SI 00830.605 and regulation 20 CFR 416.1157 provide for the exclusion of home energy assistance (HEA) and support and maintenance
assistance (SMA) which has been certified by the appropriate state agency to be based
on need, and is:
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Provided in-kind by a private non-profit agency; or
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Provided in cash or in-kind by a supplier of home heating oil or gas; or
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A rate-of-return entity providing home energy; or
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A municipal utility providing home energy.
The HEA/SMA received by an SSI claimant/recipient/deemor is excluded from countable
income only when the designated state agency certifies that the assistance was based
on need. State certification may be in the form of an individual certification of
a particular case, or a “blanket” certification of a program or organization. A blanket
certification serves as a precedent for assistance from the certified agency or program.
Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas have authorized SSA field office staff to certify whether agencies that provide energy
assistance or support and maintenance meet the requirements for the HEA/SMA exclusion.
Therefore, field offices will no longer be required to request the RO to obtain the
state certification for agencies in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas not appearing
in the HEA/SMA Certification Precedent Lists on KCNet.
Any pending actions in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas field offices should be
resolved by either checking the HEA/SMA Certification
Precedent List on KCNet or making the certification determination per the instructions below.