alaska heating assistance programs policy manual - DPAweb ...

1. Joint bank account. If the military person is deployed, any monies
deposited into a joint bank account and accessible to the household will
count as unearned income to the household in the month received and
as a resource the following month. However, the amount of money from
a joint account used by a deployed individual is not countable income to
the family.
2. Bonuses for reenlistment and special pay for warfare. Bonuses paid
to a military person will appear in the Entitlements section of the LES.
If a bonus is received in a lump sum, it is exempt as income under the
non-recurring lump sum provision but is counted as a resource in the
month received. If the bonus is paid in installments, it counts as earned
income in the month received.
3. Vehicles. There is no special treatment for the vehicles of military
families.
4. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). This is a form of a government
employee retirement plan and is an excluded resource as long as the
employee does not withdraw the funds.
5. Savings bonds. The cash in value of a savings bond is a countable
resource once the funds can be accessed.
B. Income
A military person’s income is treated differently if the military person is living
with the household or if the person is deployed.
Note on Military Pay:
The income on the Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) is considered as
monthly income, even when the military person receives a mid-month
check.
1. Earned Income
a. Countable Income
If the military person is living in the home, payments and allowances
shown in the Entitlements section of the Leave and Earnings
Statement (LES) will be considered earned income and counted in
the budget. The most common of these are base pay, or basic pay,
basic allowance for subsistence (BAS), a military person’s food
allowance, and basic allowance for housing (BAH).
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