April 24, 2015
As of Monday, Pennsylvanians applying for food stamps will no long need to list savings accounts, burial plots and similar personal assets as part of the state's nutrition assistance application process, the Huffington Post reports.
The state will now focus its consideration for nutrition assistance on one’s current income and will eliminate the assets test. Under the assets test, applicants had to have less than $5,500 in assets, except for some personal property, including a house and one car, to be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.
During the first year of the test, nearly 4,000 households lost or were denied benefits because they had too many financial resources, state figures showed. - Philly.com
The decision was pushed for by Gov. Tom Wolf. His predecessor, former Gov. Tom Corbett, imposed the assets test on food stamp applicants in 2012 as a way to cut down on "waste, fraud and abuse."
Under the assets test, households with people under age 60 were limited to $5,500 in assets to qualify for SNAP benefits, according to Philly.com. For households with older residents, or those with disabilities, the figure was $9,000.
During the first year of the test, nearly 4,000 households lost or were denied benefits because they had too many financial resources, state figures showed.
Read the full Huffington Post article here.
