Editorial Standards & Methodology
BenefitScreen exists to make public benefit programs easier to understand. People make real household decisions based on what they read here, so we hold our content to a clear standard for sourcing, accuracy, and honesty. This page explains exactly how we work.
Last reviewed August 13, 2026. We review this policy at least twice a year.
Our commitment in one sentence
We organize and explain publicly available benefit program rules accurately, name the agency that administers each program, and never invent an income limit, a benefit amount, an eligibility rule, a deadline, or a person.
Where our information comes from
Benefit programs are created and run by government agencies, so government is our primary source. When we describe an eligibility rule or build a calculator, we work from the material that actually governs it:
- Official federal program rules and publications, such as USDA Food and Nutrition Service pages for SNAP and WIC, Medicaid.gov and CMS materials for Medicaid and CHIP, HUD pages for housing assistance, and Social Security Administration publications for SSI.
- State agency pages, since states administer many programs and set their own income limits, deductions, and application procedures within federal rules.
- The federal poverty guidelines published by the Department of Health and Human Services, which many programs use as the basis for income tests.
- Department of Labor and IRS publications for workplace-linked topics such as COBRA continuation coverage and HSA contribution limits.
Where a claim depends on an outside source, we favor official .gov pages so you can read the rule at its source and confirm it yourself.
How we handle facts that vary by state
Income limits, deductions, benefit calculations, and application procedures differ from state to state, and they change, often every year. Rather than print a single number that would be wrong somewhere, our guides and tools flag where a figure is federal and where it depends on your state, and our screeners treat results as estimates, not determinations. For anything we have not verified against your state's own published rules, we give you an honest framework and the exact questions to ask your state or county benefits office instead of a guess dressed up as a fact.
Who writes and reviews our content
Our articles and tools are researched, written, and edited by the BenefitScreen Editorial Team, a group of writers and researchers who focus on public benefit programs and how their eligibility rules work. Every article carries this team byline and a published or updated date.
We are deliberate about what we are not. We are not caseworkers, attorneys, financial advisors, or employees of any agency, and we do not publish content under invented expert names or fabricated professional credentials. When a decision calls for individual help, we say so and point you to the program's administering agency, your local benefits office, or a qualified professional instead of pretending to be one.
How we keep content current
Each article shows when it was published and, when applicable, when it was last updated. We revisit content on a rolling basis and when we learn that a program rule, income limit, or agency procedure has changed. Benefit rules still move faster than any publisher can track perfectly, so a date on this site tells you when we last reviewed a page, not that a rule has not changed since. Always confirm current requirements with the administering agency before you act.
Corrections and feedback
If you spot something that looks out of date or wrong, tell us and we will check it against the source and fix it promptly. Accurate content is more valuable to us than being right the first time, and reader corrections make this resource better for the next household that relies on it.
Email corrections to team@benefitscreen.com with the page URL and what you believe should change.
What we will never publish
- Invented facts, made-up statistics, or citations to sources that do not say what we claim.
- Specific state income limits, benefit amounts, or agency procedures that we have not confirmed at the source.
- Promises that you will qualify for a program, be approved, or receive any particular benefit amount. Those decisions belong to each program's administering agency alone.
- Content that suggests we can file, expedite, or influence an application with any agency on your behalf.
- Fabricated testimonials, success stories, reviews, or ratings.
Independence and how we pay for this
BenefitScreen is an independent information publisher. We are not a government agency, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any federal or state benefit program. We do not accept payment from any program, agency, or provider in exchange for coverage or placement in our guides or directory, and no listing on this site is paid. Our screeners, calculators, letter tools, and guides are free to use, and nothing you could ever buy from us changes what any agency requires or decides.
Related
Read more about who we are on our About page, review our full disclaimer, or browse our 1000 published articles.
Disclaimer: BenefitScreen provides benefits screening information, not financial or legal advice. Eligibility estimates are based on program rules and user-provided data. Actual eligibility is determined by each program's administering agency.