What is California LifeLine?
California LifeLine is a state program that provides discounted home phone and cell phone service to eligible households. TruConnect offers qualifying California residents a free Android smartphone with free unlimited talk & text and 100 MB of free data each month. Only one LifeLine discount is allowed per household.
So How do I Qualify?
There are two ways to qualify for the California LifeLine discount: 1) Program-Based and 2) Income-Based. Program-Based means that you have to be enrolled in a qualifying public-assistance program. These include the following:
- Medicaid/Medi-Cal
- Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance or Section 8
- CalFresh, Food Stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC)
- National School Lunch Program (NSL)
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs)
- Stanislaus County Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (StanWORKs)
- Welfare-to-Work (WTW)
- Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN)
- Tribal TANF
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
For Income-Based qualification your household’s total annual gross income must be at or lower than these annual income levels:
- 1-2 Household Members - $25,900
- 3 Household Members - $30,100
- 4 Household Members - $36,500
- Each Additional Member – add $6,400
How do I prove Eligibility?
To prove eligibility for California LifeLine based on program participation, you must have copies of the following documents available to mail in the Pink Lifeline enrollment envelope, or have originals to bring into a store or to meet a TruConnect agent:
- Identification card or number from a qualifying assistance program
- Statement of benefits from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or a qualifying assistance program
- Notice of eligibility or decision letter of participation from a qualifying assistance program
- Other official documents
If you don’t have the originals available to make copies of at your local Kinkos or Fedex, you may contact the program administrator and request that they mail you replacement copies.
To prove Income-Based eligibility, you may provide copies any of the following Income-Based types of proof:
- Front page of prior year’s state (540, 540A, 540 2EZ, 540NR, or 540X), federal (1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040NR, 1040NR-EZ, 1040SS, 0r 1040X0, or tribal tax return
- Income statements or paycheck stubs for 3 consecutive months within the previous 12 months
- Statement of benefits from Social Security, Veterans Administration, retirement/pension, Unemployment Compensation, Worker’s Compensation, and/or a qualifying assistance program
- Alimony and/or child support documents
- Other official documents
Remember, household income includes, but is not limited to: wages, salaries, interest, dividends, alimony and child support, grants, gifts, allowances, stipends, lottery winnings, inheritances, worker’s compensation, unemployment and public assistance benefits, social security payments, pensions, rental income, income from self-employment, cash payments from other sources, and all employment-related non-cash income.
What Do I Do Next?
At TruConnect we give California LifeLine applicants 3 options to apply for the California LifeLine benefit once they have all required proof documents available.
1) Customers can apply by mail at https://www.truconnect.com/freephone/program-income and receive a Pink envelope to mail their proof documents in.
2) Customers can select a local TruConnect store to visit at http://www.truconnect.com/lifeline/freephone/stores/california and apply and if approved walk out with a free Android smartphone and phone service with data.
3) Customers can fill out the TruConnect California LifeLine form at http://www.truconnect.com/freephone/program-income and select the "Hand Deliver by a Sales Agent" option to have one of TruConnect’s agents contact them and arrange a meeting to process the application.
What if I get Stuck?
TruConnect’s customer service representatives are standing by to assist you with any questions or walk you through applying for the California LifeLine free government cell phones and free cell service benefit to receive your lifeline phone. We can be reached by phone at 1-800-430-0443 or by email at customercare@truconnect.com. We look forward to being your California LifeLine provider for years to come and helping you out with this life line of a service!