SNAP Benefits 2023: 4 Changes You Should Expect From SNAP Payments This New Year

SNAP benefits have always aimed to help low-income families boost their food spending. With a new year coming, new developments have been applied to SNAP payments.

Benefits recipients will get a 12.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the fiscal year 2023, which started on October 1, and will last until September 30, 2023.

The COLA increase was caused by the hike in the cost of food, which increased by 13% last September compared to its costs in 2021.

The new COLA application on SNAP benefits brought changes in the SNAP benefits of recipients.

SNAP Benefits 2023 Emergency Allotments

Oregon Department of Human Services recently announced that the federal government had approved emergency allotments every month since March 2020, which gives SNAP recipients in the state additional support aside from their benefits.

Around 421,000 SNAP households will receive some $71 million in emergency allotments in January on top of their regular SNAP benefits.

SNAP households in Oregon will receive emergency allotments on January 11, while households who did not receive the benefits in the first monthly issuance will receive theirs on January 31 or February 2.

Despite emergency allotments being distributed since March 2020, SNAP benefits recipients might have to get used to having without the additional funds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has encouraged states to put an end to the emergency allotments in 2023. In South Carolina, state officials have decided to rescind the emergency allotments in the state.

South Carolina Department of Social Services noted that all households will go back to receiving the amount of their regular benefits on February 1.

Higher SNAP Benefits 2023

Due to the COLA hike of 12.5%, households will be getting a heftier SNAP benefit. Households receiving $500 in SNAP benefits will see an increase of $562.50 for the next year.

The benefits amount varies depending on the size of the eligible household. A one-person household is set to receive $281 as compared to the former $250 benefits amount.

Each additional person in the household would mean a payout of $211, an increase from the previous $188. The benefits amount for Alaska and Hawaii are higher.

A household size of one in urban Alaska will receive $351, Alaska Rural 1 recipients will have a payout of $448, while those in Rural 2 Alaska will receive $545. In Hawaii, the maximum allotment has been increased to $538.

Easier Eligibility Limits

Aside from the amount of the benefits, eligibility limits also increased by October 1. A household size of one should have a net monthly income below $1,133 in the 48 states in the U.S. it increased from $1,074.

On the other hand, the maximum asset limits of a household size with at least one member who is age 60 or older and is disabled should be no higher than $4,250, which increased from the previous $3,750.

All other households have an allowable asset limit of $2,750, which also increased from $2,500 the previous year.

Elderly Simplified Application Project

The course of the Elderly Simplified Application Project is scheduled to launch in 2023, with the project aiming to increase Nutrition Assistance participation among the elderly population.

The project focuses on fast-tracking the application process among the elderly by simplifying the application, interview, and verification process.

The eligibility rules of this program include participants being required to be age 60 years or older and having no earned or self-employment income.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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