Exclusion of Veterans’ Benefit Payments from Income and Resources for Commonwealth Programs OPS-24-10-01 (Published October 2, 2024)
The Social Security Administration (SSA) established Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as a means to provide assistance to formerly needy aged, blind and disabled individuals. The SSI amount is a national minimum assistance standard which does not take into account the differences in the cost of living throughout the country. To address these differences, Congress allowed States to provide additional assistance through a State Supplementary Payment (SSP).
Pennsylvania opted to provide the SSP to eligible individuals. The payments were previously administered by SSA and SSI recipients received one payment which included both the SSI and SSP amounts. As of January 1, 2005, Pennsylvania has been directly administering the SSP, with some exceptions. This is a cost savings measure, as the SSA charged Pennsylvania a significant fee to administer these payments. SSI recipients now receive a separate SSI payment from Social Security and an SSP from Pennsylvania. All SSI recipients continue to be eligible for Medicaid.
55 Pa. Code § 299.31 20 CFR 416.110 20 CFR 416.2111
There are two types of SSP – mandatory and optional. Mandatory SSP recipients are those who were receiving Old Age Assistance, Aid to the Blind or Aid to the Disabled before December 31, 1973. These individuals are in A, J or M budgets with a Program Status Code (PSC) of 46. The Social Security Administration will continue to administer these mandatory payments.
55 Pa. Code §299.11 20 CFR 416.2050
Exception: Individuals in PSC 46 who receive a mandatory SSP which is less than the maximum optional SSP (see Appendix B for maximum SSI and SSP payment levels), are eligible for an optional SSP issued by Pennsylvania. This optional SSP is the difference between the mandatory amount they receive from SSA and the maximum optional SSP for their circumstances.
Optional SSP payments are administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and include the following:
Individuals who would be eligible for SSI except for income may also be eligible for the optional SSP, based on certain income limits. Income must be less than the combined total of SSI and the applicable SSP. These are SSP-Only cases, with the SSP paid by DHS. These A, J or M cases will have a PSC of 44. SSP-Only recipients are also eligible for Medicaid.
Exception: Individuals eligible for optional SSP who reside in either a Personal Care Home or a Domiciliary Care Home will continue to receive their SSP from SSA. These individuals are in A, J or M budgets with a PSC of 60 or 62, respectively.
55 Pa. Code § 299.22(a) 55 Pa. Code § 299.22(b)
Individuals living in a Medicaid facility where more than 50% of the cost of care is paid under Title XIX of the Social Security Act are not eligible for the optional SSP. Generally, these individuals are in nursing homes and are identified by PSC of 45.
Refer to Appendix A for a diagram of State Supplementary Payments.
General definitions and terms as used in this chapter:
CU – Central Unit. This refers to the SSP Central Unit that is located in Harrisburg and is responsible for determination of eligibility for the SSP-Only category.
DAP – Disability Advocacy Program. DAP provides services to help recipients with the SSI application and appeal process.
DD Bank – Code identifying how benefits are to be delivered.
DHS – The Department of Human Services.
Department – The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
EBT – Electronic Benefits Transfer – The benefit delivery method where payment is transferred electronically to an individual’s DHS account.
EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer – The benefit delivery method where the funds are placed directly into the individual’s bank account, also known as direct deposit.
FBR – Federal Benefit Rate. See Appendix B for amounts that are associated with the State administered SSP.
OnBase - A Treasury Department online system that enables the County Assistance Office (CAO) to issue certain replacement SSP checks, and to review check issuances and authorization forms for direct deposit. Individuals with security clearance can access the OnBase manual at https://onbase.dpw.state.pa.us/ssi/Login.aspx or through an icon on their computer desktop.
PSC – Program Status Code.
Representative Payee – An individual or institution to which payments are made on behalf of the actual recipient. For example, a parent may be the representative payee for a child, or a mental health agency may be representative payee to more than one recipient.
SSA – The Social Security Administration.
SSI – Supplemental Security Income.
SSI/SSP – Relates to recipients who receive both Federal SSI and State SSP.
SSP – State Supplementary Payment.
SSP-Only – Category for individuals who are not eligible for SSI based on excess income, but who are eligible for an SSP.
SDX – The State Data Exchange file of information received from SSA. Information from the SDX can be viewed on IEVS Exchange 6.
Stuffer – A communication letter providing information about appeals and fair hearings for SSI/SSP or SSP-Only recipients. These are system generated and are included with notices to individuals who may be eligible for or affected by changes to the SSP programs.
Treasury – The Pennsylvania Department of Treasury.
Reissued September 11, 2012, replacing March 16, 2012