The Future of Emergency Supplemental Benefits That means if your card falls into the wrong hands that figure out how to access your funds, it could be impossible to reclaim them. Some states charge replacement fees, which will come out of your balance New Jersey, for example, offers two free replacement cards but then charges a $2 replacement fee for each card thereafter.Īccording to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, EBT cards don’t have guaranteed protections under federal law against loss or theft of your card or funds. If you lose your card, contact your state’s EBT customer service line immediately to have it replaced. If your card is suspended because you didn’t use it, you should contact your local SNAP agency to have your access reinstated. What Should I Do if My EBT Card is Suspended? This letter will be sent to your last known mailing address-so be sure to keep this information up-to-date with your local SNAP agency. The letter will include information on what steps you can take to bring your benefits back online. State SNAP agencies are required to send written notification to you up to 10 days prior to your benefits being suspended. How Will I Know When My EBT Card Will Be Suspended? In Washington state, EBT accounts are inactive when a transaction has not occurred for at least 60 days. Massachusetts, for example, suspends EBT cards after six months of inactivity. The inactivity period can differ by state, and your access can be revoked sooner or later than three months. Generally, if you don’t use your EBT card for three months, it will be taken offline, and your access to the account will be revoked, meaning you can’t use it until you contact your local benefits office to get it reinstated. SNAP benefits are loaded onto an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card each month. The usual revocation rules for SNAP benefits will apply to the supplemental benefits if you don’t use your EBT card, they will eventually be revoked. That also doesn’t mean that the government will come in and take back unused emergency supplemental benefits you may have racked up during the pandemic. The period expiring simply means you will no longer receive the supplemental portion of your benefits you will continue to receive your regular SNAP benefits. There’s confusion around the emergency supplemental benefits period expiring (as of now, there’s no end date), and what that means for your benefits. Will the Government Take Back Any Unused Emergency Supplemental Benefits After the Expansion Period Ends? Be sure to have your mailing address up-to-date with your state’s SNAP agency.Ĭheck with your local SNAP agency for more information about how long you will have access to benefits if you don’t regularly use them. Households that regularly use their benefits, but carry over a balance, won’t lose them after nine months.īefore they remove your benefits, states are required to notify households no later than 30 days prior to the date that they will be removed. It’s important to note that benefits will only be expunged if you don’t use your benefits at all during this time period. For example, if you received benefits in October 2020, they would expire in July 2021. The benefits are then expunged from your account on a month-to-month basis, depending on the date you received them. (If you don’t use your EBT card at all for three months, you’ll lose access to your benefits: more on that below). Generally, most SNAP benefits expire after nine months of not using your EBT card at all. If you don’t use your benefits for an extended period of time, though, you risk losing them for good. Unused SNAP benefits from the month automatically roll over to the next month. Here are answers to some common questions about SNAP benefits. Forbes Advisor has also received emails from readers sharing the same worries. Consumers that rely on SNAP benefits have obvious anxiety around keeping them New York’s SNAP Covid-19 information page lists “Do I have to use my emergency SNAP supplemental benefits right away?” as a frequently asked question. Information about SNAP benefits varies by state, and information about the program is not always clear. What to Know About SNAP Benefits Expiring They fall under the same expiration rules as regular SNAP benefits-which means that yes, they can expire-but it depends on how active you are with your benefits in the first place. The benefits were expanded at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic as a lifeline for struggling families.īut as other federal aid programs, such as expanded unemployment benefits, have expired, some are left wondering if emergency supplemental benefits they’ve received will expire, too. More than 42 million people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) benefits to help afford food.
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