What do I need to use Benefits-Cliff Check?

The change; Your benefits; Your household; Where.

Is Benefits-Cliff Check free to use?

Yes — run it free in the browser playground (no API key needed for the sponsored trial, or bring any provider key), or install it into Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT and more via npx pm-claude-skills. MIT-licensed and open source.

Benefits-Cliff Check

Q: How do I know the Benefits-Cliff Check output is good?

The skill verifies itself against its own quality checks: Identifies which benefits are income-tested; Distinguishes gradual tapers from hard cliffs; Gives a directional net read for the specific change; Flags the high-risk cliffs (childcare/Medicaid/housing).

🔵 Stable🕐 updated 2026-08-18 🔷 SkillSpec L3 pm-hardship

Check whether a raise, more hours, or a new job could cost you more in lost benefits than you gain — the 'benefits cliff' — before you accept it. Use when asked will a raise hurt my benefits, benefits cliff, if I make more will I lose my food stamps or medicaid, or should I take more hours. Produces a plain map of which benefits phase out at what income (and which cut off suddenly vs. taper), a rough read on whether a specific income change helps or hurts net, the ones with hard cliffs to watch (childcare, Medicaid, housing), the moves that soften a cliff, and where to get a real benefits screening — so you make an income decision with eyes open, not a nasty surprise. Not financial/benefits advice; points to a benefits counselor.

▶ Run it free — no key needed 📝 Grade your existing draft View SKILL.md ↗

🗣 Say this to your agent

“Will this raise actually cost me money in lost benefits?”“What's the benefits cliff and does it affect me?”“If I make more, will I lose Medicaid or food stamps?”“Should I take the extra hours or will it hurt my childcare help?”“How do I know if a new job leaves me better or worse off?”

What to give it

▸The change — the raise/hours/new job and roughly the new income

▸Your benefits — which you receive (food, health, childcare, housing, tax credits)

▸Your household — size and who's covered (drives thresholds)

▸Where — region (thresholds and programs are local)

✅ The bar it holds itself to

Every skill in this library self-verifies — these are this skill's own quality checks, straight from its definition.

✓Identifies which benefits are income-tested

✓Distinguishes gradual tapers from hard cliffs

✓Gives a directional net read for the specific change

✓Flags the high-risk cliffs (childcare/Medicaid/housing)

✓Points to a real benefits screening for exact numbers

⚠️ What it refuses to do

**Assuming more income is always better** — ignoring the cliff.

**Treating a rough read as exact** rather than getting screened.

**Missing the hard-cliff benefits** buried among the tapers.

**Ignoring softening moves** that would keep the raise worth it.

**Turning down a raise** on fear without checking the actual net.

Install

npx pm-claude-skills add --agent claude   # or codex · cursor · gemini · hermes
# or one-line MCP (every skill, any client):
claude mcp add pm-skills -- npx -y pm-claude-skills-mcp

Related skills

🔌 Embed this skill

Drop this on your blog, docs, or site — it renders a "Run this skill" card:

<div data-pm-skill="benefits-cliff-check"></div>
<script src="https://mohitagw15856.github.io/pm-claude-skills/embed.js" async></script>

💬 Discussion

Benefits-Cliff Check is one of 1153 open-source professional AI agent skills — all SkillSpec L3. Try them all in the browser · ⭐ Star on GitHub · Browse the full catalog