Unspent assistance received from the following sources is permanently excluded from resources:

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  the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (formerly the Disaster Relief Act of 1974);

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  another Federal statute because of a presidentially-declared major disaster;

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  comparable assistance received from a State or local government; or

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  from a disaster assistance organization.

To be excluded from resources, the funds must be excludable from income per SI 00830.620.

Unspent disaster assistance received under the Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or other Federal statute because of a presidentially-declared major disaster was excluded from resources for 9 months.

The exclusion could be extended for up to an additional 9 months if, for the first 9 months, circumstances beyond the individual's control:

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  prevented the repair or replacement of the damaged or destroyed property; or

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  kept the individual from contracting for such repair or replacement.

Interest earned on funds excluded under this provision is excluded from income and from resources. (For months prior to December 1988, interest was excluded from income and resources for as long as the funds themselves were excluded.)

Develop this exclusion only when an individual alleges the receipt of assistance excludable under this provision and the exclusion would permit eligibility for regular or conditional SSI benefits, in that order.

Follow the instructions in SI 00830.620. If the file contains evidence that the disaster assistance is excluded from income, use the same evidence to establish that the assistance is excluded from resources.

Summarize the basis for the exclusion on an RC or on an appropriate MSSICS screen. Show the amount excluded and the first month and year that the exclusion applies.