FOOD STAMPS AND THE ELDERLY

Prepared by the Food Resource and Action Center 9/14/01. www.frac.org.
 
PARTICIPATION: Elderly people rely on food stamps, but they represent only a small proportion of food stamp households. In FY 2000, households containing elderly persons represented 21.0 percent of all food stamp households and 10 percent of all food stamp participants were elderly. Further, only a small proportion of low-income elderly people participate in the Food Stamp Program. In FY 1998, 30.4 percent of eligible elderly people participated in the Food Stamp Program. The reasons for nonparticipation include: a lack of information, a perceived lack of need, low expected benefits, the time and hassle involved in applying, and the stigma of receiving public benefits.

BENEFIT LEVELS: In FY 2000, 79.5 percent of all food stamp households with elderly members were single-person households. The average benefit for households containing elderly and other members was $116 a month. Elderly people who lived alone received an average benefit of $44 a month.

IMMIGRATION STATUS: Most elderly food stamp recipients are U.S. citizens. In FY 1999, 90.1 percent were citizens, 8.8 percent were non-citizens, with the remainder being either refugees or with unknown citizenship status.

INCOME: Food stamp households that contain elderly people tend to receive SSI or Social Security. In FY 1999, 59 percent of all food stamp households with elderly members received SSI, 70 percent received Social Security, and 35 percent received SSI as well as Social Security. The average gross income of households with elderly people in the Food Stamp Program was $605 month, as compared to $603 for households without elderly people. 

FOOD INSECURITY: Many elderly people are food insecure and in need of nutrition-related assistance. In 1999, 1,439,000 households with elderly people reported that they did not have enough of the right types of food needed to maintain their health or simply did not have enough to eat.
Sources: USDA, Characteristics of Food Stamp Households: Fiscal Year 2000 (Advance Report, July 2001); USDA, Characteristics of Food Stamp Households Fiscal Year 1999 (December 2000); USDA, Trends in FSP Participation Rates: Focus on 1994 to 1998 (November 2000); USDA, Household Food Security 1999; Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Reaching the Working Poor and Poor Elderly Study (December 1999).

Food Stamp Program Rules for the Elderly
Prepared by FRAC 9/14/01. www.frac.org. 
Following are some examples of specific Food Stamp Program rules that apply to the elderly (people 60 years or older) that help increase the elderly's access and benefit levels. 

Elderly Households: Generally, all persons who live together and purchase and prepare meals together are grouped together by the food stamp program as one household. 7 C.F.R. § 273.1(a)(3). However, there are special rules for elderly people who would like to be considered a separate household, but are unable to purchase and prepare meals separately because of a permanent disability. In this case, the elderly person and his or her spouse may qualify as a separate food stamp household as long as the others they live with do not have an income greater than 165% of poverty. 7 C.F.R. § 273.1(b)(2). By applying as a separate household, the elderly person and his or her spouse may become eligible for food stamp benefits or receive a greater benefits allotment. The elderly person and his or her spouse may not be eligible for benefits or may receive a lower amount of benefits if grouped with the rest of the household.

Assisted Living: Most people are not eligible for food stamps if they receive their meals at a facility like a nursing home. However, residents of federally subsidized housing for the elderly may be eligible for food stamps, even though they receive meals at the facility. 7 C.F.R. § 273.1(b)(7)(vii)(A). 

Resource Limits: A household with an elderly member may have up to $3,000 in resources and still be eligible for food stamps. 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(b). A household without an elderly member may only have up to $2,000 in resources. 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(e)(2). Resource such as a home, lot, pension fund, or burial plot are not counted for any applicant. 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(e)(2). The resources of household members who get SSI or Public Assistance are also not counted for any applicant. 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(e)(17). 

There are also special rules for vehicles. If a vehicle is needed to transport a physically disabled household member, its value is not counted. 7 C.F.R. § 273.8(e)(3)(i)(E). There are also other rules under which states can allow ownership of a reliable vehicle.(fn1) 

Income Limits: A household with one or more elderly members only has to meet the net income test (gross income minus certain deductions). Most households have to meet both monthly gross and net income tests. Households in which all members are receiving SSI or certain TANF benefits are also generally considered to be eligible based on income, without meeting the gross and net income test. 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(j).

Medical Deduction: For an elderly household member, allowable medical costs that are more than $35 a month (unless an insurance company or someone who is not a household member pays for them) may be deducted from income in determining food stamp eligibility and amount of benefits. Allowable medical costs include most medical and dental expenses, such as doctor bills, prescription drugs and over the counter medication when approved by a doctor, dentures, inpatient and outpatient hospital expenses, and nursing care. They also include other medically related expenses, such as certain transportation costs, attendant care, and health insurance premiums. The costs of special diets are not allowable medical costs. Proof of medical expenses and insurance payments is required before a deduction for these expenses may be allowed. 7 C.F.R. § 273.9(d)(3). In FY 1999, 14 percent of households with elderly members took the medical deduction, averaging $114 per month.(fn 2) Many advocates believe that many more elderly people are eligible for the medical deduction but do not utilize it because they don't know about it or because it is burdensome to provide verification. 

Shelter Deduction: A household with an elderly member may, in determining eligibility and benefits, deduct from income all shelter costs over half of the household's income after other deductions. For households without an elderly member, there is a cap on the amount of excess shelter costs that may be deducted. Allowable shelter costs include rent or mortgage, taxes, interest, and utilities like gas, electricity and water. 7 C.F.R. § 273.9(d)(6)(ii). In FY 1999, 60 percent of households with elderly people took an excess shelter deduction at an average monthly deduction of $203. Households without elderly people which took a shelter deduction had an average deduction of $180.(fn 3)

Applying for Benefits: The state agency must establish procedures that best serve households, including those with special needs, such as households with elderly or disabled members. Food Stamp Program, 65 Fed. Reg. at 70194 (November 21, 2000) (to be codified at 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(a)(1)). Elderly individuals who are unable to go to the food stamp office may have another person ("the authorized representative") apply and be interviewed on their behalf, and purchase their food with their food stamps or EBT card. The authorized representative must be designated in writing. 65 Fed. Reg. 70199 (November 21, 2000) (to be codified at 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(n)).

