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That portion of any savings instrument which represents the individual’s contribution to the principle is never considered as income. Saved money has already been counted as it was received by the household. For example, the principal withdrawn from a savings account or other cash asset is not used in income calculations. The principle is the amount of the asset that was contributed by the individual owner of the asset. If, however, that account was paying an interest payment of $10 a month, that $10 would be counted as income if the money was not compounding into the account. Gambling Winnings, Awards Winnings from any source of gambling or gaming is considered income including, but not limited to private gambling, the Hoosier Lottery, Power Ball, Mega Millions, horse racing, bingo, etc. Life Insurance Payments Life insurance payments issued on a regular basis to a surviving household member should be counted as income. Lump sum payments, however, should not be counted. Military Allotments Payments received during a military deployment should be considered except for combat zone pay. The person who is deployed should be counted as a household member. Such payments are income and can be verified by a copy of the check, a check stub, or other documents showing the current amount. Pensions and Annuities Ongoing pension payments are counted as income. Most often, the employee and/or the employer pay retirement funds into an annuity account. Annuities are paid out after the person retires, usually with an option for lump sum payments or periodic payments. Like Social Security, many retirement funds are also available to persons who become disabled, or to their surviving spouse and surviving minor children in the event of their death. The most desirable documentation of a pension amount is a check stub. Care should be taken to use the gross amount of the pension check, since deductions, including income tax withholding, may affect the net. Pensions are usually “fixed” income that may be computed based on one month’s check. Railroad Retirement and Railroad Disability Benefits Railroad retirement and disability benefits are similar to Social Security benefits however these benefits are open only to former railroad workers, their dependents, or survivors. Railroad workers are entitled to participate in a federal retirement and disability program similar to Social Security. The railroad retirement program offers different and somewhat expanded benefits from Social Security, however.