PolicyNet/Instructions Updates/EM-25050: 5-year SSI Income and Resource Exclusions for Distributions or Benefits Issued from Alaska Native Settlement Trusts to Certain Natives or Descendants of a Native.

Effective Dates: 08/14/2025 - Present

Identification Number:	EM-25050
Intended Audience:	All RCs/ARCs/ADs/FOs/TSCs/PSCs/OCO/OCO-CSTs/OHO/OARO/FOSU
Originating Office:
Title:	5-year SSI Income and Resource Exclusions for Distributions or Benefits Issued from Alaska Native Settlement Trusts to Certain Natives or Descendants of a Native. – One-Time-Only Instructions
Type:	EM - Emergency Messages
Program:	Title VIII (SVB); Title XVI (SSI); Disability; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; Medicaid
Link To Reference:	See Reference at the end of this EM.

Retention Date: 02/14/2026

Purpose

This emergency message informs technicians of some changes to the income and resource exclusions for distributions and benefits from Alaska Native Settlement Trusts and provides processing instructions.

Background:

The Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act (

P.L. 119-22

), enacted 7/7/2025, amended section 29(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (

43 U.S.C. 1626(c)

). This new law excludes certain payments from a settlement trust to an aged, blind, or disabled Alaskan Native or descendant of an Alaskan Native from being used to determine the individual’s eligibility for need-based federal programs (including SSI), for a five-year period beginning on the date of enactment (July 7, 2025 to July 6, 2030).

Instructions:

Continue to follow current procedures in

SI 00830.830C.4

and

SI SEA00830.830B

to exclude the listed items received from a native corporation from income and resources.

In addition, from July 7, 2025, to July 6, 2030, a distribution from or benefit provided by an Alaska Native Settlement Trust to certain individuals is excluded from income in the month of receipt, and any amount retained in the month after receipt is excluded as a resource. To qualify for these income and resource exclusions, the individual must be:

1. a Native or descendant of a Native, and

2. aged, blind, or disabled as defined under section 1614(a) of the Social Security Act.

Follow current procedures in

SI 00830.830E

to develop a distribution from or benefit provided by an Alaska Native Settlement Trust. In particular, document the file using the method(s) below as needed:

Report of contact for verifications made over the phone with the tribal authorities or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) area office.

Income report or comparable document from the BIA, the tribe's governing body, or its official financial representative, stored in the Evidence Portal (EP)

Signed statement from the tribal authorities, the BIA area offices, or the Bureau of Land Management, stored in the EP

Copy of pertinent local precedent documented in the claims path or on a Report of Contact page

Direct all program-related and technical questions to your Regional Office (RO) support staff using vHelp. RO support staff may refer questions, concerns or problems to their Central Office contacts.

References:
SI 00830.830 - Indian-Related Exclusions
SI SEA00830.830 Exclusion of Alaska Native Regional and Village Corporation Distributions
MS 08122.010 Report of Contact

EM-25050 - 5-year SSI Income and Resource Exclusions for Distributions or Benefits Issued from Alaska Native Settlement Trusts to Certain Natives or Descendants of a Native. – One-Time-Only Instructions - 08/14/2025

Emergency Message