Did You Know That You May Be Able to Increase Your Monthly SNAP Benefits by Having Your VSO Pay Directly for Certain Monthly Bills?

A: A vendor payment is when a VSO sets aside some of your Chapter 115 benefits to pay for your rent, mortgage, or utilities. The VSO sends these funds directly to your landlord, bank, or utility company on your behalf. The landlord, bank, or utility company is called the “vendor.” The VSO sends the remainder of your Chapter 115 benefits directly to you.   This kind of arrangement is called a vendor payment plan.  Keep reading to find out how a vendor payment plan can put more money in your pocket each month.  

A: Vendor payments are typically for housing expenses (rent or mortgage) or utility expenses (heating, cooling, electricity, internet, etc.). Depending on the circumstances, vendor payments may also be made for medical bills or other “household expenses.” Vendor payments tend to work best when they are used for bills that are a predictable amount and paid on a regular schedule, such as rent. For bills that can fluctuate, like utilities, it may be easier to ask your VSO to pay a set amount each month to your utility company, rather than trying to coordinate payments that change each time you receive a bill. Some utility companies also offer what they call “budget billing” or “balanced billing” where your bill is the same every month.  This can make it easier to set up a vendor payment with your VSO for that expense. 

A: No. You have the right to choose how much of your Chapter 115 benefits you’d like to be paid in the form of a vendor payment. You also have the right not to have any vendor payments at all.  You can discuss all this with your VSO.  Talking with your VSO can help you figure out what bills you might want to have them pay from your Chapter 115 benefits using a vendor payment. Setting up a vendor payment is also not the same thing as having a representative payee or a fiduciary—you have the right to cancel or change a vendor payment at any time by notifying your VSO. 

A: A vendor payment plan can help you receive more in monthly SNAP benefits because it changes—in your favor—how monthly benefit amounts are calculated.  

Specifically, SNAP benefits help people in need to buy groceries. The amount of SNAP benefits you can receive depends on your income. Income is money you receive from a job, retirement benefits, many government programs (such as Chapter 115) or other sources.  In general, people with lower income get more monthly SNAP benefits.  

In Massachusetts, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) is responsible for receiving SNAP applications and deciding who is eligible for SNAP. As part of this process, DTA calculates the amount of monthly SNAP benefits a person should receive.  DTA’s policy is that Chapter 115 vendor payments do not count as income for SNAP eligibility purposes.  DTA only considers Chapter 115 benefits as income when the Chapter 115 benefits are paid directly to the veteran. But importantly, with Chapter 115 vendor payments, some of your Chapter 115 benefits are paid by the VSO directly to your landlord, utility company, or other provider. Vendor payments are made on your behalf—they are not sent directly to the you. This is why DTA does not count the amount of Chapter 115 vendor payments as your income when calculating your monthly SNAP benefit amount.  

As a result, a vendor payment plan decreases your income in the eyes of DTA—even though there has been no actual decrease in your monthly Chapter 115 benefits. And remember, SNAP applicants with lower monthly income can receive more in their monthly SNAP benefits. In the end, setting up a vendor payment plan with your VSO will increase the amount of SNAP benefits you can receive.  And it won’t cause your Chapter 115 benefits to go down at all because the Chapter 115 program never counts any SNAP benefits against your income.

A: Let’s consider the example of a Massachusetts veteran named Vanessa.  She is a Massachusetts veteran.  She is 30 years old and takes care of her two young children.  Based on her household size and other factors, Vanessa receives $1,900 per month in Chapter 115 benefits. Vanessa’s monthly rent is $1,200.  Vanessa and her VSO decide to put aside $1,200 of her monthly Chapter 115 benefits for a vendor payment to the landlord to cover Vanessa’s rent.  The VSO then pays the $1,200 directly to Vanessa’s landlord to cover her monthly rent. Vanessa receives the other $700 of her Chapter 115 benefits in the form of a check directly from her VSO.  Vanessa can spend those $700 however she wants on any other expenses she may have.     

A: There are many factors that go into how DTA calculates a SNAP recipient’s monthly SNAP benefit amount. So, how much a vendor payment plan can increase your SNAP benefits depends on your individual situation.  However, a vendor payment plan will always increase the amount of SNAP benefits you receive—and sometimes by a lot. Let’s consider two examples. 

A: It depends. For some people, starting a vendor payment plan can help them become eligible for SNAP benefits. For others, a vendor payment plan may not make enough of a difference to help them become eligible for SNAP benefits. If you do not have enough money for food every month, we encourage you to apply for SNAP benefits.  More information about applying for SNAP can be found here. 

