Income Limits for Households without an Elderly Person

• The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) website provides income eligibility guidelines, which vary depending on the number of people a household contains and whether a household contains an elderly person. The income limit information in this section is applicable only to households with no elderly members. As of January 2011, a household with one member is eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program if monthly income does not exceed $1,444. The monthly income limit for a household with two members is $1,943; the monthly income limit for a three-member household is $2,442. The DPW website provides additional monthly income limits for households of up to 10 members and beyond.
  
  

Income Limits for Households with an Elderly Person

• As of January 2011, the monthly income limit for households containing one elderly person to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is $1,805. For two-member households containing an elderly person, the monthly income limit is $2,429; three-member households with an elderly person are allowed a gross monthly income of $3,052. The DPW website has monthly income limit information for larger households containing elderly people.
  
  

Changes to Eligibility Guidelines

• According to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) website, the income guidelines have changed to make the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program more accessible. The DPW website states, "Because of changes to SNAP, most Pennsylvania households are not subject to a net income limit, nor are they subject to any resource or asset limits. This means that your household's assets (savings, retirement accounts, vehicles, etc.) are not considered in determining your eligibility for benefits. The best way to determine if your household will qualify for SNAP is to apply."
  
  

Average Monthly Assistance Amounts

• As of January 2011, average monthly assistance amounts for Pennsylvanians who are eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are as follows: $200 for a household of one, $367 for a household of two, $526 for a household of three and $668 for a household of four. Monthly assistance amount information for families with more than four members is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare website.