Stimulus Payment Queries

May 1, 2009

Author: Catherine M. Callery (Kate)| Louise M. Tarantino

We have heard many questions about how Social   Security’s one time $250 stimulus payment authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will be treated in other need based programs. The checks have started to go out.

ARRA authorized the offset of these payments to collect delinquent debts owed to state/Federal government agencies.  The payments issued by SSA will not be subject to offset to collect a debt owed to SSA. However, the payments issued by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) or Veterans Administration (VA) will be subject to offset to collect an SSA debt, if the debt is in the Treasury Offset Program (TOP).  In terminated cases, SSA delinquent debts are referred to TOP and are subject to offset. https://s044a90.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202820070.

New York’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) posted GIS 09 TA/DC090 - “Treatment of the One-Time $250 Stimulus Payments from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009,” which confirms that OTDA will exclude these payments as income and will exclude them as resources in the month of receipt and for the following nine months for TANF and Safety Net cases.  In addition, the payments will not be income for food stamp purposes.  For “non-categorically eligible” households under the food stamp program, the monies will not be counted as a resource in the month received or the following nine months.  The same treatment afforded under the Temporary Assistance (TA) programs will apply to HEAP.

Medicaid will also not count the payments as income and will exclude them as a resource in the month of receipt and for the following nine months.  Additional guidance with regard to Unemployment Insurance Benefits (UIB) and Transitional Medicaid (TMA) is promised. The GIS is available at: http://www.otda.state.ny.us/main/gis/2009/09dc009.pdf

There has also apparently been some confusion over whether nursing home residents can keep their $250 Social Security/SSI stimulus payment, or whether they have to turn it over to the nursing home. The stimulus payment should be going to the nursing home resident, not to the facility. Good informational pieces on this subject are available from the National Council on Aging (client flyer) http://www.ncoa.org/userfiles/file/250_payment_rf.pdf.

Also, at state option, these payments could be intercepted to recover past due child support. New York’s OTDA has elected not to exercise this option since the federal government (HHS) would not let them separate SSI and OASDI recipients. So, the stimulus payment should be safe from interception for past due child support.

Lastly, SSA is concerned that unscrupulous scam artists may be targeting recipients of the stimulus payment. SSA has put out information clarifying that all Social Security and SSI beneficiaries who are eligible for the special one-time recovery payment will have their payment issued in May; that the payment is automatic; no action is required; and there are no requests to make, no applications to complete and no fees to pay.

SSA warns recipients not to pay anyone to help them receive their payment payments of $250.  It also has a website for more information about the stimulus payment. www.socialsecurity.gov/payment