This page will be updated periodically to reflect current data

·         Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

According to the Department of Social Security  “SSI, or Supplemental Security Income, is a federal program that provides monthly cash payments to people in need. SSI is for people who are 65 or older, as well as for blind or disabled people of any age, including children.”

An Electronic Fact Sheet specific to California figures is kept up-to-date at: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11125.html

The following webpage provides detailed information regarding SSI/SSP cuts, including current budgetary details::   http://www.canhr.org/newsroo/newdev_archive/2009/SSI-SSP-Cuts20090427.html

·         In-kind Support and Maintenance (ISM)

In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) is unearned income that is not cash or a check. There is ISM when someone else pays for or provides food and/or shelter. ISM includes non-cash items that can be sold/traded to get food and/or shelter.

According to a March 4^th, 2009 memo posted by the State of California—Health and Human Services Agency - Department of Health Care Services ISM current rates (as of 1/1/09) are:

                  Individual      Couple

VTF           $224.66          $337.00

PMV         $244.66          $357.00

An excellent overview of ISMs is provided by Disability Rights California at:  http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/538201.htm

There are two ways ISM is counted. Both rules are used in conjunction with the living arrangement determination, but they have different effects on the benefit computation.

·         Value of the One-Third Reduction Rule (VTR)

A recipient who lives in another person's household and receives both food and shelter from within the household (living arrangement B) has his or her income guarantee reduced by one-third. This reduction is taken in lieu of counting the actual value of the support that is received. However, a recipient who has some rental liability or pays at least a pro rata share of the household food and shelter costs would not be classified under living arrangement B and would not be subject to the VTR rule.

US Social Security Administration – Office of Retirement and Disability Policy

·         Presumed Maximum Value (PMV)

If an individual or a couple receives ISM but is not subject to the VTR rule, then the PMV rule applies. This rule would apply to an individual who lives in another person's household but does not receive both food and shelter from that person, or lives in his or her own household and receives in-kind support from either someone inside or outside of the household. The PMV equals one-third of the income guarantee plus $20 (the general income exclusion) and caps the amount of ISM that SSA counts. An amount less than the PMV may be used to calculate a person's payment if the individual can show that the actual value of the ISM received is lower than the PMV. Four percent of recipients are subject to the PMV. In 2006, 41 percent of recipients who received ISM under this rule were charged the maximum amount ($221 in 2006), while an additional 40 percent received ISM valued at $100 or less, and the remaining recipients were charged ISM ranging from $100 to the maximum amount. The PMV rule can require detailed documentation of contributions to the recipient and household expenses paid by all household members on an ongoing basis.

US Social Security Administration – Office of Retirement and Disability Policy