What You Need to Know
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is the federal agency responsible for administering disability benefits.

However, it also takes a leadership role in creating programs and supports for individuals with disabilities seeking employment. According to the SSA, “Congress intended the employment support provisions to provide you with the assistance you need to move further on the way from benefit dependency to independence. 

In other words, employment supports help you to enter, re-enter, or stay in the workforce by protecting your eligibility for cash payments and/or health care until you achieve this goal.”

The SSA assists you in your employment goal in two ways:

• By providing financial support (“employment supports”) while you are exploring and trying out employment opportunities (from the SSA: “Congress intended the employment support provisions to provide you with the assistance you need to move further on the way from benefit dependency to independence. In other words, employment supports help you to enter, re-enter, or stay in the workforce by protecting your eligibility for cash payments and/or health care until you achieve this goal.”)

• By providing local programs that offer assistance such as training or retraining, guidance on finding jobs, and navigation through the SSI and SSDI requirements regarding the impact of income on disability benefits.

Employment Supports/Work Incentives
It often comes as a surprise to people who receive disability income and still want to work, that they can continue receiving benefits while they test their ability to work.

SSDI.  Employment Supports/Work Incentives provide help over a significant period of time to allow you to test your ability to work, or to continue working, and gradually become self-supporting and independent.  In general, you have at least 9 years to test your ability to work. This includes full cash payments during the first 12 months of work activity, a 36-month extended eligibility period, and a 5-year period in which you can start your cash benefits again without a new application. You may continue to have Medicare coverage during this time or even longer.

The employment supports/work incentives provided for both SSDI and SSI recipients are:

• Ticket to Work program
• Impairment-Related Work Expenses
• Subsidy and Special Conditions 
• Unincurred Business Expenses (Self-Employed Only) 
• Unsuccessful Work Attempt 
• Continued Payment under a Vocational Rehabilitation or Similar Program, also known as Section 301
• Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS)
• Click here for more information on employment supports for both SSDI and SSI recipients

Employment supports/work incentives for SSDI recipients are:

• Trial Work Period
• Extended Period of Eligibility
• Continuation of Medicare Coverage
• Medicare for Individuals With Disability Who Work
• Click here for more information on employment supports for SSDI recipients

Employment supports/work incentives for SSI recipients are:

• Earned Income Exclusion 
• Student Earned Income Exclusion
• Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS)
• Property Essential for Self-Support
• Special SSI Payments for Individuals Who Work – Section 1619(a)
• Medicaid While Working – Section 1619(b)
• Special Benefits for Individuals Eligible under Section 1619(a) or (b) Who Enter a Medical Treatment Facility
• Reinstating Eligibility Without a New Application
• Click here for more information on employment supports for SSI recipients

Employment supports/work incentives are there to ensure that you are not penalized in terms of your disability benefits while you are making an effort to rejoin the workforce. To get more detailed information about the employment supports/work incentives available to you based on your particular circumstances, contact your local Work Incentive Planning Assistance (WIPA) office. 

Connecting with Local Job Assistance: 3 Steps to Getting Help with Your Job Search
One of the biggest challenges of using the many programs that have been set up to assist you is simply understanding how to navigate the system, knowing where to start. Following is step-by-step guidance to help you through that process.

Step 1:  Go through the packet of employment information the Social Security Administration sends you along with your first disability payments. This material will explain the SSA’s Work Incentive program, including what programs are available to help you get training, what the process for getting help is, how employment income will impact your disability payments, and who to contact for additional information. (Keep in mind that this information doesn’t mean you have to look for employment, it’s just sent to you in case you want to look for a job.)

One of the items in your packet will be something called a “Ticket to Work.”  Part of the SSA’s Ticket to Work Program, this “ticket” should be given to the person you meet with when you visit your local Vocational Rehabilitation office or chosen Employment Network.

Step 2:  Visit your local Work Incentive Planning Assistance (WIPA) office.  This is the starting point for employment assistance, so you’ll want to call your local office and arrange a visit as soon as possible. (The Work Incentive Planning Assistance program is a federally funded program, but the SSA contracts with local organizations to implement the program.)

The WIPA staff will provide one-on-one benefits and work incentive planning services that entail information gathering and sharing regarding your unique circumstances and receipt of benefits.  During this benefits session, the WIPA staff, or Community Work Incentive Coordinator will help you better understand your benefits and respond to any concerns you have regarding eligibility, continuation and unexpected termination of benefits.

When you go for your initial visit, you’ll want to take the following items with you:

• Any Social Security documents sent to you since your initial application
• Any paycheck stubs from employment over the past two years
• Names and social security numbers for everyone in your household receiving benefits.

The WIPA organization can also help you with “benefits planning.” Basically, this helps you make informed decisions about your potential to earn wages, maintain your benefits, and access private and public services (such as job assistance). They’ll discuss points such as:

• How you can go back to work and still retain your benefits
• Limitations on earnings/employment, and exceptions
• Changes in the Medicaid system, and how to keep your Medicaid benefits
• The PASS PLAN opportunities to maintain essential services
• Deciding when to seek benefits, and when to seek employment income
• Work incentives

If you are the parent of a child with disabilities, you can also learn how your child’s benefits will change at the age of 18, how your income affects your 18-year-old’s benefits, whether or not your child’s income affects his or her benefits, and how your child can still keep his or her medical or cash benefits while working.

To find the job placement organization closest to you, click here.

After your visit with the WIPA staff, they may recommend Vocational Rehabilitation or further employment-related services. If so, your next step will be to contact this provider.

Step 3:  Contact and sign-up with the recommended employment assistance and training provider. With your Ticket to Work, Social Security included a list of organizations that will gladly help you with a job search.  There are two categories of employment assistance organizations that can assist you.  They are:

State Vocational Rehabilitation
This is a state-funded program whose goal is to help you develop new skills or improve pre-existing skills in order to increase your employability. It involves orientation, assessment, counseling, and skills training, among other activities, all geared toward helping you land jobs for which you’re qualified. This is one of the most important steps in your quest for employment, as the Voc Rehab team is totally focused on helping you as an individual develop the work skills that will help you succeed.

Employment Network Organizations
Job placement organizations (both nonprofit and for-profit) are contracted by the federal government to provide assistance with your job search. Although they don’t actually provide you with a job, they have business contacts and relationships with local hiring personnel that enable them to help you target potential employers. They’ll coach you on how to apply for a job, how to write resumes and cover letters, how to look and apply for jobs online, and similar types of activities that will help you land a job as quickly as possible.

There are lots of knowledgeable people ready and waiting to help you reach your goal of employment. Don’t hesitate to contact them!See below to learn more about how you can tap into support and resources to join the ranks of the employed.

SSDI Employment Supports

SSI Employment Supports

Local Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Offices

(The information in this section is based on The Red Book from the Social Security Administration, as well as insights and information provided by Employment Works/CP of Colorado.)