NOTE: For resource information specific to General Assistance, See CAH 106.
Cash Assistance is not used in place of legally available resources that a budget group has or can make available to meet basic living needs.
The CAO must evaluate each resource a budget group has or can legally get to determine whether it is counted or exempt. The CAO must determine resources of each budget group separately.
NOTE: The CAO must not count recurring income as a resource in the month it is received. Any amount remaining is considered a resource in the months that follow. Income, such as wages and Social Security benefits, cannot be considered income and a resource in the same month. The CAO must deduct any earned or unearned recurring income deposited into a bank account from the bank account balance before determining the bank account’s resource value.
Resources include the following:
Life insurance
Vehicles (licensed and unlicensed)
Real property (including mobile homes)
Burial plots and burial funds
The budget group will be ineligible for the entire month and for each month in which the total equity value of countable personal property is above the budget group’s resource limit for the month. This is true even if the excess resources are converted to an exempt resource during the same month.
NOTE: In cases of overpayments due to excess resources, CAOs are to consider the claim amount to be the total net resources or the total amount of assistance received during the overpayment period, whichever is less.
If the total equity value of countable nonresident property is above the limit, either alone or when combined with other countable personal property resources, the budget group may still be eligible if the budget group owner of the nonresident property agrees to sell the property. See Section 140.631 for details.
The resources of the following persons must be reported and verified:
All members of the budget group, including a stepparent.
55 Pa. Code § 177.11(b) 55 Pa. Code § 177.11(d)
A legally responsible relative (LRR) in the budget group's common residence.
An LRR out of the common residence, if possible. Consider the resources of an LRR out of the common residence only if they are made available to the budget group.
A person for whom a guardian or trustee is applying. The guardian or trustee is responsible for reporting these resources.
For noncitizens whose sponsors signed an affidavit of support (Form I-134) before December 19, 1997, deeming ends after three years from the noncitizen’s date of entry to the U.S. for permanent residency. These sponsors were not required to sign a new affidavit.
New affidavits of support (Form I-864) were required of new sponsors (or sponsor/status adjustments) made on or after December 19, 1997. Deeming applies to a sponsored noncitizen until he or she has worked 40 qualifying quarters of coverage or gets U.S. citizenship, whichever is earlier. See Chapter 122.
The resources of the following persons are not considered:
A stepparent who is not in the budget group and has no children in the budget group.
A TANF recipient in another budget group.
A Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or State Blind Pension (SBP) recipient.
NOTE: Although the real property equity value is not counted, the SBP recipient must sign reimbursement forms if he or she is the owner of the nonresident real property and is an LRR to a member of the budget group. If he or she refuses, the person to whom he or she is an LRR is ineligible.
The SSI recipient is not required to sign reimbursement forms, even if he or she is an LRR to a member of the budget group.
The CAO must count all resources that are not specifically excluded.
The CAO must count all resources not excluded that have been deemed from a sponsor of an alien or from an LRR. See Chapter 155.
The concept of fair consideration does not apply to TANF.
Determine the resource total for each budget group separately. The resource limit for each TANF budget group is $1,000 for one or more persons.
The budget group is ineligible for benefits during each calendar month the total equity value of the budget group’s total countable resources is above the limits.
Examples:
Mrs. W., who is pregnant, applies for herself due to loss of income. She verifies that she has a bank account with a $1,200 balance. Her countable resources are above the limit and she is ineligible for Cash Assistance.
Mrs. H. and her two children receive TANF. She verifies that she has a snowmobile, with an equity value of $800, and $300 in a bank account. The budget group’s countable resources, $1,100, are above the resource limit. The budget group will be ineligible for each calendar month that countable resources are above the limit.
The budget group must report and verify all resources. Failure to report resources or sign reimbursement forms when required does not remove the liability for reimbursement. Not reporting may also cause an overpayment or ineligibility.
55 Pa. Code § 177.11(a) 55 Pa. Code § 177.11(b)
NOTE: A resource must not be considered available if the person convinces the CAO that all members of the budget group were unaware of the resource and had no reason to be aware of it. The resource is considered available to the budget group as soon as any budget group member becomes aware of, or has reason to become aware of, the resource’s existence.
If the resource makes the budget group ineligible, an overpayment exists for the month that the person became aware of the resource if Cash Assistance was received during that month. An overpayment does not exist for the time before the month the person became aware of the resource.
Example: A recipient has received Cash Assistance for two years. During the December renewal review, the recipient reports that she was listed on mutual funds with her grandfather, who passed away six years ago. She reports that her mother possessed the mutual funds and just told her of their existence. A statement from the mother confirms that the daughter was not aware of the mutual funds’ existence. If the value of the mutual funds (along with any other budget group resources) makes the household ineligible in December, an overpayment exists for Cash Assistance received in December and any subsequent month that the budget group’s resources exceed allowable limits. There is no overpayment prior to December.
The CAO must help the budget group identify and verify all resources. For each resource, the CAO must determine the following:
Ownership
Legal availability
Equity value
The CAO must do the following:
Help identify and verify all resources. The CAO must try to get the needed verification if the budget group cannot. See Section 178.4 and Chapter 178, Appendix A.
PCA14385140 Bank Account Information Request (Linked September 13, 2008)
Determine ownership and equity value for each countable resource separately.
Evaluate each resource to determine whether there is interest from the resource. Determine whether the resource or interest is legally available, unavailable, or restricted in any way. See Section 140.31.
Compare the information that is now available with earlier information in the case record, and resolve any differences between them.
Count all resources that are not specifically excluded.
Deem resources available from an LRR or sponsors of aliens. See Chapter 155.
Determine the total countable equity value of resources available to each budget group separately.
Compare the total equity value of the budget group’s resources with the appropriate limit.
Record the information.
NOTE: If several sources show different values for the same resource, such as a motor vehicle or nonresident real property, the CAO must use the lowest value. The CAO must keep copies of all documentation in the case record for three years from the date of the decision.
Reissued November 2, 2018, replacing December 11, 2017.