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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 200A – Income: ABD Categories Page |43 Effective Month: July 2025 200A.07.06 OTHER GOVERNMENT PENSIONS AND RETIREMENT PAYMENTS Payments made to former employees, their dependent(s) or survivor(s) by state, local (or foreign) governments are unearned income. Examples include State Retirement and Municipal Retirement. The full amount of benefits the recipient is entitled to receive is counted as income. Verification Verify the amount of the retirement benefit by award letters or other documents in the individual’s possession or contact the agency which is the source of the payment. It is not permissible to verify payment amounts by viewing the actual check because optional deductions are usually available to the recipient which are not allowable deductions for SSI/Medicaid purposes. 200A.07.06A STATE RETIREMENT 13TH CHECK Certain state retirees (including those drawing benefits from a deceased spouse’s record) are eligible to receive a 13th check each year in addition to their regular monthly check. The 13th check is referred to as a bonus check. The bonus check, which is usually issued each December 15th, is computed on a percentage basis multiplied by the number of years retired and annual income received. Institutional Clients with Income Trusts Institutionalized clients, who receive a 13th check and are subject to Income Trust provisions, are required to have the bonus check averaged over the 12-month period as a condition of eligibility. The recipient’s representative must be instructed to contact the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) to make this change. Other Recipients For all other recipients, the 13th check is counted as income each December to determine eligibility for the month of December. To ensure each affected recipient has the bonus check counted as income in the month of December, a tickler must be set for November 1 on every state retirement recipient. A PERS listing is generated semi- annually to verify the 13th check. Institutional clients who are eligible for December based on receipt of the bonus check will have the bonus payment averaged in the Medicaid Income computation pursuant to budgeting instructions.