Massachusetts elected to pass along all Federal cost-of-living increases since December 1976 to converted recipients who were eligible for minimum income level (MIL) protection as of July 1981. To compute the new MIL, first take the MIL on record as of June 1981. Next, add the amount of the 1981 increase for the current Federal category and living arrangement as shown in the chart below.

The MIL increased automatically for current pay (C01) cases; however, force-pay cases were manually updated by the FOs.

July 1, 1981 MSS Increase

(Total increase since December 1976)

Federal LA

Effective October 1, 1981, Massachusetts was no longer a food stamp cash-out State and SSI recipients may be eligible for food stamps. The State elected to remove the $10.00 bonus value of food stamps, which was included in the State's mandatory supplement, for all conversion cases except those where Federal living arrangement D applied in December 1973.

For cases in current payment (C01), the MIL was automatically reduced by $10.00 (special-needs reduction).

Any conversion case in force-pay for September 1981, including cases T-30'd for October 1981, required FO input to apply the $10.00 reduction. This applied whether or not a mandatory supplement was being paid.

All notices to SSI recipients explaining the reduction included the following statement: “Your State took this action because you may now be eligible for food stamps. If you wish to apply for food stamps contact your local welfare office.”