Income In-Kind
1) Unearned income in-kind is payment made by
a person other than a member of a participant's family on behalf of or in the
name of a member of the participant's family (e.g., payment of CCP incurred
expense for care, medical bills, etc.).
2) Unearned income in-kind shall be
exempt.
3) When the participant's
family shares a dwelling unit with another family or individuals, the exchange
of cash for purposes of satisfying payment of shelter related obligations shall
not constitute an income in-kind payment and shall not be considered available
to the person who receives and disburses the shelter-related payment.
c) Earmarked Income
1) Earmarked income is income restricted for
the use of a specified participant by court order or by legal stipulation of a
contributor.
2) Earmarked income
shall be considered as income of the specified participant only.
d) Lump Sum Payments
1) Lump sum payments shall be considered
available for the eligibility period in which it is received and are not
exempt.
2) Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) lump sum payments are exempt income. SSI lump sum payments that
are kept separately and are not combined with other monies remain
exempt.
e) Protected
Income
SSI is protected income and not considered available to be
applied toward the incurred expense for CCP services of anyone other than the
SSI recipient.