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2023 Financial Condition Report For Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2023
Public Assistance Recipients Increase to Highest Level Since 2015
For SFY 2022-23, the average monthly number of public assistance recipients in the State increased by 68,614 (14.5 percent) to 540,656, following near-record-low caseloads in SFY 2021-22. The number of public assistance recipients increased every month since September 2021, reaching 574,154 in March 2023 – its highest level since October 2015.
“Public assistance” as discussed in this report includes both Family Assistance (FA) and Safety Net Assistance (SNA). FA provides up to 60 months of cash assistance to eligible needy families; SNA provides cash or non-cash assistance to eligible single adults, childless couples, persons who have exceeded the 60-month limit on Family Assistance, children living apart from adult relatives and certain other individuals. FA is largely funded by the federal government, while SNA is largely funded by the State and the counties and comprises 74 percent of public assistance expenditures.
The average number of FA recipients increased for the first time in nine years, by 8.4 percent to 175,761 in SFY 2022-23, reaching 180,597 in March 2023 – the highest level since August 2020. The average number of SNA recipients increased by 17.7 percent to 364,896, reaching 393,557 in March 2023 – the highest levels ever.
Spending for Public Assistance Reaches Record Level
Public assistance spending increased in SFY 2022-23 by $392 million (19.9 percent) from the previous year, mainly because of an increase in SNA expenditures in New York City.
SNA expenditures increased by $324.7 million (22.8 percent) from the prior year.
FA expenditures in New York State increased by $67.4 million (12.3 percent) from the prior year.
SNAP Spending Surge Continues
Compared to the prior year, disbursements for the State’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increased by $846.4 million (9.7 percent) to $9.6 billion, continuing an upsurge in spending largely related to the pandemic. Over the last three State fiscal years, spending for SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program and funded by the federal government, has more than doubled, increasing by $5.2 billion (123 percent) since SFY 2019-20.
A portion of the increase was due to federal legislation authorizing emergency supplemental benefits to households receiving SNAP and boosting maximum benefits by 15 percent from January through September 2021. New York began issuing the supplemental benefits in March 2020 and did so until March 2023, when Congress ended them. In addition, program updates in 2021 reflecting current food prices and trends in what recipients buy and eat increased SNAP benefits by 21 percent. Last October, SNAP benefits also automatically rose by 12.5 percent to reflect changes in the cost of living. The average number of SNAP recipients increased for the third consecutive year by 75,541 (2.7 percent) to nearly 2.9 million, the highest average number of program recipients since SFY 2016-17.
SSI Recipients Decrease for Seventh Consecutive Year; Disbursements Increase Due to Higher Federal Expenditures
The average number of recipients of Supplementary Security Income (SSI)—a State- and federally-funded program for the aged, blind and disabled with little or no income and resources—decreased by 15,376 (2.4 percent) to 621,605 in SFY 2022-23.
Compared to the prior year, SSI disbursements in the State increased by $71.1 million (1.5 percent) to $4.9 billion. Of this amount, the federal government contributed $4.4 billion, an increase of $94.3 million (2.2 percent) compared to the prior year. State expenditures totaled $522.8 million, a decrease of $23.3 million (4.3 percent) compared to the prior year.