A: It depends.  For some people, a vendor payment plan may not be a good fit because it requires planning and coordination among you, your VSO, and your bank or utility company.  Others may feel a loss of financial flexibility from only getting a portion of their monthly Chapter 115 benefit amount sent directly to them.  There are other factors to keep in mind, including:  How good is your working relationship with your VSO?  Would you be comfortable having your landlord know you receive Chapter 115 benefits and having your landlord be in contact with your VSO?  How predictable are your total monthly expenses?  Are there challenges in figuring out household budgeting because of who else lives in your household and how expenses with those people might be shared or not?  These are just examples of things to consider.  Overall, whether the pros of a vendor payment plan outweigh the cons depends on each person’s individual situation and needs.  

A:  The first step is just to think about whether you might want to set up a Chapter 115 benefit vendor payment for your rent, mortgage, or utilities so that you can increase the amount of your monthly SNAP benefits. Think through the pros and cons that apply to your individual situation. You might want to discuss this with a family member, friend, or other person you trust. If you decide it is worth exploring the possibility of a vendor payment plan, you should talk to your local VSO who handles your Chapter 115 benefits.  When you talk to your VSO, explain your reason for wanting to look into the possibility of a vendor payment plan.  You can also discuss with your VSO the amount of your Chapter 115 benefits you’d like to dedicate for a vendor payment.   

If you decide to move ahead with a vendor payment plan, you will need to give your VSO contact information for whomever is going to receive the vendor payment. This means the VSO will need the billing information for who will be the e vendor in your case, whether your landlord, bank, or utility company.  If your payment needs to be labeled with an account number, your address, or other identifying information, make sure your VSO knows that is required.  You should also tell your landlord, bank, or utility company about the vendor payment plan so they know how to credit those payments to your account too. 

Talking to your VSO about the possibility of setting up a vendor payment plan does not mean you have to go forward with one.  No one can force you to have a vendor payment plan.  If, after considering your options, you do not want to have a vendor payment plan, just tell your VSO that.  And if you already have a vendor payment plan in place but want it to stop, you can also tell your VSO that you want to end the vendor payment plan. It is a good idea to confirm that you are ending the vendor payment plan by sending your VSO a letter or email—this is in addition to talking to your VSO and saying you want the vendor payment  plan to stop.

If you decide to move forward with a vendor payment plan, ask your VSO to give you a letter confirming the plan. The letter from your VSO should state what monthly vendor payments will be made and how much money from your Chapter 115 benefits the VSO will pay each month directly to the vendor(s) (such as a landlord, bank, or utility company). This step is important because if you want DTA to increase your SNAP benefits, DTA needs to know that the vendor payment plan is in place. Take the letter from your VSO and submit it to DTA.  You can do that by going to one of DTA’s assistance locations (https://www.mass.gov/orgs/department-of-transitional-assistance/locations) or  by contacting the DTA assistance line at (877) 382-2363.   Also keep a copy for your own records. Tell DTA that the amount of the vendor payment should not be counted as your income. If needed, you should point DTA to the form located on the following webpage:   https://eohhs.ehs.state.ma.us/DTA/PolicyOnline/olg%20docs/form/19/vvpf.pdf.  That form helps people show DTA that Chapter 115 vendor payments cannot be counted as your income.  
If your VSO sets up a vendor payment plan but does not give you a letter describing the vendor payment plan, you should still tell DTA about the vendor payment plan. Again, DTA can only re-calculate SNAP benefits and increase your SNAP benefits if DTA knows about the vendor payment plan.  
If you are not yet receiving SNAP benefits, you should include information about your vendor payment plan in your SNAP application. 

A: If you are having difficulty setting up a vendor payment plan with your VSO or disagree with what your VSO is doing in your case, please contact our office. You can apply for legal assistance by calling our intake line at 617-390-2525, sending an email to veteranslegalclinic@law.harvard.edu, or visiting our office at 122 Boylston Street in Jamaica Plain during business hours. We will review your case and let you know if and how we may be able to help.   You can also contact us if you have a vendor payment plan in place, but you are still experiencing problems. It could be that the vendor payments are not being made properly. Or it could be that DTA is not re-calculating and increasing your monthly SNAP benefits as they should. In these situations, too, you can contact our office to apply for legal assistance. We will review your case and let you know if and how we may be able to help you.  

Please remember that every Chapter 115 applicant and recipient has the right to file an appeal if they disagree with any decision that affects Chapter 115 benefits. More about how to file a Chapter 115 benefit appeal, what’s involved with an appeal, and what appeal deadlines exist, can be found in our forthcoming updated guide, see previous version here. Similarly, every SNAP applicant and recipient has the right to file an appeal if they disagree with any decision that affects SNAP benefits. More about how to file a SNAP appeal, what’s involved with an appeal, and what appeal deadlines exist, can be found here (https://www.masslegalservices.org/content/103-what-are-my-rights-if-dta-denies-cuts-or-stops-my-snap).