Rhode Island grants
& benefits: TDI, the RI-1040H credit and RIPAE.

Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) pays weekly benefits to Rhode Island workers who miss work because of an illness or injury that did not happen on the job. Workers fund it through payroll tax. The state started it in 1942, the first program of its kind in the country.

For a benefit year starting July 1, 2026 or later, the weekly rate runs from $148 to $1,150. Children under 18 add a dependency allowance for up to five, each the greater of $20 or 7% of your rate. You must be out of work at least 7 days in a row, and TDI lasts up to 30 weeks.

Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) draws on the same fund. It pays up to 8 weeks to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a new child, and you must apply within 30 days of starting your leave. TCI weeks count against the TDI weeks left in that benefit year.

Claims filed from January 1, 2026 generally need $19,200 in base period wages, with a lower-wage route that requires at least $3,200 in one quarter. Apply online through DLT or call (401) 462-8420. Most first payments arrive 3 to 4 weeks after a valid application.

Form RI-1040H is the Property Tax Relief Claim. For 2025 it returns up to $700 to disabled residents and anyone 65 or older who lived in Rhode Island all year in a home or rental subject to property tax, with household income of $40,730 or less.

Renters count 20% of the rent paid for the right to live there, after taking out the value of any furniture or utilities included. Only one person per household can claim it. Claimants under 65 attach a Social Security disability award letter or Form 1099-SSA.

The 2025 claim was due April 15, 2026. When it is filed with Form RI-1040, the credit lowers any income tax due or adds to the refund. The income cap and the top credit are adjusted for inflation each year.

Workers who get the federal EITC also get a refundable Rhode Island credit worth 16% of it. Retirees at full retirement age with 2025 federal AGI up to $107,000 (single) can subtract taxable Social Security and up to $50,000 of pension or annuity income.

Rhode Island runs the Medicare Savings Programs as the Medicare Premium Payment program. Since February 1, 2026, people who would have qualified for SLMB are placed in QMB instead, which pays Part A and Part B premiums plus Medicare copays and deductibles.

For 2026, QMB covers monthly income up to $1,683 single or $2,275 for a couple, with resource limits of $9,950 and $14,910. QI covers just the Part B premium for income up to $2,255 or $3,050, but its money is limited and goes first come, first served. Apply at healthyrhode.ri.gov or 1-855-697-4347.

RIPAE, run by the Office of Healthy Aging (OHA), pays part of the cost of approved generic drugs bought in the deductible stage of a Part D or Medicare Advantage drug plan. Level 1, for single income under $39,002, gets 60% paid. Levels 2 and 3 get 30% and 15%, up to $85,848 single.

Applicants need to be 65 or older, or 55 to 64 with a disability, and not on Medicaid or Extra Help. Level 1 members also get free entry to state beaches. Mail the application to OHA in Cranston; processing takes 14 to 30 days. The ADRC at (401) 462-4444 helps with the form.

HealthSource RI open enrollment for 2027 coverage runs November 1, 2026, through January 31, 2027. New this year is RIMAP, the Rhode Island Marketplace Affordability Program, which adds state help on top of federal tax credits after the enhanced federal credits expired.

RIMAP may reach households under 200% of poverty, roughly $31,920 for a single adult, or above 400% when an average plan costs a high share of income. The marketplace expects it to help more than 20,000 people. Paying by December 23 means your card should arrive before coverage starts.

Medicaid changes fall mostly on expansion adults: ages 19 to 64, not pregnant, not caring for a minor child and without Medicare. Since October 1, 2026, some adults who are not U.S. citizens have lost eligibility. Starting January 1, 2027, this group renews every 6 months.

Work rules for expansion adults also begin in 2027. Meeting 80 hours in one month out of every six keeps coverage, and exemptions include meeting TANF or SNAP work rules or an inpatient hospital stay. Keep your address, phone and income current so notices reach you.

The Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol, rebuilt in 2017, offers housing and care from dormitory-style rooms to skilled nursing, including a 32-room memory care neighborhood. It runs free transport to the Providence VA Medical Center, and VA benefit counselors work on site.

Wartime veterans of any age qualify with an honorable discharge, 90 days of active wartime service, and either two straight years of Rhode Island residency or enlistment from the state. Residents typically pay 80% of adjusted net income. Apply with your DD-214 or call (401) 253-8000.

Combat veterans who file for TDI after leaving active service and fall short on recent wages can have the claim figured on quarters from before they were called up. DLT asks for a DD-214 or other proof of combat duty.

From October 1, 2026, the SNAP gross limit for households without an older or disabled member is $2,461 monthly when one person lives alone and $5,088 for a household of four. Households with someone 60 or older or disabled use 200% of poverty. The top monthly benefit is $306 for one person.

Apply online, by phone at 1-855-697-4347, on paper or at a DHS regional office. DHS has 30 days to decide, or 7 days on an expedited case. Since September 20, people who did not send requested documents on an earlier application may lose expedited handling.

SNAP households made up only of people 60 and older, only of people with a disability, or of people who are homeless can buy prepared meals at nine participating Subway restaurants through the Restaurant Meals Program.

LIHEAP heating grants for the 2027 season opened October 1, 2026. The limit is $43,410 a year for one person and $83,481 for four. You can rent or own and do not need an unpaid bill. Apply online or through your local Community Action agency, which also takes weatherization requests.

Both income charts, the 1st-of-the-month deposit and ESAP renewals are covered in our Rhode Island food stamps guide.