It Doesn’t Take a Rocket Scientist:
To Understand & Use Social Security Work Incentives
Introduction
Yes. Social Security Administration (SSA) instructions and forms
are written in cryptic bureaucratic language.
Yes. The regulations are printed in the smallest type.
But, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand
and use Social Security Work Incentives. And these Work Incentives
can dramatically improve the lives of people with disabilities.
This training manual provides a basic overview of Work Incentives
and their parent programs; it may help you decipher the SSA forms
and regulations.
The Social Security Administration understands that people with
disabilities often view its disability programs as another
barrier to employment. Even with programs and provisions
such as
the Trial Work Period, Employment Subsidy, extended Medicare
and Medicaid coverage, Impairment Related Work Incentives/Blind
Work Expenses, and Plans for Achieving Self Support, few
beneficiaries return to work and leave the benefit rolls.
In mid-1994, the Social Security Administration began a concerted
effort to increase employment of current and future SSA disability
beneficiaries, thus increasing self-sufficiency and reducing
dependency on benefits. With community input, SSA developed policy
changes and educational efforts concerning employment of people
with disabilities, geared to address the following barriers to
employment:
• the security of regular monthly checks vs. the insecurity of lost benefits,
lost medical coverage, and a sometimes unstable employment market;
•young people entering the disability rolls with few or no employment
skills;
•the complexity of the benefit programs themselves, and the difficulty
people who wish to work have understanding them.
While working on the policy changes, SSA assumed that :
• Most people with disabilities can and want to work.
• SSA can help people with disabilities begin or return to work.
• Despite barriers, beneficiaries can work, when supports are in place.
In 2004, new SSA Commissioner Joan Barnhart testified at a Congressional Hearing
that new...
"Ongoing Employment Supports to assist beneficiaries to
obtain and sustain employment will be tested, including a Benefit
Offset demonstration to test to effects of allowing DI beneficiaries
to work without total loss of benefits by reducing their monthly
benefit $1 for every $2 of earnings above a specified level,
and an Ongoing Medical Benefits demonstration to test the effects
of providing ongoing health insurance coverage to beneficiaries
who wish to work but have no other affordable access to health
insurance." It is hoped these supports will blend with
current Social Security Work Incentives to further reduce barriers
to employment for persons with disabilities.
Title II Work Incentive Programs include:
• Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA), which allows you
to earn up to the SGA level, $940 in 2008 or $1,570 (if
blind) per month
in 2008, without losing your SSDI;
• Trial Work Period (TWP), which allows people to try
work without losing medical and financial benefits(gross
earnings of $590/mo. =1 TWP mo. In 2005);
• Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE), which follows the TWP and protects
a person’s disability status for up to 36 months even if the person grosses
over Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA);
• extended Medicare coverage and buy-in of Medicare following
return to work; (lengthened to 8 1/2 years by the Ticket to Work
and Work Incentive Improvement Act);
• Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE); and
• Subsidy.
Title XVI Work Incentives include:
• continued eligibility for SSI even when earnings are above
SGA [1619(a)];
• on-going Medicaid coverage when a person’s earnings preclude SSI benefit
checks [1619(b)];
• IRWE and Blind Work Expenses (BWE), which allow people to
partly or fully recover expenses they incur while working;
• Plans for Achieving Self Support (PASS);
• Student-Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) ($1550/mo.
In 2008 up to a total of $6240/yr.).
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