THE COMMISSIONER OF TEMPORARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE CAN RECOUP MONEY PAID TO A SSI-BENEFIT-APPLICANT UNDER A WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM (WEP) DURING THE PERIOD THE APPLICANT IS AWAITING SSI-BENEFIT APPROVAL (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the Commissioner of Temporary and Disability Assistance can seek reimbursement of income earned in a work experience program (WEP) while awaiting approval of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits:

… [T]he Commissioner offers the example of an individual who receives $14,000 in interim assistance while waiting 28 months for the Social Security Administration to render a determination on his or her SSI application. The interim assistance recipient performs unpaid work under a WEP during that period and would have received $11,200 had a minimum wage been paid for that work. The SSI application is then approved and an initial lump sum retroactive payment of $16,800 is made, at which point the State seeks and obtains reimbursement for the $14,000 in interim assistance benefits. The benefits recipient has received $14,000 in interim assistance benefits for the 28-month pendency of the SSI application — an amount that includes the value of his or her work — and retains that money. The only effect of the recoupment upon the recipient is to reduce the retroactive SSI payment to account for the duplicative interim assistance payments for those 28 months, preventing the recipient from “double dipping” and receiving both interim assistance benefits and SSI benefits during that period.

The Commissioner’s logic is compelling and, as it comports with the statutory framework, we reverse. Matter of Andersen v Hein, 2024 NY Slip Op 04167, Third Dept 8-8-24