Effective Dates: 09/11/2026 - Present Previous | Next

TN 19 (09-26)

SI 00510.005 Types of Other Program Benefits

A. Policy Other Program Benefits

1. Other Program Benefits Subject to Filing Requirements

Types of other benefits for which an individual must file include:

2. Requirement to File for Apportionment of Augmented VA Benefit

In limited situations, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may pay a portion of a VA beneficiary’s monetary benefits directly to the VA beneficiary’s dependent, referred to as “apportionment”. To qualify, the dependent cannot reside with the VA beneficiary, the dependent must demonstrate financial need, and the apportionment must not cause financial hardship to the VA beneficiary.

Effective 2/9/2026, the VA discontinued making new, needs-based apportionment awards except very limited situations where:

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    the veteran or surviving spouse is incarcerated; or

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    the veteran is incompetent, does not have a fiduciary, and is institutionalized at government expense.

The VA did not discontinue apportionments that were already in existence as of 2/9/2026. All VA apportionments being paid as of 2/9/2026 will continue to be paid until the circumstances that provided entitlement to the apportionment no longer exist (e.g., divorce, death, etc.).

Therefore, in the vast majority of situations effective 2/9/2026, an SSI individual is not required to file for apportionment (direct payment) of an augmented VA benefit. As of 2/9/2026, the SSI individual is required to file for apportionment only if:

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    The SSI individual is either:

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      the dependent spouse or child of a veteran and the VA beneficiary (i.e., veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse) receives augmented VA disability compensation, pension, or educational benefits; or

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      the dependent parent of a veteran and the veteran receives augmented VA disability compensation benefits; and

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    The SSI individual does not reside with the VA beneficiary, (i.e., the veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse); and

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    The SSI individual has not been denied apportionment since living apart from the VA beneficiary; and

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    Either the VA beneficiary (i.e., the veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse) is incarcerated, or the veteran is incompetent, does not have a fiduciary, and is institutionalized at government expense.

NOTE 1: Effective 11/17/1994, the dependent's portion of the VA benefits is not income to an absent dependent unless they receive it directly through apportionment.

NOTE 2: Dependents who are receiving a VA benefit by apportionment do not receive automatic cost-of-living adjustments. Do not refer these individuals to the VA to request an increase.

For more information on augmented VA benefits, see SI 00830.314.

3. Other Program Benefits Exempt from the Filing Requirements

Types of other benefits exempt from the requirement to file for other program benefits are:

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    Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),

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    General Public Assistance,

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    Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance,

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    Victims' compensation payments,

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    Other Federal, State, local or private programs which make payments based on need, and

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    Earned Income Tax Credits.

4. Conditions Exempting VAIP from Filing Requirement

Based on Public Law (P.L.) 96-272, enacted in June 1980, certain individuals cannot be required to file for Department of Veterans Affairs Improved Pension Plan (VAIP) nor can their SSI and/or State supplementation eligibility be suspended for failure to file. These are individuals who:

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    Currently reside in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, or Wyoming; and

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    Were entitled to a VA pension as of December 31, 1978.

(See SI 00510.010A. for situations where individuals must file for VAIP.)

5. Payments which are not Program Benefits

Payments such as child support, alimony, accelerated life insurance, etc., are not program benefits for which an individual must file.

B. Policy Social Security Benefits

1. Title II Benefits

Title II benefits are the greatest source of other program benefits. Title XVI adjudicators must explore potential entitlement to Title II benefits during the initial application and posteligibility reviews. Claimants/recipients must pursue potential entitlement to retirement and/or disability benefits based not only on their own earnings record, but also on a different SSN for Title II dependents, including divorced spouses, and/or survivor's benefits. However, they are not required to file for Medicare only as a condition for SSI eligibility.

NOTE: Medicaid eligibility may continue for individuals in certain categories, i.e., certain widow(er)s, surviving divorced spouses and disabled adult children, even if entitlement to or an increase in Title II benefits results in SSI ineligibility (see SI 01715.015B. for persons categorically eligible for continued Medicaid coverage).

2. Pursuing Title II Entitlement and Adjudicating Title II

a. Potential Title II Entitlement

In both SSI initial claims and posteligibility situations, if a claimant/recipient is potentially eligible for Title II benefits and either chooses not to file or not to elect full retroactivity, SSA must notify them in writing of the requirement to file for all other benefits (see SI 00510.020B. for referral procedure).

b. Adjudicating Title II Aspects of Title XVI Application

Because an application for SSI payments is also an application for Title II benefits, adjudicators must take steps to determine whether the claimant is entitled to Title II benefits. If an individual does not file a separate Title II application concurrently with the SSI application, action must be taken to adjudicate the Title II aspects of the SSI claim (see SI 00601.035 for policy and procedure for adjudicating Title II).

REMINDER: A redetermination (RZ) form may also be a protective filing for Title II benefits (see GN 00204.015) which must be closed out by taking a Title II application or issuing a protective filing closeout notice.

C. Procedure FO Identification of Potential Entitlement to Other Program Benefits

Since the claimant/recipient may be entitled to more than one type of program benefit, e.g., Title II retirement or Title II survivor benefits, be sure to identify all potential sources of benefits.

Obtain clues to an individual's possible entitlement to other program benefits from:

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    Information obtained during the initial claim interview; including responses to lead questions on the application

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    Recipient's responses during the redetermination process

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    Inquiries received from another agency

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    FO precedent files on pension plans and foreign pension qualifying conditions.

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    Form SSA-93-U4 (Quality Review Feedback Report)

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    Third party reports

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    Critical birthday diaries (see SI 02309.001)

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    SSA queries: AACT, SEQY, SSID, etc.

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0500510005
SI 00510.005 - Types of Other Program Benefits - 09/11/2026
Batch run: 09/11/2026
Rev:09/11/2026