Work requirements are kicking in for more older adults and parents of teenagers across the U.S. who get help with groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The implementation dates vary by state: In some, people could lose benefits as soon as Sunday if they can’t show they’re working but many people have a month or more before their benefits are at risk.
Here’s what to know about the changes.
The law takes away exemptions for work requirements
A massive tax and spending bill signed into law in July by President Donald Trump expanded requirements for many adult SNAP recipients to work, volunteer or participate in job training for at least 80 hours a month. Those who don’t are limited to three months of benefits in a three-year period.
The work requirements previously applied to adults ages 18 through 54 who are physically and mentally able to work and don’t have dependents under age 18. The new law applies those requirements to those ages 55 through 64 and to parents without children younger than 14. It repeals work exemptions for homeless individuals, veterans and young adults aging out of foster care. And it limits the ability of states to waive work requirements in areas lacking jobs.
The new requirements are expected to reduce the average monthly number of SNAP recipients by about 2.4 million people over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The three-month clock is starting in some states and ending in others
When the requirements kick in depends on the state.
Texas started its requirement in October, so people there could have exhausted their three months of benefits by Jan. 1 and already been removed from the rolls.
Several states started the three-month clock in November, opening the possibility of people losing benefits in coming days. Among them are Alaska, Colorado, Georgia and Hawaii.
The requirements take effect Sunday in other states, including Illinois and Ohio. In those places, people could lose benefits in May. Ohio says people will have to show documentation of work starting in March.
Some states have exemptions because of relatively high unemployment rates, either statewide or in certain regions, that let them delay implementation. California’s waiver is scheduled to be in place until January 2027.
But most of those have ended or will soon. For most of New York, the work requirement is to start in March. But it began in October in Saratoga County.
Many SNAP beneficiaries already work
About 42 million people — or 1 in 8 Americans — receive the benefits. The majority are in households that have incomes below the poverty line, which is about $33,000 for a family of four.
An analysis from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that about 3 in 5 people who benefit from SNAP are in families with children and more than 1 in 3 are in households with older adults or people with disabilities. Nearly 2 in 5 people are in households that include someone with a job.
The average benefit per person is about $190 per month.
The work requirement isn’t the only change to coming to SNAP.
Starting in October, states will be required to cover three-fourths of the administrative costs. Currently, state and federal governments divide the states’ cost of running the program roughly equally. In late 2027, states with higher error rates in payments will be required to cover some of the benefit costs.