Adults as old as 64 with no child under 14 at home must log 80 hours a month of work, training or volunteering to keep food stamps in California, North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. Each state moved its work-rule age ceiling from 54 to 64 on its own schedule, and none of the four treats being 60 or 62 as a reason to be excused.
Maryland and Delaware date the change to Nov. 1, 2025, North Carolina to Dec. 1, 2025 and California to June 1, 2026. A recipient who gets through three months without meeting the rule loses the benefit, and the state counts those months across a three-year window…