How the Benefits Check decides

Medicare Savings Programs, every state

• For people with Medicare.
• Up to three levels. The first pays your Medicare premium, deductibles and copays. The others pay your monthly Medicare premium.
• Each state sets income and savings limits at or above the federal minimums. We use your state's published limits. Some states, like New York, have no savings limit.
• Worth $202.90 a month for each person, back in your Social Security check.

Source: Medicare.gov: Medicare Savings Programs

Source: Pair Team 50-state benefits research, with a source for every number

Medicaid for people 65 and older, blind or disabled, every state

• We use your state's income and savings limits, under the state's own program name (Medi-Cal in California).
• Over the income limit? Many states have a spend-down or share of cost: high medical bills count against the extra income.
• Where we couldn't find a reliable published limit, we don't guess. We tell you to ask your state.

Source: Medicaid.gov: eligibility

Source: Pair Team 50-state benefits research, with a source for every number

Extra Help with drug costs (federal)

• For people with Medicare.
• Countable income up to 150 percent of the poverty line for you, your spouse and dependents: $1,995 single, $2,705 couple.
• Savings up to $18,090 single or $36,100 couple.
• Automatic for anyone who gets a Medicare Savings Program, full Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.
• No drug plan premium or deductible. In 2027, generics cost at most $5.80 and brand-name drugs at most $14.40. Copays stop after $2,400 in drug costs for the year.

Source: Medicare.gov: help with drug costs

Supplemental Security Income (federal)

• For people 65 or older, or with a disability.
• Countable income below $994 single or $1,491 for a couple who are both 65 or older or disabled.
• Savings up to $2,000 single or $3,000 couple.
• If your spouse is not 65 or older or disabled, we count their income only above $497.
• Worth about $994 minus your countable income each month, plus a state payment we don't estimate.

Source: Social Security: SSI amounts

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), under each state's own name

• Uses the income of everyone in your home, including any Supplemental Security Income we estimate.
• Deductions: 20 percent of earnings; a standard deduction of $217 (1), $217 (2), $217 (3), $229 (4), $268 (5), $308 (6); dependent care; and medical costs over $35 for members 60 or older or disabled, including the Medicare premium. Some states give a standard medical deduction instead.
• Housing: rent or mortgage plus your state's standard utility allowance, which can depend on your county or household size. The part of housing costs above half your income after deductions comes off too, up to $769. No cap if someone in your home is 60 or older or disabled.
• Benefit: the maximum for your household minus 30 percent of what is left. Maximums: $306 (1), $562 (2), $808 (3), $1,023 (4), $1,217 (5), $1,463 (6), $1,616 (7), $1,841 (8). Households of 1 or 2 who qualify get at least $25.
• Who qualifies: household income up to 130 percent of the poverty line, or higher in states that raise that limit. Homes with someone 60 or older or disabled can also qualify with income after deductions under the poverty line and savings up to $4,750, or with no savings limit in some states.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture: SNAP cost-of-living adjustment, fiscal year 2027

Source: Pair Team 50-state benefits research, with a source for every number

Energy assistance (LIHEAP), every state

• For people who pay a heating, cooling, electric or gas bill.
• We use each state's published income limit. In many states, getting SNAP, Supplemental Security Income or Medicaid qualifies you on its own.
• Payment amounts and seasons vary by state. We show the state's range when it publishes one.
• New York's program has its own rules, below.

Source: U.S. Administration for Children and Families: LIHEAP

Source: Pair Team 50-state benefits research, with a source for every number

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), New York

• For people who pay for heat, including heat included in rent.
• Household income up to $3,563 (1), $4,659 (2), $5,756 (3), $6,852 (4), $7,948 (5), $9,045 (6), or you get SNAP or Supplemental Security Income.
• One-time payment: $400 for electric or gas heat, $990 for oil or propane, $700 for wood or other, $45 if heat is in your rent.
• If you pay for heat directly: $35 more if someone is 60 or older or disabled, and $61 more if income is under 130 percent of the poverty line or you get SNAP.
• The 2026 to 2027 season opens November 2, 2026.

Source: New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance: HEAP

Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC), New York

• For people 65 or older with Medicare who don't have full Medicaid.
• Yearly income up to $75,000 single or $100,000 married.
• Also pays drug plan premiums for yearly income up to $23,000 single or $29,000 married.

Source: New York State Department of Health: EPIC

California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) and Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA)

• For people who pay an electric or gas bill.
• CARE: yearly household income up to $43,280 (1), $43,280 (2), $54,640 (3), $66,000 (4), then $11,360 more for each extra person, or you get Medi-Cal, CalFresh or Supplemental Security Income. 30 to 35 percent off electric, 20 percent off gas, plus about $18 a month off the base charge.
• FERA: yearly household income up to $54,100 (1), $54,100 (2), $68,300 (3), then $14,200 more for each extra person. 18 percent off electric, plus about $12 a month.
• City utilities like the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are not part of CARE.

Source: California Public Utilities Commission: CARE and FERA

Lifeline and California LifeLine

• Federal Lifeline: household income up to 135 percent of the poverty line, or you get SNAP, Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.
• California LifeLine: yearly household income up to $24,600 (1), $33,300 (2), $42,100 (3), $50,800 (4), then $8,700 more for each extra person, or you get Medi-Cal, CalFresh or Supplemental Security Income.
• Worth $9.25 a month off phone or internet service.

