New SNAP work requirements soon go into effect for people 55 to 64

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About 150,000 people in Massachusetts are slated to lose food benefits this year under new work requirements passed by Congress. But many are unable to reach a state caseworker to discuss or update their situation because staff — and the phone system — cannot keep up with the volume.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump in July, tightens eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the nation’s largest food program.

In New Bedford, about half of all households rely on SNAP benefits. Statewide, about one in seven SNAP recipients fall under the new work rules. Based on that, The Light estimates that roughly 2,900 New Bedford households could be affected. 

Massachusetts’ Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) has started notifying thousands of recipients that they now have to meet the new work requirements. 

Under the new rules, able-bodied adults ages 55 to 64 must work or participate in job training for at least 80 hours a month to continue receiving food assistance. Previously, the requirement applied only to adults through age 54. The law also extends to additional categories of people, including parents caring for children between 14 and 17, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults aging out of foster care. 

Those SNAP recipients have three months after they receive a DTA notice to either comply with the rules or demonstrate that they qualify for an exemption. Either way, they must report their status to the DTA if they want to keep their benefits. 

DTA began sending the new work-requirement notices in December, and the first cutoffs started in February. But each SNAP recipient’s cutoff date will be based on when they get a DTA notice. 

SNAP recipients can use the state’s DTA Connect web portal to do that. They can also send documents by the U.S. Mail.

But the department’s workforce is struggling to keep up with the volume of cases. So one-on-one help is hard to get.

More than 60% of clients who called the DTA in 2025 had their call disconnected due to high call volume, data shows.

The DTA’s caseload has grown by nearly 40% since 2020, but staffing levels have not kept pace. From about 2015 through 2019, each caseworker handled roughly 850 SNAP cases. Today, that figure has climbed to about 1,300 cases per worker, an increase of about 50%, according to data collected by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

“DTA workers are heroes, but they are drowning in this work,” said Patricia Baker, a senior policy advocate at the MLRI.

Matt Dansereau, outreach coordinator at the Dartmouth Council on Aging and a board member for the DTA in New Bedford, said DTA is currently receiving between 7,000 and 8,000 calls a day.

“DTA’s phones are brutal right now. They don’t have enough people working,” he said. 

What SNAP recipients can do

If you receive SNAP and have been notified about the new work requirements, here’s what the state and advocates say you should do to keep your benefits:

• Work (paid or unpaid) for at least 80 hours per month;
• Or take part in an approved Employment and Training activity for at least 80 hours per month; 
• Or volunteer at a nonprofit or public organization for 99 hours per month.
  • You can visit SNAPPathtoWork.org to find a volunteer site, and free training in your area.

The DTA encourages SNAP recipients to use the DTAConnect online portal to update their cases and upload documentation. 

The portal is user-friendly, but it is basic, says Kevin Frederic, New Bedford Catholic Charities outreach coordinator and food pantry manager. 

If users have specific questions about their case, they would still need to speak with someone directly.

You can visit the DTA office instead of calling. In New Bedford, it’s located at 16 Kilburn St.

You can also get help from one of DTA’s outreach partners. In New Bedford, these include Catholic Social Services and the New Bedford Public Schools Family Welcome Center.

People online have started sharing strategies for getting in touch with DTA. Some upload a photo of a sheet of paper to the online portal — under the documents section — with a handwritten message saying, “Please call me.”

When DTA sends a letter denying, stopping, reducing, or changing your benefits, you have the right to appeal the decision within 90 days of the date on the notice. 

You can appeal in any of the following ways:

• Send the appeal form included with the notice in the provided envelope, explaining what decision you are appealing.
• Call the DTA Division of Hearings at (617) 348-5321 and leave a detailed message.
• Write a letter stating that you want to appeal the decision, and submit it by the DTA Connect online portal, the mobile app, by U.S. Mail, or in person at a DTA office. 

Work requirements aren’t new, but they’re getting tougher

SNAP work requirements are not new, nor is the termination process for those who do not comply.

Since Congress passed the 1996 welfare reform law, some able-bodied adults without dependents have been required to work to keep food benefits. 

In Massachusetts, DTA screens recipients to see if they qualify for an exemption from the work requirement. If not, a three-month clock begins. Each month DTA issues a “strike” notice, warning when benefits will end unless the person either complies with the work requirement or reports an exemption.

Exemptions are numerous and complex: receiving disability-related benefits such as Social Security; living in a household with a child under 14; caring for grandchildren, parents or a disabled spouse; being pregnant; or participating in a substance-use treatment program.

Whether a recipient finds a job or qualifies for an exemption, they must report the change to DTA to avoid losing their benefits.

Advocates fear that some people who are still eligible for SNAP benefits will lose them anyway because of the paperwork burden. The difficulty of getting through to the DTA by phone may worsen that problem.

Experts say the consequences of the new work rules go beyond losing food benefits. Research shows that food assistance keeps people healthy and lowers health-care costs. 

“When SNAP benefits increase, there is a reduction in the likelihood that low-income populations will experience emergency department visits and inpatient stays,” says Brandeis University professor Rajan Sonik, who has studied SNAP’s health benefits. ”The costs to public health insurance programs like Medicaid also appear to decline.” But when SNAP benefits are reduced or cut off, high-cost health care use rises.

The new SNAP rules focus on older recipients, who tend to have more chronic health conditions and lower levels of digital literacy.

“All of those things just make it harder for them to jump through extra administrative hurdles,” said Sonik.

State’s error rate may prove costly

The strain on the DTA is not only affecting SNAP recipients. It could also carry financial consequences for the state starting next year.

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federal government is shifting some SNAP costs to states for the first time. How much a state must pay will depend on its “payment error rate,” a measure of how often benefits are calculated incorrectly.

Beginning in fall 2027, a state with an error rate of 10% or higher will be responsible for paying 15% of its SNAP benefit costs.

“They’re putting states in a pressure cooker,” said Baker, the senior policy advocate at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Massachusetts recorded a SNAP payment error rate of about 14% in fiscal year 2024, nearly triple the level of about 5% in fiscal year 2019.

Baker said the increase is tied to mounting strain at the DTA. As communication with recipients becomes more difficult, she said, the risk of payment errors rises.

“And I’m worried that people who should never have been subject to the work rules are going to lose their benefits.”

To find food pantries in the Southeast, check the United Way of Greater New Bedford’s Hunger Commission list. For additional resources near you, visit Southcoast Health’s local resource directory.

Email Eleonora Bianchi at ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org

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