Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled; Income and Resources; Victims' Compensation Payments and Relocation Assistance Exclusions

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Part 416

[Regulations No. 16]

RIN 0960-AD36

Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled;

Income and Resources; Victims' Compensation Payments and Relocation

Assistance Exclusions

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Final rules.

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SUMMARY: These final rules exclude from income and resources under the

supplemental security income (SSI) program, payments received by an

individual (or spouse) from a fund established by a State to aid

victims of crime and certain relocation assistance received from a

State or local government.

EFFECTIVE DATE: These rules will become effective February 22, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry J. Short, Legal Assistant, 3-B-1

Operations Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235,

(410) 965-6243.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 1612(b) of the Social Security Act

(the Act), as amended by sections 5031 and 5035 of Pub. L. 101-508,

effective May 1, 1991, excludes from income under the SSI program

payments received by an individual (or spouse) from a fund established

by a State to aid victims of crime, and relocation assistance provided

by a State or local government which is comparable to assistance

provided under title II of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real

Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Sections 5031 and 5035 also

amended section 1613(a) of the Act to exclude these payments and

assistance from resources for a period of 9 months beginning with the

month following the month in which they are received. However, with

respect to victims' compensation payments under section 5031, the

resource exclusion applies to the extent that the payments were made as

compensation for expenses incurred or losses suffered as a result of a

crime. In addition, section 5031 amended section 1631(a) of the Act to

provide that benefits under title XVI shall not be denied to any

individual solely by reason of the refusal of the individual to accept

an amount offered as compensation for a crime of which the individual

was a victim. Section 13732 of Public Law 103-66 (the Omnibus Budget

Reconciliation Act of 1993) amended section 5035 of Pub. L. 101-508 by

making permanent the exclusion of relocation assistance which

originally was set to expire on April 30, 1994.

These final regulations amend Secs. 416.210(b), 416.1124, and

416.1210 and create new Secs. 416.1229 and 416.1239 to reflect these

statutory changes. These final regulations also amend Sec. 416.1161 to

apply these same income exclusions when victims' compensation payments

and State and local government relocation assistance are received by

the ineligible spouse or ineligible parent of an eligible individual or

child in order that the deeming rules not reduce the SSI payment of, or

render ineligible, the individual or child. The amendments to

Sec. 416.1210 result in the application of the resource exclusions to

these deemors. Not to apply the exclusions in such cases could thwart

the Congressional intent underlying sections 5031 and 5035 that State

victims' compensation payments and relocation assistance not be treated

as income and resources and thus not adversely affect SSI eligibility.

For this same reason, the resource exclusions also apply to victims'

compensation payments and relocation assistance received by an alien's

sponsor whose resources are deemed to an eligible alien. Under section

1621(b)(1) of the Act, income exclusions are not applicable in

determining the amount of a sponsor's income that will be deemed to an

alien. Therefore, the income exclusions for victims' compensation

payments and relocation assistance do not apply to such payments

received by a sponsor whose income is deemed to an alien. Section

416.1204 is updated to reflect the inclusion of the resource exclusion

for victims' compensation payments and relocation assistance as well as

the other resource exclusions applicable to the resources of a sponsor.

These rules were published in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on

August 26, 1994 (59 FR 44093). A 60-day comment period was provided. We

did not receive any public comments. We are, therefore, adopting as

final the rules essentially as proposed.

Regulatory Procedures

Executive Order 12866

We have consulted with the Office of Management and Budget and

determined that these rules do not meet the criteria for a significant

regulatory action under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We certify that these rules will not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small entities since these rules

affect only individuals. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis

as provided in Pub. L. 96-354, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, is not

required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

These regulations will impose no additional reporting and

recordkeeping requirements subject to Office of Management and Budget

clearance.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: Program No. 96.006-

Supplemental Security Income.)

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 416

Administrative practice and procedure, Aged, Blind, Disability

benefits, Public assistance programs, Supplemental Security Income

(SSI), Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements.

[[Page 1712]]

Approved: December 20, 1995.

Shirley S. Chater,

Commissioner of Social Security.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, part 416 of chapter III of

title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 416--SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND

DISABLED

Subpart B--[Amended]

1. The authority citation for subpart B of part 416 is revised to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1110(b), 1602, 1611, 1614, 1615(c),

1619(a), 1631, and 1634 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

902(a)(5), 1310(b), 1381a, 1382, 1382c, 1382d(c), 1382h(a), 1383,

and 1383c); secs. 211 and 212, Pub. L. 93-66, 87 Stat. 154 and 155

(42 U.S.C. 1382 note); sec. 502(a), Pub. L. 94-241, 90 Stat. 268 (48

U.S.C. 1681 note); sec. 2, Pub. L. 99-643, 100 Stat. 3574 (42 U.S.C.