Waiver of Face-to-Face Interview: The state agency must notify households that it can waive the generally required face-to-face interview in the eligibility process, in favor of a telephone interview, on a case-by-case basis because of household hardship situations, such as having elderly or disabled household members. 65 Fed. Reg. at 70194 (November 21, 2000) (to be codified at 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(e)(2)).

Certification Periods: If all adult household members are elderly or disabled, the state may assign the household a 24-month certification period. The state agency must have at least one contact with each household every 12 months, but may use any method it chooses for this contact. 65 Fed. Reg. 70199 (November 21, 2000) (to be codified at 7 C.F.R. § 273.10(f)(1)). Increasing the length of certification periods and not requiring a face-to-face interview each year makes it easier for elderly people to stay enrolled in the Food Stamp Program. In FY 1999, the average certification period for households with elderly members was 12.9 months, as compared to an average of 9.7 months for households without elderly members.(fn 4) 

Notice When Applying for SSI: SSI applicants and recipients must be informed of the availability of food stamp benefits, and assisted in applying for food stamp benefits, when applying for benefits at the Social Security Agency (SSA). 7 C.F.R. § 273.2(k).

Footnotes: 

1. Under a new law that will be effective on July 1, 2001, states have the option to conform the food stamp vehicle asset limit with the vehicle limit that the state has established in a TANF assistance program (so long as the TANF limit used is not more restrictive than the food stamp limit). The final Food Stamp Program Regulations contain a summary of vehicle rules and options. See Food Stamp Program, 65 Fed. Reg. 70141 (November 21, 2000). Please contact Ellen Vollinger at FRAC for information on this and other vehicle rules and options. 
   

2. USDA, Characteristics of Food Stamp Households Fiscal Year 1999 (December 2000), p. 42-43.
   

3. Id.
   

4. Id. at 51. 

The Food Research and Action Center
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) is a leading national organization working to improve public policies to eradicate hunger and undernutrition in the United States. Founded in 1970 as a public interest law firm, FRAC is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research and public policy center that serves as the hub of an anti-hunger network of thousands of individuals and agencies across the country. FRAC seeks to harness our nation's resources on behalf of those in our country who are least able to provide for themselves. Hunger reduces a child's ability to learn, decreases a worker's productive energy, weakens an elderly person's resistance to disease. Hunger prevents our nation from reaching its full productive potential.

The Minimum Food Stamp Benefit
Prepared by the Food Resource and Action Center 9/14/01. www.frac.org. 

The minimum food stamp benefit is currently $10 a month. The monthly amount of food stamp benefits depends on household size, and the amount of "net income" that remains after certain deductions are taken out. Generally, households with greater "net income" will receive a lower food stamp benefit. The food stamp office calculates the amount of food stamp benefits a household will receive by taking the maximum amount of food stamps a certain household size can receive (which is based on USDA's Thrifty Food Plan) and deducting thirty percent of "net income." However, in the case of a household with one or two members, even if this result is less than $10, the household will be entitled to $10 a month minimum food stamp benefit.

The Nutrition Assistance for Working Families and Seniors Act would raise the minimum benefit. The Kennedy-Specter/Clayton-Walsh Nutrition Assistance for Working Families and Seniors Act (S. 583, H.R. 2142) would raise the minimum food stamp benefit from $10 to $25 over five years and then index it to inflation. This change would provide a needed boost in allotments to many elderly people as well as make it more worthwhile for other eligible low-income elderly people to enroll in the Program.

Many elderly people are food insecure and in need of nutrition-related assistance. According to USDA, in 1999, 1.4 million households with elderly people reported that they were food insecure, meaning that they did not have enough of the right types of food needed to maintain their health or simply did not have enough to eat. The U.S. Conference of Mayors reported that in 2000 the number of elderly persons requesting emergency food assistance increased in 75 percent of the survey cities, and requests for emergency food assistance by elderly persons increased by an average of 9 percent across the cities.

Many low-income elderly people who are eligible are not served by the Food Stamp Program. In FY 1998, only an estimated 30.4 percent of eligible elderly people participated in the Food Stamp Program. Elderly people often do not enroll in the Program because they expect to receive a small amount of benefits. 

Many households that receive the minimum benefit contain elderly and disabled individuals. 427,000 households with elderly members receive the minimum benefit. 318,000 households with disabled members receive the minimum benefit.

Nearly 10 percent of food stamp households receive the minimum benefit. Of food stamp households, 9.7 percent or 743,000 households receive the minimum benefit.

Households that receive the minimum benefit are poor and have few resources. The average monthly gross income for households that receive the minimum benefit is $703, average monthly net income is $524, and average resources are $272.

Most households with elderly and disabled members that receive the minimum benefit have incomes below the poverty level. Of the elderly households that receive the minimum benefit, 67.2 percent have income from 51 to 100 percent of poverty, 30 percent have income below from 101 to 130 percent of poverty. Of the disabled households that receive the minimum benefit, 60.1 percent have income from 51 to 100 percent of poverty, 30.7 percent have income below from 101 to 130 percent of poverty.

Raising the minimum benefit to $25 per month would help boost elderly participation in the Food Stamp Program. Research has identified that many elderly people do not apply for food stamps because they think they will receive a small amount of benefits. Raising the minimum benefit to $25 per month will provide a greater incentive to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

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