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COUNTING WORK QUARTERS- No work quarters are creditable for any period after December 31, 1996, if the alien (or the parent or spouse) received any federal means- tested benefits or received SNAP benefits during the period the work quarters were earned. Federal means-tested benefits are TANF Cash, and Tribal TANF, or BIA Tribal Assistance. a. The individual must provide proof of earnings of 10 years or more with employer statements, income tax forms, wage stubs, etc., or obtain verification by requesting the information from the regional Social Security Administration (SSA) office. The eligibility staff member can access Montana's State Verification and Exchange System (SVES) interface with SSA to establish the 40 quarters of work for the LAPR 'qualified alien'. b. A maximum of four credits may be earned in a year by each individual. Credits will be credited only after the calendar quarter has ended. Calendar quarters mean the four calendar months ending March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st of any year. NOTE: Any earnings of a non-citizen for work legally performed in the U.S. are used when calculating quarters of work. This includes earnings not creditable for Social Security benefits. The eligibility staff member determines if the non-citizen has earned a quarter of work using the 'National Average Wage Index Needed to Earn One Quarter of Coverage' at the end of this section. Any earnings of a non-citizen for work performed in another country if the work is creditable for Social Security benefits are included. One quarter of work can be counted for more than one person (e.g., Mom, dad, and child apply for assistance. Mom and dad worked the third quarter of 2000. Since both spouses worked the quarter, all three individuals can count two quarters for 03/00 - one from mom and one from dad). Technically, it is possible to earn 40 quarters in only 20 quarters if both spouses worked the same 20 quarters. A qualifying quarter of work is credited if earned by: 1. The alien; 2. The alien's living or deceased parents (natural, adopted or stepparents) while the alien was under age 18 (including quarters earned before his birth regardless of his current age); or, 3. The alien's spouse during their marriage if the marriage continues or if the spouse is deceased. Information on the alien's quarters of work may be obtained by accessing the SSA interface. If the alien does not have the required 40 quarters of their own, the eligibility staff member needs to access another family member's information to make up the difference or verify earnings by another method such as wage stubs. NOTE: Only the alien's parents’ or spouse’s information may be accessed because a child’s quarters or a sibling's quarters cannot be attributed to a parent or a sibling.