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1) Prior to accepting donations, the applicant/recipient (or family of a child) must make arrangements to place donations in a trust fund or special account;

2) The trust fund or special account must be managed by an administrator (someone outside the family);

3) The funds must never be mixed with personal or family money;

4) The applicant/recipient should not have direct access to the trust funds or special account; and

5) The applicant/recipient or administrator must be able to produce documentation of how the funds were spent.

Source: Social Security Act §1902 (r)(2); 42 CFR § 435.601(b) (Rev 1994); Miss. Code Ann. §43-13-121.1 (Rev. 2005).

Part 104 Chapter 4: Exclusions for Earned and Unearned Income

Rule 4.1: Exclusions that Apply to both Earned and Unearned Income.

A. An exclusion is an amount of income which does not count in determining eligibility and payment amount.

B. Exclusions never reduce income below zero.

C. There are three statutory exclusions that apply to both earned and unearned income, as follows:

1. General Exclusion;

2. Infrequent and Irregular Income Exclusion; and

3. Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) Exclusion.

Source: Social Security Act §1902 (r)(2); 42 CFR § 435.601(b) (Rev 1994).

Rule 4.2: General Income Exclusion.

A. A general income exclusion of either $50 or $20 per month is applied based on whether the program operates under liberalized or strict SSI income policy.

1. Under liberalized income policy, the general exclusion is $50 for the following programs:

a) Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMB);