There are special rules that apply to households that have a disabled or elderly family member for food stamp eligibility. Being able to receive food stamps can help your family to make ends meet while you are providing care for your elderly loved one. The professionals at Elder Care Direction can help you to understand the rules and assist you with your application.
Qualifications
To be eligible, your household must meet certain guidelines. You must have an elderly person living with you who is age 60 or older. You can alternatively have a disabled person living in your household. A person is considered to be disabled if he or she receives SSI, SSDI, or blindness payments. He or she may also qualify if he or she receives state disability or blindness benefits or receives a disability retirement benefit. People who receive annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act and who are eligible for Medicare are considered to be disabled. Totally disabled veterans also qualify as do surviving spouses and children fo veterans who are receiving VA benefits for permanent disabilities.
How to get food stamps
To get food stamps, you will need to apply for them at your local food stamp office. You can also have an authorized representative apply for you by designating him or her in writing. You might be required to submit an application, attend an in-person interview, and verify your income and expenses. The in-person interview might be waived if you can’t appoint a representative and no one can go to the food stamp office because of their ages or disabilities. In that case, the food stamp office will either interview you over the telephone or in your home during a home visit.
Households
Your household includes everybody who lives in your home and who purchase and prepare their meals together. If you have an elderly loved one who can’t purchase and prepare meals separately because of a disability, he or she may be considered to be a separate household if your income does not exceed more than 165 percent of the federal poverty level.
People are normally not eligible to receive food stamps if they are given meals by an institution. However, elderly residents of housing that is federally subsidized may receive food stamps even if they are provided meals at their facilities.
Resources
A household that includes a disabled or elderly person is allowed to have resources of up to $3,000. Some resources do not count, including your house and lot and up to $4,650 of your vehicle’s fair market value for each adult member of the household.
Income limits
Households that contain elderly or disabled members have to meet the net income test. This test takes certain deductions and subtracts them from your gross income. All people who receive TANF or SSI are eligible.
You can take a standard deduction for your household and a 20 percent deduction for earned income. You can also take a dependent care deduction for care costs that you have to pay for work, education, or training. You are also able to deduct child support payments, your elderly loved one’s medical costs, and a deduction for excess shelter costs.
Contact Elder Care Direction
Elder Care Direction is focused on providing elderly people and their families with guidance to help them to navigate the provision of care. To learn more about qualifying your elderly loved one for food stamps, contact us today to schedule a consultation.
