The CAO will count the current value of cash on hand, checking accounts, savings accounts, stocks, bonds, U.S. Savings Bonds, and other securities.
For resource evaluation, subtract any income deposited into a bank account in month of receipt when determining the amount of a bank account. Any amount remaining in the bank account becomes a resource in the following month.
NOTE: The Social Security benefit payment is income in the month of receipt. Deduct the amount of Social Security that is deposited in the month of receipt when determining the amount of a bank account. Any amount remaining in the bank account becomes a resource in the following month.
The CAO will count the equity value of non-liquid resources, such as unlicensed vehicles, buildings, land, and any other property not specifically excluded.
If a resource is owned jointly by members of two or more households, the CAO will:
count the entire jointly owned resource for each household, unless a household can prove that the resource is inaccessible. If the household verifies that it has access to only part of a resource, the CAO must count only that portion.
NOTE: Jointly owned bank accounts are countable if the funds are freely accessible to the household and can be used without any apparent restrictions.
The CAO will exclude a jointly owned resource if:
the household verifies that it cannot sell or divide the resource without the consent of the other owner, and
the other owner will not sell or divide the resource.
The CAO will exclude a resource jointly owned by a resident of a shelter for battered women and children and a member of her former household if access to the resource depends on the agreement of the joint owner who still lives in the former household.
NOTE: Ineligible noncitizens and disqualified persons living with the household are considered household members.
The CAO will count a non-recurring lump sum payment as a resource in the month it is received, unless it is specifically excluded in Section 540.5.
Countable lump sum payments include:
Rebates or credits
Property tax or rent rebates
Retroactive payments from sources such as Social Security, SSI, Public Assistance, and Railroad Benefits
Insurance settlements
Sale of property
One-time nonrecurring retirement plan distributions
Excess over unreimbursed assistance (EOURA) refunds
Refunds of security deposits on rental properties or utilities
Annual adjustment payments in VA disability pensions
NOTE: Military reenlistment bonuses can be paid as a lump sum or up to 50 percent of the bonus amount as an initial payment, with the remainder paid in equal annual payments. It is up to the military service to decide which military grades/series get the bonuses and how much they will receive. This means that the navy, army, air force and marines can have their own policies regarding payment of the reenlistment bonuses How the bonus is paid will impact on how it is counted for SNAP purposes as follows:
A lump sum reenlistment bonus is exempt from the household’s income as a nonrecurring lump sum payment and is counted as a resource in the month it is received.
If a household receives up to one-half the bonus in a lump sum with the remainder paid in equal annual installments, the bonus is counted as earned income and averaged over a 12-month period.
The CAO worker must verify this information and include it in the case file.
If the amount of the lump sum payment, when added to the household's other resources, does not exceed the resource limit, record the information in the case record.
If the amount of the lump sum payment, alone or with other resources, exceeds the resource limit, the household is ineligible for SNAP.
When a household's resources exceed the limit, the CAO will give the household an opportunity to update its entire resource declaration. If the household declines, or if resources still exceed the limit, the CAO will:
Send the appropriate notice to the household.
Take action to close the case within 10 days of the date the household is determined ineligible. Take action to close effective the first issuance date for which the deadline can be met.
NOTE: If the household reduces its resources and is within the limit before the CAO closes SNAP, the CAO must not close. There is no over issuance If the household reported receiving the lump sum timely.
A household will continue to be ineligible until its total resources no longer exceed the limit.
Reminder:
Households enrolled in SAR must report the receipt of a lump sum payment at application, at six-month review, and at renewal.
Households not enrolled in SAR must report the receipt of a lump sum payment to the CAO by the 10th day of the month after the month it receives the payment.
Reissued June1, 2012 , replacing March 1, 2012