A more thorough explanation:

Presumed Maximum Value (PMV) is a limit on the amount of in-kind support that a person can receive from Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This rule applies when an individual or couple receives some form of in-kind support or maintenance but does not receive food and shelter from the household they live in.

The Social Security Handbook provides specific criteria for calculating the PMV. For an individual, the PMV is not more than one-third of the applicable federal benefit rate (FBR) plus $20. If an individual or couple can show that the actual value of the food and shelter they receive is less than the PMV, then the actual value is used in computing countable income.

The PMV rule applies in certain situations, such as when an individual or couple live in another person's household but receive neither food nor shelter from that person, when an individual or couple live in their own household but someone else pays for rent and food, or when an individual or couple live in a non-medical institution.

However, there is an exception to the PMV rule when in-kind support and maintenance is provided to an individual or couple while they are living in a private nonprofit retirement home. If the institution furnishes the support and maintenance without an express obligation to do so, then the PMV rule does not apply.

For example, if an individual lives with their friend but pays for their own food and rent, the PMV rule would not apply. However, if the friend provides the individual with free rent and food, the PMV rule would apply, and the individual's SSI benefits would be reduced accordingly.