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Aged, Blind and Disabled Manual Section: Financial Eligibility Requirements Policy Manual Number: 110.030 Chapter: ABD Unearned Income

March 18, 2019 Division of TennCare 10 Recurring pension payments are countable unearned income.

Protective Payee

Funds received by a protective payee (conservator, authorized representative or representative payee) and used for the care and maintenance of a third party beneficiary (adult or child) who may or may not be a member of the protective payee’s household are excluded as income to the protective payee. Any part of the payment that is retained by the protective payee for his own use is countable income to the protective payee. Even if the protective payee retains a fee for his services, the entire payment issued to the beneficiary is countable income to the beneficiary.

As a condition of eligibility, applicants and enrollees must take necessary steps to obtain all countable income to which they may be entitled. Therefore, the total amount intended for the beneficiary is counted to the beneficiary even if he is not actually receiving the income from the protective payee.

Railroad Retirement Countable.

Railroad Retirement Board benefits are countable unearned income in the month received.

Reimbursements Reimbursements are any payments to reimburse past or future expenses that do not exceed the actual expenses and are excluded income to the extent that they do not exceed actual expenses. Examples of excluded reimbursements include:

• Reimbursements for job or training-related expenses (travel, per diem, transportation); • Reimbursements for out-of-pocket expenses of volunteers incurred during the course of volunteer work; and • Medical and dependent care reimbursements.

Rental or Lease Countable.

Rent is payment for the use of real or personal property, such as land, housing or machinery. Rental income is considered unearned when the individual is not a real estate or property owner in the business of buying, selling and/or renting