Asset Limits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Savings, even in modest amounts, have been shown to create a protective buffer within a family’s budget that minimizes these negative outcomes and promotes the positive.Ideally, savings would play a complementary role to the system of safety-net supports that are designed to provide temporary assistance to families for purchasing basic goods and services. Where supports like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are essential to averting food insecurity and meeting nutritional needs during acute periods of need, savings can help reduce a household’s financial vulnerability and need to access this assistance in the future.

Unfortunately, eligibility rules often place an explicit restriction on the amount of savings a family can have and receive benefits. By creating a trade-off between immediate need and long-term security, asset limits undermine the intent of the support. Asset limits also impose a significant administrative burden on both caseworkers and families seeking assistance.

At a time when 47 million people are receiving SNAP and state budgets continue to suffer and produce cuts to staff that administer public assistance, understanding the impact of policy choices becomes increasingly consequential. As policy makers continue to evaluate actions to either simplify or reform asset limits or make them more burdensome, this research demonstrates that, far from removing safeguards to program integrity and opening supports to increased caseloads, removing asset limits increases efficiency, reduces errors, and can even reduce costs. Perhaps more importantly, it sends the signal that saving, investing in your family’s wellbeing, should be encouraged, and that in times of hardship, families can access the short-term benefits they need without being penalized for taking responsible actions.

This brief reviews the legislative history of asset limits within SNAP, examines the most recent evidence on the impact of asset limits on the wellbeing of participants and administrative efficiency, and identifies implications this evidence has for current federal and state policy discussions. You can find a copy of "Asset Limits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: The Case for Reform" here.