Eligibility Based on 40 Work Quarters

[63.405.4]

The 2002 Farm Bill significantly expanded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for noncitizens residing in the U.S. in a qualified alien status for five years. It also effectively reduced the applicability of the 40-quarter work requirement for lawful permanent residents (LPRs). These changes include:

 

• Noncitizens with qualified alien status became eligible for SNAP after residing in the U.S. for five years.
• Generally, an LPR must have worked for 10 years cumulatively before qualifying for SNAP. Under the 2002 Farm Bill, LPRs now become eligible after five years of U.S. residency, whether or not they have any qualifying quarters.
• The requirement now only applies in specific cases, such as LPRs who have been in the U.S. for less than five years. These individuals may claim 40 qualifying quarters of work by counting quarters credited from a parent's work earned before the applicant turned 18 or from a spouse's work.

Procedure

For qualified noncitizens whose eligibility must be assessed based on the 40-quarter work requirement, the following steps should be taken:

1. Have the applicant/recipient complete the SAWS 2 Plus, CF 285, or interactive interview.
2. Interview the applicant/recipient to determine how long the noncitizen and their parent(s) or spouse have lived and worked in the United States.
3. Interview the applicant/recipient to determine whether the noncitizen and their parent(s) or spouse have ever:
   1. Commuted to work in the U.S. from another country before coming to live in the U.S or
   2. Worked for a U.S. company overseas and paid U.S. income taxes or Social Security taxes.
4. If the interview results indicate that the noncitizen meets, may meet, or believes that he/she meets the 40 credits of qualifying employment requirement, view the Forty Quarters Information tab in the IEVS Applicant Detail page for each relevant person necessary to establish eligibility. A Release of Information form is not required.
5. For Expedited Service Cases:
   1. Approve the case, if otherwise eligible, with a Postponed Verification case status (1 or 2 month certification period) if:
      1. the IEVS Applicant report is not received within the required time frame, and
      2. the noncitizen has declared on the SAWS 2 Plus, CF 285, that he/she has the required 40 credits of qualified employment.
6. Explain to the applicant/recipient that if they do not have the required credits, any CalFresh benefits issued to which they were not eligible will be declared an overissuance and must be repaid.
7. For all other cases, wait until the IEVS Applicant report is received, and then take action.

Forty Quarters History

The SSA system will provide a Forty Quarters report through CalSAWS for those individuals for whom it was requested as part of the IEVS report. Forty Quarters History can also be requested through SAVE.

Note: If the household asserts that members have 40 quarters of work history, but the SSA cannot confirm the information and is conducting an investigation to determine if additional quarters can be credited, the county must certify the household pending the results of the investigation for up to six months from the date of the original determination of insufficient quarters. A sworn statement, a legally enforceable contract, is considered sufficient temporary verification as long it is completed in front of a U.S. Notary Public or a USCIS or Consular Officer.

Lag Quarters

Depending upon when the request is submitted, the report will not contain the current and/or preceding calendar year information due to the normal processing cycle of employer-provided information. These current-year quarters and preceding-year quarters, which do not show on the report, are called Lag Quarters.

Non-covered Earnings

Non-covered earnings are earnings for which Social Security taxes were not withheld (e.g., earnings of certain public employees or earnings paid in cash). Therefore, the credits for these earnings do not appear on the report.

If an applicant/recipient claims earnings from non-covered employment, the credits for those earnings can be counted if satisfactory evidence is provided. Acceptable evidence includes:

• Taxpayer’s actual copy of W2 or W-2c forms, or
• A copy of the applicant’s federal or state income tax return (with a photocopy of W-2 or W-2c attached) or
• Employer-prepared wage statements.

Processing the Report

When the report is received, process according to this chart:

If	Then
the existing SSA records support the individual’s claim of sufficient credits of qualifying employment	the noncitizen and any other noncitizens whose eligibility is contingent on this individual having the 40 credits of qualifying employment meet the “exception criteria” and are federal SNAP eligible, if otherwise eligible.
the existing SSA records do not support the individual’s claim of sufficient credits of qualifying employment, but the applicant/recipient believes the information provided by SSA is incomplete or inaccurate	the noncitizen and any other noncitizens whose eligibility is contingent on this individual having the 40 credits of qualifying employment are not federal SNAP eligible. Explore eligibility for CFAP. Advise the client of the appeal procedure available through the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA will assist the individual to determine if such credits can be established and provide them with proof that the number of credits of qualifying employment is under review.
the existing SSA records do not support the individual’s claim of sufficient credits of qualifying employment, but the applicant/recipient believes the information provided by SSA is incomplete or inaccurate due to missing Lag Quarters or non-covered earnings	have the noncitizen provide: Employer-Prepared wage statements, W-2 or W-2c, or Internal Revenue Service copy of the income tax return. Refer to Credits of Qualifying Employment for information on how to determine credits of qualifying employment based on reported earnings. Add the number of credits determined countable from lag quarters or non-covered employment to the number of credits reported on the report.
the noncitizen has the required 40 credits	the noncitizen and any other noncitizens whose eligibility is contingent on this individual having the 40 credits of qualifying employment are eligible for federal SNAP benefits, if otherwise eligible.
the noncitizen does not have the required 40 credits of qualifying employment or cannot provide verification of the Lag Quarters or non-covered earnings	advise the client of the appeal procedure available through the Social Security Administration (SSA). SSA will assist the individual to determine if such credits can be established and provide them with proof that the number of credits of qualifying employment is under review. Explore eligibility for CFAP benefits. See the following box if the client has filed an appeal through SSA.
the final determination from SSA indicates that the individual (in combination with their spouse and/or parent(s)) has the required 40 credits of qualifying employment	the noncitizen and any other noncitizens whose federal eligibility is contingent on this individual having the 40 credits of qualifying employment are eligible for federal benefits, if otherwise eligible. Change the individual(s) from CFAP to federal SNAP eligible.
the final determination from SSA indicates that the individual (in combination with their spouse and/or parent(s)) does not have the required 40 credits of qualifying employment	no action is required. The individual(s) remain on CFAP.

