The US Department of Agriculture’s November 10 proposal would narrow a route states use to qualify households for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SNAP helps people with low incomes buy groceries. Benefits arrive on a payment card used at approved shops. States assess the household’s finances and calculate how much help it can receive.
How a savings test can return
Many states currently use a broader route called categorical eligibility. In plain English, qualifying for another support program can satisfy some SNAP financial tests. States can use that route to set higher income limits and remove the asset test, which checks savings and other property the household owns.
The route can rely on a service funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. That is federal funding for state support for families. It can cover help other than a regular cash payment.
The proposal would restrict this TANF route to assistance for ongoing basic needs. A small service, such as information about available help, would no longer be enough.
USDA says its aim is consistent national limits. It estimates that 6.3 million people would lose SNAP when the proposal reaches its full effects in the 2029 financial year. That estimate combines income and asset restrictions.
Money in the bank is different from monthly earnings
The current federal asset limit is $3,000 for a household with no member aged 60 or older and no member with a disability. A higher limit applies to households with such a member. These are the 2026-27 rules. Future limits can change with inflation.
Cash and bank savings can count toward the limit. The home a family lives in and many retirement accounts are excluded. A small reserve available for an unexpected bill is treated differently from money in an excluded pension.
Daylight Post found that the proposal could remove aid from a household with unchanged earnings. Comparing the two eligibility routes shows how restoring an asset test can affect a family whose income still qualifies.
That matters when work provides too few paid hours. Our report on Americans unable to get enough hours explains how a job can still leave a gap in income.
Public comments close on December 10. The rule remains a proposal.