ASNP Update

Listening to Eric Skidmore raise the issue again, I realized we all need to be careful.  Eric is the Supervisor in the Office of SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and Representative Payee Policy at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland.  His group writes the POMS (Program Operations Manual System) sections on resources, income and state supplementation.  The POMS is the manual for Social Security workers to follow in regards to the SSI program.  

The first time I listened to Eric speak on the concerns regarding reimbursement was at Stetson Law School's Special Needs Trust Conference in October 2011.  This month Eric spoke to us at the Academy of Special Needs Planners annual conference in Memphis, Tennessee.  Eric reiterated the Administration's position that if a Trust reimburses anyone who pays for "anything" for a person receiving SSI they will consider the payment to the third party as in-kind income (not In Kind Support and Maintenance) to the beneficiary.

While this must be one of the most absurd positions I have heard the Administration taking, it was a repeat from 5 months earlier.  So, we cannot reimburse someone who buys an item or service for a person on SSI.  What was the suggested alternative?  Eric said to pay for the good or service directly to a vendor, or have someone use a credit card and then pay the credit card bill directly.  Why paying someone's credit card should be treated differently than paying the person directly is befuddling.  Eric's response in October and then again this month was "we are aware of the problem and we are working on it." We struggle getting retailers to accept our "third party" checks and not everyone has (or should have) a credit card.  

Until the Administration adopts an official policy, our staff will continue to work with beneficiaries on how their funds can be utilized without potentially jeopardizing their SSI.












-Travis Finchum, Esq.
Co-Trustee, Guardian Trust

Travis was a speaker at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Special Needs Planners March 9-12, 2012 in Memphis, TN.  The session featured speakers from all over the United States who led a discussion about what to do when the bank no longer wants to serve as Trustee of a Special Needs Trust.
Location: Clearwater, FL, USA

Comments

  1. David Lillesand, Esq.March 30, 2012 at 10:40 AM

    Eric also mentioned that he would be open to working with ASNP before his team at SSA issued new POMS. We should take him up on that by putting together a presentation of real life examples of how things work in our real world of trust creation and administration. David Lillesand, Esq.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

(d)(4)(A) vs. (d)(4)(C) - The Great Debate

Image
We are seeing a lot of attorneys drafting d4A Special Needs Trusts for disabled beneficiaries under age 65 when they should use a Pooled Trust.  We administer both individual and our pooled SNT, so it doesn't really matter to us.  I will propose a thought that there is never a good reason to draft an individual SNT over our Pooled Trust.  The traditional arguments for drafting a stand alone (d)(4)(A) SNT over a pooled trust include:  1) I want to be the trustee (or name a family member), 2) I want the trustee to pay back the Medicaid lien and then the rest go to designated beneficiaries and 3) I want to invest the funds, or have my investment person handle the investments.  I will take each of these points in turn.  Individuals do not know how to administer trusts in general, let alone SNT's.  The federal law and policy is constantly changing, particularly for beneficiaries receiving S upplemental S ecurity I ncome, or SSI.  It is extremely difficult to keep up with these
Read more

2019 Social Security and Medicaid Income and Asset Limits

Happy New Year! We wanted to keep you updated with the 2019 eligibility figures for Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).  The resource limit for a single person stays the same ($2,000) for SSI and long term care Medicaid programs. For a spouse at home of a person qualifying for long term care Medicaid (often referred to as the "community spouse"), the resource limit has increased to $126,420.  The income limit (maximum Federal benefit rate) for SSI is now $771 per month which then makes the Medicaid income limit $2,313 (always 3 times the SSI limit).  Medicare Part B monthly premiums have increased. According to  www.medicare.gov , the standard Part B premium amount will be $135.50 per month. However, most people will pay less. The monthly personal needs allowance for people on Medicaid in a nursing home remains at $130.  Finally, the home equity exclusion for Medicaid eligibility went up to $585,000.  For a chart of these figures click  here .
Read more
Image
Congratulations to Co-Trustee Kole Long on becoming Board Certified in Elder Law. Kole joins only 113 other Florida lawyers to hold this distinction. Board Certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. Approximately 7% of all Florida lawyers are Board Certified in any specialty. In addition to serving as Co-Trustee for Guardian Trust, Kole is a practicing attorney with Special Needs Lawyers, PA which is the only law firm with 4 Florida Bar Board Certified Elder Law Attorneys. Help us to congratulate Kole for achieving this commendable honor!
Read more