$300 Weekly Unemployment Insurance Benefits under the Lost Wages Assistance Program is Exempt for SNAP, Cash and Medical Programs

11/09/2020

Policy Memo

Summary

• This policy memo provides guidance on the treatment of the $300 weekly unemployment insurance benefits (UIB) received under the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program when determining eligibility for all Cash Assistance Programs, Medical Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• The Lost Wages Assistance Program provides $300 weekly in Federal and State unemployment insurance benefits to eligible claimants. Payments provided to SNAP and Cash assistance households under the Lost Wages Assistance Program, including both the Federal and State share under the program is considered exempt as income and as a resource when determining SNAP and Cash eligibility.
• At this time, the $300 weekly unemployment insurance benefits paid to eligible claimants under the Lost Wages Assistance Program is considered exempt income for all medical programs.

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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

• The Lost Wages Assistance Program established pursuant to Section 408(e)(2) of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(e)(2)) and Section 312(d) of the Stafford Act (42 USC 5155(d)) provides that Federal major disaster and emergency assistance provided to individuals and families and comparable disaster assistance provided by States, local governments, and disaster assistance organizations be excluded as income and as a resource when determining eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) under federally funded income assistance or resource-tested benefit programs.
• When determining SNAP eligibility, consider the $300 weekly unemployment insurance benefits received under the Lost Wages Assistance Program exempt as income and as a resource. See section below for procedures on entering the income in IES.
• This exclusion is different from the pandemic unemployment assistance payments, pandemic unemployment compensation, and pandemic emergency unemployment compensation because those payments are authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES), not the Stafford Act. Because there is no statutory or regulatory requirement that those authorized under the CARES Act be excluded from income for SNAP purposes, they are considered unearned income for the purposes of determining a household's SNAP eligibility.

Cash Programs

• Under the guidance of Administration for Children and Families (ACF), when determining eligibility for TANF, consider the $300 weekly unemployment insurance benefits under the Lost Wages Assistance Program as exempt income.
• When determining cash assistance eligibility for the Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP), consider the $300 weekly unemployment insurance benefits under the Lost Wages Assistance Program as exempt income.
• When determining eligibility for cash assistance under the Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled (AABD) program, consider the $300 weekly unemployment insurance benefits made under the Lost Wages Assistance Program exempt as income and exempt as a resource. 
• See section below for procedures on entering the income in IES.

Medical Programs

At this time, the $300 unemployment insurance benefits under the Lost Wages Assistance Program is considered exempt for all medical programs.

How to Enter in IES

• Although exempt, the unemployment insurance benefits under the Lost Wages Assistance Program must still be entered in IES. The worker should review the calculations to make sure IES does not budget as income or as a resource.
• Once the worker has verified that the customer is receiving the $300 unemployment insurance benefit under the Lost Wages Assistance Program, enter the income as "Other Exempt" on the Unearned Income-Details page with a separate pay record on the Unearned Income-Pay Details page in IES. Workers must also include a Case Comment: $300 UIB entered as "Other Exempt income due to the Assistance Program of Lost Wages/Stanford Act."
• Workers can still select the proper unearned income type on the Unearned Income-Pay Details page in IES for customers still receiving unemployment benefits under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance/Payments (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). Information on the PUA and PEUC can be found in Policy Memo, Treatment of Payments Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) for Cash, Medical, and SNAP, dated 05/13/2020.

Termination of Benefits

The Lost Wages Assistance Program will be available for eligible claimants until the balance of the Disaster Relief Fund reaches the maximum allotted ($25 billion), or for weeks of unemployment ending no later than December 6, 2020, whichever occurs first, at which time the Lost Wages Assistance Program will terminate.

[signed copy on file]

Grace B. Hou

Secretary, Illinois Department of Human Services

Theresa Eagleson

Director, Healthcare and Family Services