UPSTATE AND NYC MESSAGE   
DSS-4357EL                                                             
WGIUPD                  GENERAL INFORMATION SYSTEM               		06/13/01
                   DIVISION:  Temporary Assistance 

GIS 01 TA/DC021                                                                                                                                     

TO:  		Commissioners; IM Directors; FS Directors; CAP Coordinators                                                                                 

FROM:  	Patricia A. Stevens, Deputy Commissioner                          
       		Division of Temporary Assistance                                   
SUBJECT:  Exclusion of Certain Retroactive SSI Payments as Lump Sums      
          		for Food Stamps                                                
                                                                          
EFFECTIVE DATE:  July 1, 2001                                             
CONTACT PERSON:  Eastern Regional Team @ 1-800-343-8859, ext. 3-1469      

	The Social Security Administration (SSA) will be issuing one-time payments in mid July to Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries.  These payments will compensate beneficiaries for any shortfalls in their benefits paid from January 2000 through July 2001 caused by an error in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' calculation of the consumer price index.

	This is to advise district staff:

	1.	The retroactive payments will be excluded from food stamp income as lump sums;
2.	The new monthly amount of Social Security or SSI income should be verified and budgeted at the next recertification;
3.	Individuals who are in receipt of Food Stamp benefits in January 2002 will have the corrected January 2000 COLA factored into their January 2002 COLA rebudgeting for future months.

	Instructions for how these payments will be treated for Temporary Assistance will be forthcoming.