Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) For the purposes of this rule:
(a) "assets" include, but are not limited to:
(i) cash on hand;
(ii) bank, credit union, savings and loan,
and brokerage accounts;
(iii)
securities, excluding those held as part of a qualified retirement
plan;
(iv) cash-value insurance
policies;
(v) real and personal
property, excluding the claimant's primary residence and one primary
vehicle.
(b) "average
monthly cash flow" means six times the amount obtained by subtracting average
monthly expenses from average monthly income, even if the amount is less than
zero.
(c) "average monthly
expenses" means the amount of all necessary and allowed expenses, converted to
a monthly basis if not incurred in that manner, incurred by the claimant at the
time of the claimant's request for a financial hardship waiver.
(d) "average monthly income" means the amount
of all income, converted to a monthly basis if not paid in that manner,
accruing to the claimant at the time of the claimant's request for a financial
hardship waiver.
(e) "income"
includes, but is not limited to:
(i) wages,
salaries, and commissions;
(ii)
interest and dividends;
(iii) net
business proceeds;
(iv)
rents;
(v) pensions;
(vi) disability payments; and
(vii) alimony.
(f) "necessary and allowable expenses" are
limited to:
(i) rent or mortgage
payments;
(ii) insurance, taxes,
utilities, basic phone service;
(iii) groceries and household supplies for a
primary residence, but not to exceed $300 per month for the claimant and $100
per month for each of the claimant's dependents that reside in the claimant's
household;
(iv) medical expenses
not paid by insurance;
(v) loan
payments, insurance, and expenses for a primary vehicle;
(vi) work-related child and disabled
dependent care expenses;
(vii)
child support payments; and
(viii)
alimony or maintenance payments.
(2) Upon written notice from the department
that claimant received an overpayment, a claimant may submit a written request
asking the department to waive recovery of the benefit overpayment as provided
in
39-51-3206,
MCA.
(3) The department may waive
recovery of all or a portion of a benefit overpayment that occurred through no
fault of the claimant and involved no fraud as defined in ARM
24.11.1209, when one or more of
the following circumstances exist:
(a)
recovery of the benefit overpayment would cause a long-term financial hardship
on the claimant, as outlined in (5);
(b) benefit overpayment was the result of an
incorrect monetary determination by the department due to minor errors in
employer reporting;
(c) benefit
overpayment resulted from department failure to consider relevant written
documentation provided in a timely manner by a claimant, employer, or third
party prior to the department's determination or redetermination; or
(d) benefit overpayment resulted from
claimant's reliance upon erroneous written information provided by
department.
(4) Benefit
overpayment does not constitute department error when the implementation of new
state or federal law requires the department to revise a claimant's state
benefit claim or monetary determination and to reduce or deny benefits
retroactively.
(5) No sooner than
six months after a notice of benefit overpayment, claimant may seek a financial
hardship waiver by providing specific financial information to the department.
The department shall determine whether recovery of the benefit overpayment
would cause a long-term financial hardship on the claimant, as provided in
(3)(a), using the following process:
(a) the
claimant requesting a financial hardship waiver shall provide the department
documentation of monthly household income, assets, and expenses on a form
provided by the department and may be required to provide further information
if needed for the department's determination. The department may require
verification of any financial information provided. The department may also
disallow or adjust any claimed expenses that the department deems to be
unreasonably excessive.
(b) the
department shall determine recovery of the benefit overpayment to cause a
long-term financial hardship on the claimant when the department finds:
(i) the sum of the claimant's average monthly
household cash flow and the net value of the claimant's household assets equals
an amount less than the identified amount of the benefit overpayment;
and
(ii) no evidence demonstrates
that the sum of claimant's average household monthly cash flow and net value of
the claimant's household assets are likely to exceed the amount of the benefit
overpayment within 12 months of the date of the claimant's request for
waiver.
(6)
After consideration of a claimant's request for waiver, the department shall
notify the claimant of the decision to grant or deny the request and of the
claimant's right to appeal under
39-51-2402
and
39-51-2403,
MCA.
(7) A claimant whose request
for a financial hardship waiver has been denied may submit a new request for
waiver when claimant's financial situation has significantly changed since the
denied request was filed.
(8)
Repayment of a benefit overpayment by offset of benefits shall continue from
the date claimant's written request for waiver is received by the department
until the department's decision becomes final. When the final decision approves
claimant's request for waiver, the department shall reimburse claimant for
repayments collected after the date the claimant's written request for waiver
was received by the department.
39-51-301,
39-51-302,
MCA; IMP,
39-51-3206,
MCA;