Minnesota Lawmakers Weigh SNAP Asset Test After Millionaire Qualifies Under Income‑Only Rule
A Minnesota House Public Safety Committee hearing this week will take up a GOP-backed bill to tighten Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility after a retired engineer with more than $1 million in assets says he legally qualified for food stamps because the state checks only income, not wealth. Rob Undersander, who applied in 2016, received thousands of dollars in benefits despite owning significant savings and property and says he used the money to highlight what he calls 'fraud by design' in Minnesota’s rules. The proposal from Republican state Rep. Pam Altendorf would require stricter income and asset verification before Minnesotans can enroll in SNAP, a program that has seen state benefits jump from roughly $725 million in 2020 to nearly $2 billion in 2021 and that cost the federal government nearly $100 billion last year. Conservative policy advocates testifying at the hearing argue that allowing millionaires and lottery winners to qualify undermines public trust in welfare programs and misdirects taxpayer funds away from the truly needy, while the debate plays out against a broader state fraud scandal involving other benefit programs that officials say may reach into the tens of billions of dollars.
📌 Key Facts
- Rob Undersander, a Minnesota retiree with more than $1 million in assets, qualified for SNAP in 2016 because the state relied on income-only eligibility and did not consider his savings or property.
- Undersander says he received thousands of dollars in food benefits over more than a year, including purchases like lobster and filet mignon, and donated the value to charity to draw attention to the loophole.
- GOP state Rep. Pam Altendorf has introduced a SNAP reform bill that will be heard by the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee this week, aiming to add stricter income and asset verification.
- Federal SNAP spending hit $128 billion in 2021 and $127 billion in 2022, and Minnesota’s SNAP outlays rose from about $725 million in 2020 to nearly $2 billion in 2021, a 174% increase.
📊 Relevant Data
In Minnesota, Black individuals make up 26% of SNAP recipients, despite comprising only about 7% of the state's population, indicating an overrepresentation in the program.
SNAP by the numbers: What to know about food aid's impact on Minnesota — MPR News
In Minnesota, the poverty rate for Black residents is 28.6%, compared to 6.6% for White residents and a statewide average of 9.3%.
People in Poverty in Minnesota: MNData Access — Minnesota Department of Health
In the United States, the median household wealth for White households is $284,310, compared to $44,100 for Black households and $62,000 for Hispanic households as of 2022.
States with SNAP asset tests disqualify families with modest savings, and lifting these tests through broad-based categorical eligibility has helped increase participation among working families, particularly those with lower assets.
SNAP’s “Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility” Supports Working Families and Those Saving for the Future — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
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