Adults 60 and older who rely on SNAP benefits will not face the tighter work requirements that Congress imposed on younger participants through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Federal regulations continue to exempt anyone in that age group from work registration, job search mandates, and mandatory employment and training assignments. At the same time, these households retain the right to deduct qualifying medical expenses above a monthly threshold when their benefits are calculated, a provision that can meaningfully raise the size of their monthly allotment.
Why the 60-and-older exemption carries real financial weight
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, formally designated as H.R. 1 of the 119th Congress, expanded and tightened SNAP work rules for able-bodied adults. But the law did not alter the longstanding carve-out for older participants. Federal regulation 7 CFR 273.7 contains an explicit exemption for “a person 60 years of age or older,” shielding them from general work provisions, including any mandatory employment and training placement.
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service underscored this in its September 5, 2025, implementation memorandum on ABAWD exceptions. In that guidance on ABAWD exemptions, the agency stated that individuals aged 60 or older remain exempt from the general work requirements. The memo, focused on how the new law restructures the able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) time-limit framework, drew a clear line: the stricter rules target younger adults, not seniors.
The distinction matters because the two sets of rules operate differently. General work requirements under 7 CFR 273.7 apply broadly but carry the age-60 exemption. The ABAWD time limit under 7 CFR 273.24 imposes a separate, harsher test that can cut benefits after three months of noncompliance. Older adults fall outside both tracks, meaning they are not subject to the three-month limit tied to work hours and are not required to register with a state employment office to keep their benefits.
For seniors living on low or fixed incomes, this stability is crucial. Unlike younger adults who might lose eligibility if they cannot document sufficient work or participation in employment programs, a 60-year-old SNAP participant can continue receiving benefits without navigating complex reporting or job-search mandates. That reduces the risk of administrative terminations and gaps in food assistance that can occur when beneficiaries miss paperwork deadlines or cannot secure enough work hours.
The exemption also acknowledges the realities of aging. Many older adults face health conditions, mobility limitations, or caregiving responsibilities that make steady work difficult or impossible. By keeping them outside the tightened work regime created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, federal rules aim to ensure that SNAP functions as a reliable nutrition support rather than a conditional benefit that can disappear because of fluctuating employment.
How the medical expense deduction raises senior benefit amounts
Beyond the work-rule exemption, households with a member aged 60 or older can subtract out-of-pocket medical costs that exceed a set monthly threshold. Under USDA implementation guidance for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s SNAP provisions, this deduction lowers a household’s countable net income, which in turn increases the benefit amount the household receives each month. Qualifying costs include doctor visits, prescription drugs, medical equipment, health insurance premiums paid out of pocket, and transportation to appointments.
The deduction is authorized under 7 CFR 273.9, which governs income and deductions for SNAP eligibility. Only households containing an elderly or disabled member can claim it. For a senior living on a fixed income with recurring pharmacy bills or specialist visits, the difference between claiming and not claiming the deduction can shift a monthly allotment by tens of dollars, a gap that compounds over a full year of benefits. For example, if an older adult pays well above the threshold each month for prescriptions and co-pays, properly documenting those expenses can significantly reduce countable income and push their benefit closer to the maximum for their household size.
State agencies administer the verification process, and practices vary. Some states accept self-declaration of medical costs up to a certain level with periodic spot checks, while others require receipts, pharmacy printouts, or provider statements for every claimed expense. A state that actively helps applicants document their medical spending-through clear forms, outreach, and caseworker prompts-will, by design, produce higher average benefits for its 60-and-older SNAP participants than a state where caseworkers rarely mention the deduction or discourage detailed claims.
For older adults, this makes the application and recertification interview a key moment. Seniors who are not asked about medical costs, or who do not realize that regular expenses like over-the-counter medications prescribed by a doctor or transportation to chemotherapy appointments may qualify, can leave substantial assistance on the table. Conversely, when states and community partners explain the deduction and help seniors gather documentation, the program more closely matches the actual cost of living with chronic conditions.
Taken together, the age-based work exemption and the medical expense deduction illustrate how SNAP policy treats older adults differently from younger, able-bodied participants. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act tightened rules for many adults but left intact a framework that shields seniors from work mandates and recognizes their higher health-related expenses. For households headed by or including someone 60 or older, understanding and using these protections can mean more stable access to food and benefits that better reflect real-world costs.
Free tool for readers: Built for Americans 55 to 80: a free, plain-English retirement check. See your Retirement Safety Score — your 0–100 number and a few steps — in about five minutes, no account needed.
