The amount of your Special Guaranty increase may be affected if you are, or another family member is, imprisoned or under a sentence of confinement due to a conviction for a criminal offense.
Exception: Benefits may continue to be paid to disabled employees or to disabled children who are actively and satisfactorily participating in a rehabilitation program through which they are expected to engage in substantial gainful activity within a reasonable period after release.
A crime is a criminal offense if it is considered to be a criminal offense under applicable law. Most states define certain crimes as criminal offenses. However, some states and foreign countries do not classify crimes as criminal offenses. If a crime has not been classified as a criminal offense, it is still considered to be a criminal offense if it is a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year.
To be "imprisoned" or "under a sentence of confinement" means confinement to a jail, prison, or other penal institution or correctional facility. This includes any facility which is under the control and jurisdiction of a penal system, or any facility in which a person may be confined. This also includes hospitals, institutions, and halfway houses, which are used as a place of confinement. Persons under sentence of confinement to any of these facilities are considered confined even though they may go outside the facility to work, attend school, or for some other reason.
NOTE: Prisoners who are released on parole or because their sentence has ended, been suspended, or overturned are no longer considered to be confined or imprisoned.