Source: Federal Communications Commission: Lifeline

Source: California LifeLine

Medicaid for adults under 65, every state

• For adults under 65 without Medicare. Income is your household's income before taxes, including Social Security; there's no savings limit.
• Three groups, each with your state's own limit as a share of the poverty line for your household (a baby on the way counts): adults in states that expanded Medicaid (usually 138 percent), parents and caretakers of children, and people who are pregnant.
• In states that haven't expanded Medicaid, most adults without children can't get it at any income. If your income is also under the poverty line, Marketplace help doesn't start either. We say so plainly and point to community health centers.
• Some states require some adults to work, volunteer or train about 80 hours a month to keep coverage. We note it where it applies.

Source: Medicaid.gov: eligibility

Source: Pair Team 50-state benefits research, with a source for every number

Health coverage for children: Medicaid and CHIP, every state

• For children under 19. Limits depend on the child's age (under 1, 1 to 5, 6 to 18), then the state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) covers children above the Medicaid limit.
• Some states charge a small monthly premium for CHIP, based on income. We show it when the state publishes it.

Source: Medicaid.gov: eligibility

Source: Pair Team 50-state benefits research, with a source for every number

Help paying for a Marketplace health plan (premium tax credit)

• For people who can't get Medicare, Medicaid or affordable insurance through a job.
• Household income from 100 to 400 percent of the poverty line for 2026 coverage. The extra help that removed the top limit ended after 2025.
• You pay a share of income for a benchmark silver plan, from 2.1 percent at the lowest incomes to 9.96 percent at the highest. The credit is the rest.
• We estimate the benchmark price from your state's average for a 40-year-old, adjusted for age with the federal age curve. The exact credit depends on where you live and the plan you pick.

Source: IRS: premium tax credit

Cash help for families (TANF), under each state's own name

• For families with children under 18. We use your state's income limit and the most it pays a family your size.
• The payment is usually the state's amount minus countable income, after a work deduction, so we say "qualify" only when income is under the payment amount.

Source: U.S. Administration for Children and Families: TANF

WIC

• For people who are pregnant, new parents, and children under 5.
• Household income up to 185 percent of the poverty line (a baby on the way counts), or you get Medicaid, SNAP or TANF.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture: WIC

School meals

• Free meals with household income up to 130 percent of the poverty line, or if you get SNAP or TANF. Reduced price up to 185 percent.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture: school meals

Earned Income Tax Credit (federal, tax year 2026)

• For people with pay from work. The most it pays is $664 with no children, $4,427 with one, $7,316 with two and $8,231 with three or more children under 19.
• We work it out from IRS tables: it grows with pay, then shrinks once income passes a set amount. Without children, it's for workers 25 to 64.
• It needs a Social Security number valid for work. Children without one don't count toward it.

Source: IRS: Earned Income Tax Credit

Child Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Care Credit (federal)

• $2,200 for each child under 17. It first lowers tax owed; up to $1,700 per child comes back as a refund, at 15 cents for each dollar of pay over $2,500.
• We estimate federal income tax from pay after the standard deduction. Other income isn't counted toward tax, so credits that only lower tax aren't overstated.
• The care credit is a share (50% at low incomes, falling to 20%) of up to $3,000 in child care costs for one child or $6,000 for two or more. It only lowers tax owed.

Source: IRS: Child Tax Credit

Source: IRS: Child and Dependent Care Credit

State tax credits for working families

• Many states add their own EITC, usually a share of the federal one, and some add a child tax credit. The table below shows each state's.
• Credits that only lower state tax owed are listed as "close", because the amount depends on your state tax.

Source: IRS: states with their own EITC

Child care help, Head Start and Summer EBT

• Child care help: your state's income limit for your family size, for children under 13. Parents usually need to work or be in school, and some states have waiting lists.
• Head Start: children under 5 and pregnant people, with income up to the poverty line, or TANF or SSI. Programs can take some families up to 130% of it.
• Summer EBT (SUN Bucks): $120 per school-age child for groceries over the summer, for children who get free or reduced-price school meals, in states that take part.

Source: ChildCare.gov

Source: Head Start

Source: SUN Bucks

Senior food boxes, weatherization, renter credits and housing

• Senior food box (CSFP): people 60 and older with household income up to 150% of the poverty line.
• Weatherization: household income up to 200% of the poverty line (some states use their own limit), or energy help, SSI or TANF.
• Renter credits: each state's rent rebate or renter's credit, by age and income, for people who rent.
• Housing vouchers and public housing: household income up to half the area median, from HUD's county limits. We never say "qualify", because waiting lists are long.

Source: CSFP

Source: Weatherization Assistance Program

Source: HUD: income limits

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

• For people under 67 with a disability who have worked enough years paying Social Security taxes. We don't know work history, so it's always "close".
• Pay over $1,690 a month usually means SSDI can't start.

Source: Social Security: disability benefits

Veterans benefits

• VA pension: wartime service, 65 or older or disabled, countable income under $17,441 a year alone (more with a spouse or children), and net worth under $163,699. The payment is the limit minus countable income.
• Survivors pension works the same way for a veteran's surviving spouse, with lower limits.
• VA health care: most people who served can enroll; under VA's income limit, care is usually free.

Source: VA: pension rates

Immigration status

• We only ask when a program in your results depends on it.
• We use federal rules as of October 2026, after the 2025 law changes: since October 1, 2026, full Medicaid is limited to citizens, green card holders (most after 5 years), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and people from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. Emergency Medicaid is open to everyone.
• Then your state's own choices: some cover lawfully present children and pregnant people, and a few cover people regardless of status with state money.
• Children who are citizens can get coverage, SNAP and school meals even if a parent can't.

Source: Medicaid.gov: coverage of immigrants