 

 

Credits of Qualifying Employment

Federal Means-Tested Exclusion

Beginning with the first quarter of 1997, no credit of qualifying employment shall be countable if the individual who earned it received any Federal means-tested public benefits during the quarter for which it was credited.

For our definition, federal means-tested public benefits include Federal CalWORKs, RCA, Medi-Cal, SSI, and the Federal food assistance program known as SNAP. The CFAP and State CalWORKs are not considered federal means-tested public benefits. However, since all individuals receiving state CalWORKs automatically receive Medi-Cal benefits, the quarters in which the individual received state CalWORKs cannot be credited due to the receipt of Medi-Cal.

ExampleExample

ExampleExample

ExampleExample

Credits for qualifying employment earned prior to 1997 count regardless of whether the individual received any federal means-tested public benefits during the quarter for which they were credited.

Reminder: At every recertification, the EW must review to determine whether the individual meets the 40 qualifying quarters requirement.

Current Year - Computation of Credits of Qualifying Employment

A current year’s credit for a quarter that has ended may be used in the 40 credits of qualifying employment computation. The term “calendar quarter” means the 3 calendar month period ending with March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st of any year. Do not count credits for calendar quarters that have not ended, even if the individual has sufficient earnings to qualify for the credit. Use the current year amount as the divisor to determine the number of credits of qualifying employment available, always rounding down the result.

To determine the number of credits of qualifying employment to be counted for the current year, use the lesser of:

• The number of quarters that have ended for the current year or
• The number of credits of qualifying employment available based on total earnings divided by the amount needed per credit.

ExampleExample

Establishing Credits/Quarters - 1978 through the current year

For 1978 and later, credits are based solely on the total yearly earnings. All types of earnings follow this rule. The amount of earnings needed to earn a credit increases and is different for each year. For 1978 through 2005, the amount of earnings needed for each credit is:

 

YEAR	AMOUNT NEEDED FOR EACH CREDIT	YEAR	AMOUNT NEEDED FOR EACH CREDIT	YEAR	AMOUNT NEEDED FOR EACH CREDIT
2007	$1000***	1997	$670***	1987	$460
2006	$970***	1996	$640	1986	$440
2005	$920***	1995	$630	1985	$410
2004	$900***	1994	$620	1984	$390
2003	$890***	1993	$590	1983	$370
2002	$870***	1992	$570	1982	$340
2001	$830***	1991	$540	1981	$310
2000	$780***	1990	$520	1980	$290
1999	$740***	1989	$500	1979	$260
1998	$700***	1988	$470	1978	$250
MAXIMUM OF 4 CREDITS PER CALENDAR YEAR *** Beginning in 1997, any credit cannot be counted if the individual who earned it received any federal means-tested public benefit during the quarter for which it was credited.

Establishing Credits - 1977 and earlier years

For 1977 and earlier years, an individual earned:

• One credit for each calendar quarter in which an individual was paid $50 or more in wages (including agricultural wages for 1951-1955),
• Four credits for each taxable year in which an individual’s net earnings from SELF-EMPLOYMENT were $400 or more and/or
• One credit for each $100 (limited to a total of 4 yearly) of agricultural wages paid during the year for the years from 1955 through 1977.

Combining Credits with Spouse/Parent(s)

Social Security credits (formerly called “quarters of coverage”) are earned by working at a job or as a self-employed individual.
Each individual can only be credited with four (4) credits of qualifying employment per year based on their own employment.

The individual, for CalFresh purposes, can use credits of qualifying employment earned by:

•  Their current spouse (including those cohabiting and holding themselves out to the community as husband and wife by representing themselves to relatives, friends, neighbors, or tradespeople) during the spousal relationship. Refer to Spouse [63-102] and HH Decision.

  • Note: Any qualifying quarters from the ex-spouse are no longer countable after the final divorce. The EW must review every recertification to determine if the individual still meets the 40 qualifying quarters requirement.

•  Their former spouse if the marriage ended by death, but only for those quarters earned during the marriage.
• By their natural, adopted or step parent(s) while he/she was under 18.
  • An adopted child may use the quarters of his adopted parents after the adoption and those of his birth parents prior to the adoption.
  •  The step-child can use a step-parent’s credits if the step-parent relationship still exists. The death of the step-parent does not terminate the relationship. Upon divorce, the step-parent relationship ceases to exist.

ExampleExample

Declaration of Citizenship/Noncitizenship Status

Regulation

A valid declaration of citizenship/non-citizenship status is required for all CalFresh recipients:

• At initial application, and
• At application, when there is a break in benefits of one day or more.

Completing the forms listed below meets the citizenship/non-citizenship status declaration requirement. A new form is not required when the status changes.

• SAWS 2 Plus
  • Statement of Facts For Cash Aid, CalFresh and Medi-Cal/
  • State-Run CMSP
• CF 285
  • Statement of Facts

 

Related Topics

Eligible Non-citizens