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150 (07/2026) Chapter 2:Eligibility • Section 2: Eligibility groups be included in the need group and who have income less than the non-needy countable income limit standard for their filing group, and • An individual who is eligible for and receives an SSI cash payment. ERDC For ERDC, the financial group consists of all people in the filing group. REF For REF, the financial group consists of all the people in the filing group except people who are eligible for and receive an SSI cash payment. All income and resources attached to the SSI recipient are not counted. MSP All the members of the filing group are also members of the financial group. The financial group determines whose income counts in determining eligibility and benefits. OSIPM Remember, you don’t have to try and figure this out for anyone receiving SSI or 1619b as they are assumed eligible. The financial group is the same as the filing group for the following individuals: • Unmarried adults, • Adults married to someone receiving SSI or TANF, • Children, and • Individuals receiving or applying for services or being evaluated under the acute care setting rule. For everyone else, the first step is determining whether or not the individual would be under the OSIPM income standard as an individual. If the adjusted income is above the standard, then the person is not eligible, even if their own income is below the two-person income standard and the spouse has no income. The process is outlined below: • When the term “ineligible” appears in this rule, it means an individual not eligible to receive either SSI or TANF program benefits. • When an individual is married to an ineligible spouse, if the individual’s adjusted income is greater than the OSIPM program adjusted income standard for one, the individual is in their own financial group and not eligible for OSIPM. • For individuals being evaluated under the protected groups, first determine how much of the individual’s Social Security benefits are countable before proceeding to the next step. • If the individual’s adjusted income is less than the OSIPM adjusted income standard for one, then figure out if the spouse is in the financial group using the de3510 OSIPM Income Allocation and Deeming worksheet. It is more complicated if there are children, but either way, the process is outlined below:
If there are children in the home, the ineligible spouse is included in the financial group if that spouse’s countable income after allocation to each ineligible child is more than the difference between the couple and individual SSI standard amount of $497 (in 2026). If it is equal to or less than $497, the spouse is not in the financial group when determining income eligibility, but their resources are still counted when determining resource eligibility.