1382h note).

2. Section 416.210 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as

follows:

Sec. 416.210 You do not apply for other benefits.

* * * * *

(b) What ``other benefits'' includes. ``Other benefits'' includes

any payments for which you can apply that are available to you on an

ongoing or one-time basis of a type that includes annuities, pensions,

retirement benefits, or disability benefits. For example, ``other

benefits'' includes veterans' compensation and pensions, workers'

compensation payments, Social Security insurance benefits and

unemployment insurance benefits. ``Other benefits'' for which you are

required to apply do not include payments that you may be eligible to

receive from a fund established by a State to aid victims of crime.

(See Sec. 416.1124(c)(17).)

* * * * *

Subpart K--[Amended]

3. The authority citation for Subpart K of Part 416 is revised to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1602, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1614(f),

1621, and 1631 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5),

1381a, 1382, 1382a, 1382b, 1382c(f), 1382j, and 1383); sec. 211,

Pub. L. 93-66, 87 Stat. 154 (42 U.S.C. 1382 note).

4. Section 416.1124 is amended by replacing the periods after

paragraphs (c)(9) and (c)(16) with semicolons, by removing ``and'' from

the end of (c)(15), and by adding new paragraphs (c)(17) and (c)(18) to

read as follows:

Sec. 416.1124 Unearned income we do not count.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(17) Payments received by you from a fund established by a State to

aid victims of crime; and

(18) Relocation assistance provided you by a State or local

government that is comparable to assistance provided under title II of

the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition

Policies Act of 1970 that is subject to the treatment required by

section 216 of that Act.

5. Section 416.1161 is amended by replacing the period after

paragraph (a)(20) with a semicolon, and by adding new paragraphs

(a)(21) and (a)(22) to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1161 Income of an ineligible spouse, ineligible parent, and

essential person for deeming purposes.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(21) Payments from a fund established by a State to aid victims of

crime (see Sec. 416.1124(c)(17)); and

(22) Relocation assistance, as described in Sec. 416.1124(c)(18).

Subpart L--[Amended]

6. The authority citation for subpart L of part 416 is revised to

read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1602, 1611, 1612, 1613, 1614(f),

1621, and 1631 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5),

1381a, 1382, 1382a, 1382b, 1382c(f), 1382j, and 1383); sec. 211,

Pub. L. 93-66, 87 Stat. 154 (42 U.S.C. 1382 note).

7. Section 416.1204 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as

follows:

Sec. 416.1204 Deeming of resources of the sponsor of an alien.

* * * * *

(a) Exclusions from the sponsor's resources. Before we deem a

sponsor's resources to an alien, we exclude the same kinds of resources

that are excluded from the resources of an individual eligible for SSI

benefits. The applicable exclusions from resources are explained in

Sec. 416.1210 (paragraphs (a) through (i), (k), and (m) through (q))

through Sec. 416.1239. For resources excluded by Federal statutes other

than the Social Security Act, as applicable to the resources of

sponsors deemed to aliens, see the appendix to subpart K of part 416.

We next allocate for the sponsor or for the sponsor and spouse (if

living together). (The amount of the allocation is the applicable

resource limit described in Sec. 416.1205 for an eligible individual

and an individual and spouse.)

* * * * *

8. Section 416.1210 is amended by removing ``and'' from the end of

paragraph (n), by replacing the period at the end of paragraph (o) with

a semicolon, and by adding new paragraphs (p) and (q) to read as

follows:

Sec. 416.1210 Exclusions from resources; general.

* * * * *

(p) Payments received as compensation for expenses incurred or

losses suffered as a result of a crime as provided in Sec. 416.1229;

and

(q) Relocation assistance from a State or local government as

provided in Sec. 416.1239.

9. A new Sec. 416.1229 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1229 Exclusion of payments received as compensation for

expenses incurred or losses suffered as a result of a crime.

(a) In determining the resources of an individual (and spouse, if

any), any amount received from a fund established by a State to aid

victims of crime is excluded from resources for a period of 9 months

beginning with the month following the month of receipt.

(b) To be excluded from resources under this section, the

individual (or spouse) must demonstrate that any amount received was

compensation for expenses incurred or losses suffered as the result of

a crime.

10. A new Sec. 416.1239 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 416.1239 Exclusion of State or local relocation assistance

payments.

In determining the resources of an individual (or spouse, if any),

relocation assistance provided by a State or local government (as

described in Sec. 416.1124(c)(18)) is excluded from resources for a

period of 9 months beginning with the month following the month of

receipt.

[FR Doc. 96-806 Filed 1-22-96; 8:45 am]

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