Welfare Reform Imposes Five-Year Lifetime Limit on Cash Assistance

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act establishes a five-year lifetime limit on federally funded cash assistance through the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. This represents a fundamental restructuring of the American social safety net, transforming welfare from a permanent entitlement for eligible families into a temporary assistance program with strict time limitations regardless of ongoing need or economic circumstances.

The five-year lifetime cap means that families who have received welfare benefits for a cumulative total of 60 months—whether consecutive or intermittent—lose eligibility for further cash assistance, even if they remain in poverty or face subsequent economic hardship. States are granted flexibility to set shorter time limits and may exempt up to 20 percent of their caseload from the time limit due to hardship. Some states implemented even stricter limits, such as 24-month or 36-month caps.

The lifetime limit creates particular vulnerability during economic recessions when jobs are scarce, as families who have exhausted their eligibility have no federal safety net remaining. Critics argue this provision disproportionately harms the most vulnerable families, including those with disabilities, limited education, or caretaking responsibilities that prevent consistent employment. The policy reflects the philosophical shift from viewing poverty as a structural economic problem requiring government support to treating it as an individual behavioral issue requiring time-limited intervention and work enforcement.