2172.Special Provisions for Converted Recipients

2172.1What is a converted recipient?

You are a “converted” recipient (see §2109) if you, for December 1973, were:

1. Eligible for assistance under one of the Federal/State adult assistance programs for the aged, blind, or disabled; and

2. Automatically transferred (“converted”) to the SSI rolls for January 1974.

There are still in effect certain special “grandfather” provisions to ensure you are not disadvantaged by your conversion to SSI. These are explained in the subsections that follow.

2172.2Are your countable resources more than the allowable limit?

Your countable resources as a converted recipient may be more than the allowable limit described in §2166. When that occurs, you are considered to be within the allowable limit for SSI eligibility if your resources are not more than the maximum amount of resources specified in the appropriate State plan as in effect in October 1972. This is known as the “State Plan Resources Limits.”

You may have been converted in any category; i.e., as blind, as aged, or as disabled. You are entitled to the use of the State plan resource limits provided, since December 1973:

1. You have lived continuously in the same State as that under whose plan you were eligible for that month; and

2. You have not been ineligible for SSI benefits for a period of more than six months in a row.

2172.3Were you converted because of blindness?

There are alternative rules for computing countable income if you were converted based on blindness. This provision is known as “State Plan Income Disregards.” These rules do not apply to anyone converted as aged or as disabled.

Under this alternative, your countable income is computed using whichever of the following results in the lower amount:

1. The SSI income exclusions described in §2135 and §2137; or

2. The disregards that would have applied under the State plan for October 1972.

In order to qualify for the use of the State plan income disregards, you must have lived continuously in the same State as that under whose plan you were eligible for that month.

2172.4Is your State's definition of disability different from ours?

Occasionally, a State plan for aid to the permanently and totally disabled had a less strict definition of disability than appears in Title XVI of the Social Security Act. If so, the “State Plan Disability Definition” provision may apply. When that occurs, you are considered eligible for SSI on the basis of disability if you:

1. Met the disability criteria in the State's approved plan as in effect for October 1972;

2. Received aid under that State plan for the month of December 1973 and for at least one month before July 1973; and

3. Continue to be disabled as defined under that State plan.

This grandfather provision does not require continuous SSI eligibility or residence in the same State from which you were converted.

2172.5Do you have an essential person living in your household?

Your FBR may be increased if you have an “essential person” living in your household. This is known as the “Essential Person Increment.” You may receive this “essential person increment” to the FBR only if:

1. You were a recipient for December 1973 of aid or assistance under:

   1. A State plan approved under Title I (Grants to States for Old-Age Assistance for the Aged);

   2. Title X (Grants to States for Aid to the Blind);

   3. Title XIV (Grants to States for Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled); or

   4. Title XVI (Grants to States for Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled) of the Social Security Act, and

2. You had the essential person's needs taken into account in determining your need for aid or assistance.

The essential person increment is $312 per month in 2007. It is added to the FBR, and the total is due you if you have no countable income. Like the FBR for an individual and the FBR for an eligible couple, the essential person increment is increased each January by the cost-of-living adjustment.