Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act

The Alaska Native Settlement Trust Eligibility Act would temporarily shield certain Alaska Native settlement payments from counting toward eligibility determinations for means-tested federal programs. Specifically, for five years from enactment, distributions from or benefits provided by an Alaska Native Settlement Trust to an Alaska Native or descendant who is aged, blind, or disabled would be excluded from (i.e., not used in) determining eligibility for those programs. The provision reworks the existing eligibility language in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) to create this five-year exemption for the targeted group. In plain terms, the bill aims to protect vulnerable individuals who receive settlement-trust distributions by preventing those payments from reducing or disqualifying them for programs that use income or assets to determine eligibility. The exemption applies to payments to someone defined as aged, blind, or disabled under the Social Security Act.