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PMV Rule In-Kind Support Amount

If you contribute your share of either the household food or rent expenses, then SSA will use the Presumed Maximum Value (PMV) Rule to determine the In-Kind Support that you are receiving.

If SSA uses the PMV Rule to figure the In-Kind Support that you are receiving from someone else in your household, SSA usually counts as unearned income an amount equal to 1/3rd the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) plus $20.

This is the amount that WorkWORLD uses as the default amount if you answered that you receive In-Kind Support, but not under the 1/3rd Reduction Rule. The amount can not be greater than 1/3rd FBR plus $20. (If you try to enter an amount greater than this, WorkWORLD calls it an "illegal" value and prevents you from doing so.)

You may, however, have shown your SSA Claims Representative that the actual value of the food or shelter you receive is less than PMV. If so, replace the default amount with the amount agreed upon with SSA.

Under the PMV rule your SSI benefit may be reduced up to $20 more than under the 1/3rd Reduction Rule, depending on your circumstances, but the PMV rule can nevertheless be very advantageous for you in certain situations:

Having your benefit reduced under the PMV rule rather than the 1/3rd Reduction Rule gives you two advantages:

·           Unlike the value of the 1/3rd reduction, the PMV amount is subject to rebuttal. If you can show the actual value of the food, clothing, and/or shelter you receive is less than the Presumed Maximum Value, the actual value is used in computing countable income. Therefore, your SSI check could be higher than under the 1/3rd Rule.

·           Probably more important is the fact that your actual benefit amount may be increased up to the full Federal Benefit Rate (FBR), if you use that money to pursue an approved occupational goal through a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS). (You could not do this if the 1/3rd Rule were used because that rule reduces your FBR by 1/3rd rather than counting your in-kind support as unearned income.)

NOTE: Just how much money you can apply to a PASS (and therefore how much your SSI check may increase as a result) depends on many circumstances. Use WorkWORLD Text Result Recommendations and "What-If?" situations to compare what will happen to your benefits under the two rules in your particular circumstances.

If your check is currently being reduced because of In-Kind Support, but you do not know under which rule your reduction is being figured, the only way to find out which rule is being used is to ask your SSA Claims Representative.

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