OFFICE OF FISCAL ANALYSIS
Legislative Office Building, Room 5200
Hartford, CT 06106 (860) 240-0200
http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa
sSB-917
AN ACT EXEMPTING VETERANS' FEDERAL PENSION BENEFITS
FROM INCOME ELIGIBILITY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS.
Primary Analyst: ES 3/31/21
Contributing Analyst(s): LD
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $
Social Services, Dept. GF - Cost Indeterminate Indeterminate
Note: GF=General Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill will result in a cost to the Department of Social Services
(DSS) associated with disregarding any federal non-service-connected
pension benefits for veterans or their surviving spouses for purposes
of determining income eligibility. By reducing the income that is
currently counted towards income limits, the bill increases the number
of individuals who could be eligible under the following DSS
programs: Medicaid, the Medicare Savings Program, State
Administered General Assistance, Connecticut Home Care Program
for Elders, State Supplement (Aid to the Aged, Blind and Disabled),
and energy assistance.
For context, there were 167,000 veterans in Connecticut on 9/30/20.
The number of veterans participating in the assistance programs
specified by the bill is unknown. The impact of the bill is dependent
on: (1) the number of veterans participating in each DSS program, (2)
the benefit amount being disregarded, and (3) the income limits of the
program. 2021SB-00917-R000250-FN.DOCX Page 2 of 2
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of applicable veterans in
DSS programs and the amount of benefits being disregarded.