550.3 Unearned Income

The County Assistance Office (CAO) must use the gross amount of unearned income. No deductions are given.   

7 CFR § 273.9(b)(2)

Example: No deduction is made from Social Security benefits for Medicare. No deduction is made for taxes withheld from Workers’ Compensation or Retirement benefits.

Exception: The CAO must exclude as unearned income any portion of a Workers' Compensation payment paid by an employer or its insurer directly to an attorney for services previously rendered.

7 CFR § 273.9(c)(1)

Unearned income includes the following: 

7 CFR § 273.9(b)(2)

• Cash assistance payments
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• Social Security benefits

NOTE: An individual may receive benefits under multiple claim numbers. The income from each claim must be counted and identified with the related claim number.

• Unemployment compensation (UC)

NOTE:

• • The 3.2  percent reduction of UC is not counted when determining eligibility. If a UC benefit payment includes the 3.2 percent reduction, the CAO must exclude the amount from the calculation for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility.
  • Delayed UC benefits are lump sum resources, not income.
  • A Claim Confirmation Letter or Notice of Financial Determination from the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) is not confirmation of a paid UC claim. The initial UC payment will be received at least eight weeks after receipt of the Claim Confirmation Letter. Since the initial UC payment date cannot be reasonably anticipated, the CAO will not prospectively budget this income.
  • For announcements, alerts, or more information about UC, refer to the following DLI websites:
    • For announcements or alerts, https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dli.html
    • For information about Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and Extended Benefits (EB): https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dli/programs-services/unemployment.html
• Retirement benefits
• Veterans Administration (VA) benefits, including Aid and Attendance benefits

NOTE: An individual may receive VA benefits under multiple claim numbers. The income from each claim must be counted and identified with the related claim number.

• Disability benefits
• Workers' compensation
• Sick benefits paid as wages by an employer when the employee does not expect to return to work
• Sick benefits paid as part of the employer's benefit package (not as wages but as an insurance payment, for example), regardless of the person’s employment status.
• Strike benefits, including picket duty pay.
• Support or alimony payments, including arrears and support pass-through payments (see Appendix A of this chapter and Section 550.5.)

Reminder: Workers should check PACSES for child support or alimony (even if listed as voluntary on the application).

NOTE: Court-ordered support payments garnished from the earned or unearned income of a legally responsible relative outside of or absent from the household are counted as unearned income. If the LRR returns to the household and continues to pay support due to the court order remaining in place, the CAO will count the full amount of the LRR’s earned or unearned income before the support is garnished but will no longer include the support payments as unearned income, to avoid counting the income twice.

• Foster care payments when the household chooses to include the foster child or adult as a household member
• Adoption assistance payments
• Pensions withdrawn as a recurring payment
• Payments made to provide energy assistance to households without an elderly or disabled member

Pub. L. 88-525 § 5(k)(4)(A)

Example: Money received from Catholic Charities or similar private organizations.

Exceptions:

• Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) payments.

• Assistance to a third party furnished on behalf of a SNAP household under a state or local general assistance program if, under state law, no assistance under that program may be provided directly to the household in the form of a cash payment.
• Home energy assistance benefits excluded for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (see Cash Policy Handbook Section 150.5 for additional information).

NOTE:

• If the energy assistance payment is received as a non-recurring lump sum, it should be treated as a resource (see Section 550.59). Lump sum energy assistance payments made by a third party on behalf of a household are considered a resource in the month they are made and are not counted as income. They are excluded as a countable resource under Section 540.510 and should not be considered when determining eligibility.
• Additionally, if a household receives a rate reduction through a heating provider-offered Customer Assistance Program or other similar low-income program made available by the heating provider, and there is no money being provided to the vendor on behalf of the household, the assistance does not count as an energy assistance payment.

Reminder: Utility rebates or reimbursements (also known as utility allowances) that a household receives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or any public housing authority are not countable income (see Section 550.521).

If a household verifies that utility assistance from a third party is ongoing, the CAO will enter the information on the unearned income screen using Income Code 45 – ‘Energy Assistance (SNAP Only).’ Exemption Code 12 (Exempt for CASH and MA’) will populate in the exclusion field and the system will count the amount entered on the screen toward the SNAP benefit calculation only.

Important: If the user enters in the income as a one-time payment, the system will count the income toward the benefit. As noted previously, if the energy assistance payment is received as a non-recurring lump sum, it should be treated as a resource in accordance with Section 550.59.

• Recurring payments from a Pennsylvania Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) account
• Military Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowances (FSSA) received by a military member’s family, or any money made available from an absent family member’s pay  

Pub. L. 106-398 § 604

Pub. L. 109-163 § 608

NOTE: FSSA is permanent need-based payment. It is listed on a military member’s leave and earnings statement. It is countable as unearned income. Basic Allowance Housing (BAH) and Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) are not military FSSAs (see Section 550.2).

To determine countable FSSA unearned income, use the steps below:

• If a military personnel was part of the SNAP household before deployment to a designated area, the CAO will:

1. Determine the net (after taxes) military pay of the serviceperson before their deployment.

NOTE: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) guidance allows use of the net pay to simplify this process.

2. Determine the amount of income made available to the SNAP household from the absent serviceperson’s pay since being deployed to a designated combat area.  This amount is usually made by direct deposit or allotment.
3. If the amount made available to the SNAP household is an increase from the earned income used while the serviceperson was a SNAP household member, use the income from step one as unearned income.
4. If the amount made available to the SNAP household remains the same or decreases, use the amount made available to the SNAP household as unearned income.

• If the military personnel was not part of the SNAP household before deployment to a designated area, the CAO will:

1. Determine the amount of income made available to the SNAP household by the absent serviceperson before deployment.
2. Determine the amount of income made available to the SNAP household from the absent serviceperson’s pay since deployment. This may be made available by direct deposit or allotment.
3. If the amount made available to the SNAP household increases, use the income from step one as unearned income.
4. If the amount made available to the SNAP household remains the same or decreases, use the amount currently made available to the SNAP household as unearned income.

NOTE: The amount of the increase in military pay due to a promotion and/or a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) after the serviceperson’s deployment is disregarded if the additional pay is the result of deployment to or while serving in a combat zone, and it was not received immediately prior to serving in the combat zone. (see Section 550.5).

• Money withdrawn from a trust investment
• Income from annuities or dividends, even when not withdrawn
• Recurring payments from an educational savings account
• Deemed income from a disqualified or ineligible individual or a noncitizen sponsor and the sponsor's spouse. (see Chapter 555)
• Royalties
• Income from owning rental property when a household member actively manages the property less than an average of 20 hours per week
• Payments received from the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program
• Income from the sale of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin

NOTE: Gains or losses from the sale of crypto assets are typically reported through the financial services company (such as Robinhood or Coinbase) via an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) “Miscellaneous Information” (Form 1099-MISC).

• Any other direct money payment that is a gain or benefit for which no services are rendered

Examples:

• • Payments from accident insurance plans. The CAO must review the terms of accident insurance plans to determine whether the payment should be counted.  If the insurance is assigned and the provider submits a claim and receives payments directly from the insurance company, the payments are not considered income to the household.
  • Match Grant funding as provided by a Voluntary Resettlement Agency (VOLAG/RA) listed in Supplemental Handbook Chapter 730 Appendix A.

Updated March 13, 2026, replacing May 6, 2025