Families of 3 Can Get $766 in SNAP Benefits – Available Until September 23!

The SNAP Benefits, or Supplementation, Nutrition, and Assistance Program, is an important help in terms of providing food assistance to the families with low income. This means that in September 2024, SNAP participants in six states can be allowed a maximum benefit of $766 for the family of three.

These payments have been announced by the USDA and the last one for the maximum benefits in the 48 states that make up the continental United States is being received this month.

Further, changes to Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) aged 18-54 will have to look for a minimum of 80 hours per month to be allowed to benefit beyond three months in three years. This rule now applies to those 53 and 54 years of age and also to those who retire voluntarily.

SNAP Payments

The following six states’ families and households will be able to receive their SNAP benefits through September 23:

• Alabama: Payments are distributed from September 4-23 based on the case number.
• Delaware: Payments are sent from September 2-23 based on the first letter of the recipient’s last name.
• Georgia: Benefits are distributed from September 5-23 based on the last two digits of the recipient’s ID.
• Indiana: Payments are delivered from September 5-23 using the first letter of the recipient’s last name.
• Louisiana: Benefits are sent from September 1-23 based on the last digit of the recipient’s Social Security number (SSN).
• Maryland: Payments are distributed from September 4-23 based on the first three letters of the recipient’s last name.

Payment Amount

The SNAP benefit for the three-member eligible households in these six states for September 2024 is up to $766. Nevertheless, this maximum amount is provided for families with no other source of income or other form of income at all.

A majority of households earn less than this amount, with the national average being $598, according to the CBPP-Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The fund contribution of $766 is the maximum amount for 48 states and the District of Columbia only.

Households have to be very low income or have no income, assets, and/or any other resources that would not be considered as a part of the base for calculating the benefit and receive the full $766. These include an extra source of income or savings that can lower the SNAP benefit a particular family receives.

Changes

Payment of $766, which three-member families are eligible to receive, will be available for the last time in September 2024. Beginning on October 1, 2024, this amount is subject to increase to $768 because of the annual COLA in consideration of inflation. However, this adjustment means a $2 increase to the minimum benefit that can be seen as the program’s continuous attempts to assist SNAP recipients cope with increasing costs of living.

ABAWDs

One of the dramatic shifts that have affected SNAP recipients is the enhanced work rules for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). From this year, adult recipients who are below the age of 18 years and are 55 years and above require to perform 80 hours of work or engage in a qualifying work program every month in order to be eligible for SNAP beyond a three-month period of the three-year period. Before this rule was 18-49 years of age, but now the same has been extended to persons of 53 and 54 years of age.

The work requirement is applicable to ABAWD who does not have dependents and is not otherwise exempted because of a disability, caregiving duties or for one or more months in a calendar quarter. The work requirement was a requirement that ensured that the applicants had a job in order to make them qualified for the program and failure to meet this requirement would mean that after the three-month period the applicant would lose his or her benefits.

Who Is Eligible

However, in order to qualify for the maximum SNAP benefit of $766, households have to meet certain income and resource requirements. The payment a family gets depends on his/her earnings, assets, other sources of income and other forms of public subsidy. In general, families that have no other means of support or any other resources that can help them are eligible to receive food stamps with the maximum benefit.

It depends on each state’s SNAP offices to decide who is eligible to receive food stamps, based on the household’s situation. In most cases, these cuts are in relation to households that have other sources of income in the form of wages or salaries, Social Security, unemployment compensation, or any other means.

SNAP Adjustments

As September is coming to an end, the recipients should be aware of the changes that might occur in the program in the future. Even though the increase to $768 starting in October does not sound like a big change, it shows that the program has been continuing to seek ways on how to reduce the benefits based on inflation and other economic factors.

SNAP beneficiaries must also closely pay attention to a new income limit, work rules and any other eligibility measure. Real beneficiaries should also make sure their identity and financial data are most current to their respective state SNAP offices in order not to miss a beat in their benefits.

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