Older Americans on food assistance can now keep more in savings under the federal SNAP rules. On October 1, the SNAP limit on countable assets for households that include someone 60 or older or someone with a disability rose to $4,750, up from $4,500 a year earlier.
The change is part of the program’s annual cost-of-living update, which also raised the maximum monthly benefit in 48 states and Washington, D.C. Hawaii went the other way, with its top benefit for a family of four falling.
The new SNAP asset limits for fiscal 2027
The U.S. Department of Agriculture set the new figures in its fiscal 2027 cost-of-living memo, which took effect October 1, 2026, and runs through September 30, 2027. Households with at least one member who is 60 or older or disabled may have up to $4,750 in countable resources. All other households remain capped at $3,000, the same as last year.
The previous limit for older and disabled households was $4,500, according to USDA’s fiscal 2026 memo, so the increase is $250. The $4,750 figure also serves as the threshold for what counts as a substantial lottery or gambling win under SNAP rules.
The bank balance at recertification: The new asset line is tested at each SNAP recertification, when older households report what is in savings and checking against their state’s rules. The renewal document checklist covers the paperwork for that step in The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer.
What counts toward the limit and what does not
Countable resources are things like cash and money in bank accounts. Several large assets are left out entirely. USDA’s SNAP eligibility page, updated October 1, says a home and its lot do not count, and neither do most retirement and pension plans. Withdrawals from those plans can count as income or resources depending on how often they happen.
The resources of people who receive Supplemental Security Income or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families are also excluded. Vehicles are counted under rules each state sets, with exclusions for vehicles used to earn income, used as a home or needed to transport a disabled household member. For other vehicles, value above $4,650 counts as a resource.
Why many states do not apply the federal asset test
The federal limit is not the final word everywhere. USDA says most states have adopted broad-based categorical eligibility, which lets a state align SNAP’s income and resource limits with programs funded through TANF. In those states, some households can hold more than the federal limit and still qualify.
Households still have to meet the program’s other rules and have income low enough to receive a benefit. Because each state runs its own application, the asset test an older applicant actually faces depends on the state where they live.
Higher benefits in 48 states, a cut in Hawaii
The same memo resets benefit amounts. In the 48 contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the maximum monthly benefit for a family of four rose to $1,023 from $994. For one person it rose to $306 from $298, and for a two-person household to $562 from $546. The minimum benefit for one- and two-person households went to $25 from $24.
Hawaii moved in the opposite direction. Its maximum for a family of four fell to $1,655 from $1,689. The memo states the decrease but gives no reason for it.
Deductions moved too. The standard deduction subtracted from income is $217 a month for households of one to three people in the 48 states and D.C., and $229 for a household of four. Households assigned to change reporting must report an income change of more than $150, a threshold the memo applies in every area.
Maximum amounts are what a household with no countable income would receive. Most households get less, because SNAP expects them to spend part of their own income on food.
The separate income test for older and disabled households
Households with an older or disabled member also get a different income test. USDA’s eligibility page says they only have to meet the net income limit, after deductions, rather than the gross income limit that applies to most families.
The memo also raised a separate gross income standard, set at 165% of the poverty line, for certain older and disabled people who live with others but are treated as their own SNAP household. That limit is now $2,195 a month for one person, up from $2,152.
Applications go through the state agency where the applicant lives, and the new figures apply to applications and recertifications processed from October 1 onward.
Savings, recertification and state rules
The higher limit only helps at the moment a household applies or recertifies, and whether the federal test applies at all depends on whether the state uses broad-based categorical eligibility. Older households have to line up their account balances, the state’s own rule and the date their next recertification is due.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer combines 51 state packs with a renewal and reporting calendar for tracking each recertification date and what must be reported before it.
Look up the state rules in The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy against USDA’s fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 SNAP cost-of-living memos and its SNAP eligibility page.
Elias Broderick specializes in residential and commercial real estate, with a focus on market cycles, property fundamentals, and investment strategy. His writing translates complex housing and development trends into clear insights for both new and experienced investors. At The Daily Overview, Elias explores how real estate fits into long-term wealth planning.
