FPL Benefits Screener
One income entry, checked against every income-based program on this site. See at a glance which calculators are worth your time.
With dozens of income-based senior benefit programs, each with its own limit, it's hard to know where to even start. Enter your household size and annual income once, and this screener checks it against the published federal income guideline for SNAP, Medicaid, Extra Help, the Medicare Savings Program, LIHEAP, Weatherization, Lifeline, hearing/vision assistance, and ACA Marketplace subsidies, then routes you to whichever calculators are worth a closer look.
This is a first-pass screen, not a final answer. Several of these programs apply deductions for medical expenses, housing costs, or other factors that their own calculator accounts for but this quick screen can't. Think of it as a map of where to spend your time next, not a substitute for the specific tool.
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Your Results
"Likely Qualifies" means your gross income is at or below that program's published guideline — not a guarantee. "Above Typical Guideline" doesn't rule you out either: deductions on several of these calculators can lower your countable income significantly. Click through to each program for the real test.
Every income-based senior benefit uses some version of the same yardstick, a percentage of the federal poverty level (FPL), but each program picks a different cutoff and a different way of counting income. SNAP asks about net income at 100% of the poverty line, after medical and housing deductions unique to households with someone 60 or older. Weatherization and the hearing/vision assistance programs use 200%. LIHEAP typically caps at 150%. Lifeline sets its bar at 135%. Extra Help, the Medicare Savings Program, and regular Medicaid for aged or disabled applicants don't use a poverty-percentage figure at all; they publish flat monthly dollar limits for individuals and couples instead, tied to the SSI federal benefit rate rather than the poverty guideline. ACA Marketplace subsidies for those 62-64 are unusual in having both a floor and a ceiling: too far below 100% FPL and Medicaid is the better fit, too far above 400% and the subsidy disappears entirely under 2026 rules. None of that is obvious from the outside, which is exactly why this screener exists: one income entry, checked against every threshold at once, so you know which calculators are actually worth your ten minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the FPL Benefits Screener?
A quick routing tool. You enter your household size and annual income, and it compares that against the published federal poverty guideline used by SNAP, Medicaid, Extra Help, LIHEAP, and other programs already on this site, then links you to whichever calculators are worth checking in detail.
Is this a precise eligibility determination?
No. It's a first-pass screen based on gross income only. Several programs, like SNAP, apply deductions for medical expenses or housing costs that can qualify someone whose gross income looks too high here. Always click through to the specific calculator for an exact answer.
What counts as income for this screener?
Total gross annual household income before taxes or deductions: Social Security, pensions, wages, and other regular income. Each linked calculator will ask for more specific figures, including deductions, if the program uses them.
Why aren't Extra Help, Medicare Savings Program, or Medicaid scored for households larger than 2 people?
Those three programs publish flat monthly income limits for individuals and couples rather than a formula that scales with household size, so this screener only scores them at household sizes 1-2 to avoid inventing a figure that doesn't exist in the source data. Larger households should check the calculator directly.
Does this account for Alaska and Hawaii's different poverty guidelines?
Yes. Select your state region and the screener uses the correct, higher federal poverty guideline for Alaska or Hawaii instead of the 48-contiguous-states figure.
Is my information stored anywhere?
No. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server or saved.
This screener provides a general, gross-income-only estimate and does not constitute an eligibility determination for any program. Thresholds reflect 2026 federal figures already published on this site's own calculators; some states apply additional or different rules. For an official determination, apply directly through each program's administering agency.