Compensation/Restitution

USA: Holocaust Payments & Federal Benefits

All Holocaust compensation and restitution payments are protected by 1994 federal legislation that excludes them from calculations relating to eligibility for federal benefits. The legislation (h.r. 1873 or public law 103-286) stated that payments made to individuals because of their status as victims of Nazi persecution are to be excluded from income and resources in determining both eligibility for and the amount of benefits or services to be provided under any Federal or federally assisted program which provides benefits or services based on need such as, but not limited to, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and Federally subsidized Housing programs.

To view or print the letter from the Social Security Administration, click here.

The New York State Medicaid program made an important ruling reversing an earlier fair hearing decision which would have denied an elderly Holocaust survivor‘s application for Medicaid benefits to pay for his nursing home care. Read the full press release [PDF format]

"Holocaust Compensation Payments: Effect on Eligibility for Medicaid, SSI and Other U.S. Federal Benefits":

This pamphlet prepared by Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. describes the effect of the Victims of Nazi Persecution Act passed by Congress in 1994 on Holocaust compensation payments and the calculation of a recipient’s income or financial resources. The pamphlet covers federal programs available nationally to Survivors in the United States.

Founded in 1936 to assist refugees from Nazi Germany, Selfhelp continues its mission of providing a wide range of home and community based services to victims of Nazi persecution in the New York area, in part through grants allocated by the Claims Conference for this purpose.

Please Note: The Claims Conference is distributing this information as a service to the survivor community and social service professionals in the United States. “Holocaust Compensation Payments: Effect on Eligibility for Medicaid, SSI and Other U.S. Federal Benefits” was not compiled by the Claims Conference. The Claims Conference is not responsible for its content.

Click here to access the Pamphlet

A New York State website launched by The Empire Justice Center, The Legal Aid Society and Selfhelp Community Services of New York includes information on the protection of Nazi Victim payments from taxation and means-tested spend-downs under United States Fedetal laws. Note that pensions under German Social Security ("Ghetto Pension") or one-time payments awarded to Holocaust survivors through the German government ("Ghetto Fund" ) fall under the exempt categories. The website is designed for health advocates, caregivers and consumers of New York State, but the Holocaust compensation/restitution discussion applies to all U.S. states. For the site, go to http://nyhealthaccess.org or http://wnylc.com/health. For the information on Nazi Victim payments, go to http://wnylc.com/health/entry/65.

Alongside the pamphlet you can access a SELF-TABULATING CURRENCY CONVERSION WORKSHEET prepared by Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. The worksheet contains the conversion rate table (from Deutschmarks and Euros to Dollars) going back to 1952. The worksheet, in EXCEL format, will execute the conversion from Deutschmarks (or Euros) to dollars automatically for you.

After entering the DM or Euro amounts in the appropriate boxes, simply tab to the "dollar" box and the dollar amount will appear. Once the worksheet is completed, print it out and present to the relevant U.S. agencies. You can save the worksheet in your own computer files and documents by clicking "File/Save As".

Click here to access the Worksheet

An example of a typical Compensation Payment Summary (in this case originating from one of the German government’s BEG offices) is available at the link below. Although the statement is in German, it is easy to understand. This example begins with a statement describing a lump-sum retroactive payment of DM 20,405. This amount should be entered into the worksheet for the month stated, (here indicated as July 1957).Below this and in chronological order the pension amounts are indicated.“Rente ab” means “Pension [Amount] from”…..[date], followed by the monthly pension amount for that period.Therefore, in this example, for the period beginning on August 01, 1957 and ending on March 01, 1959, the recipient received a pension of DM 173 each month. This amount should be entered into the worksheet for each month between those two dates. Thereafter, beginning on March 01, 1959, the recipient received a pension of DM 193 each month, until June 01, 1960, when the monthly amount was increased to DM 207. And so forth.

Click here to access the sample Compensation Payment Summary

The information presented herein is intended for information purposes only and solely as a general guide.The information is not intended as legal advice. It is a summary of specific issues and does not represent a definitive or complete statement of the programs and policies of the agencies or governments mentioned. The information may not address the special needs, interests and circumstances of individual recipients. Individual situations differ and recipients are urged to seek individual advice.Individuals seeking specific information on a program are urged to contact the relevant program or to consult their social service agency or help center representative. To the best of our knowledge the information is correct as of the date of this document and this information may change subsequent to the said date. Updated January 2010

Compensation & Restitution Resources

Compensation/Restitution

USA: Holocaust Payments & Federal Benefits