[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1711-1712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-806]
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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]
BILLING CODE 4190-29-P