The 2024 Federal Poverty Levels (FPL) are out now
and you can see earlier years here
These numbers are used for FAFSA calculations, including Pell.
The current FAFSA form, for Academic Year 2024-5, uses 2022 FPL (for given family size), 2022 income, and assets on day form is submitted.
The next FAFSA form (hopefully out in October 2024), for Academic Year 2025-6, uses 2023 FPL (for given family size), 2023 income, and assets on day form is submitted.
The FAFSA form after that (hopefully out in October 2025), for Academic Year 2026-7, uses 2024 FPL (for given family size), 2024 income, and assets on day form is submitted.
If you want to plan, you may have some control over 2024 AGI, to affect federal benefits.
For 2024, a family of 5 (in contig 48 states) has an FPL of $36,580. They would get automatic full Pell, SAI zero (or less), and assets don’t count, with a 2024 AGI of at most 175% (for 2-parent family or 225% for 1-parent family) of FPL, so 1.75*$36,580=$64,015, and partial benefits for even higher AGI. (Also assets don’t count with AGI at most 185% of FPL, so 1.85*$36,580=$67,673.)
So the expanded Pell has now become a solidly middle-class benefit, and families even with high 5-figure gross incomes, even going a bit over $100k, could consider planning possibilities. Consider what is subtracted from gross income, e.g. workplace health insurance (and HSA), but the potentially big subtraction is pre-tax retirement contributions (e.g. 401k and IRA), so that is how those higher incomes can get their AGI down into Pell-eligible range. Some benefits are automatic if you get AGI low enough (regardless of quantities added back in to income, which in any case are much fewer than before), and you can have assets ignored.
You can follow the calculations line by line on this draft form https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/202425DraftStudentAidIndexSAIandPellGrantEligibilityGuide.pdf
It’s from late 2022, but it matches exactly with the SAI we were quoted after submitting FAFSA recently.
Of course, CSS has potentially much bigger need-aid, and has more things added back into income, and relevant assets always count. And decisions like how much to save/invest, in what types of accounts, have a lot more implications than what’s discussed here. I’m just pointing out these new 2024 FPL numbers, and how they can be inputted into the FAFSA/Pell financial plan for the poorest 1/2, maybe 2/3, of households. With the recent changes, Pell-eligible definitely no longer means poor.