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Benefits and Transitions to Work, Bridges to Employment
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One of the Workshops conducted both in English and Spanish during the Proyecto Visión Conference was on "Transitions from Benefits to Work". This workshop provided an overview of work incentive programs offered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), focusing on the Plan for Achieving Self-Sufficiency (PASS), the new Ticket to Work Act, and Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) programs that enabled people with disabilities to retain benefits while working for trial periods. The Presenter in English was Marilyn Hole from Protection
and Advocacy, Inc. Presenters in Spanish were Christine Vega and
Maria Gamboa, from SSA. All the three presenters are located in
California and serve the local disability population through their
agencies. Both sessions had exactly the same content but different
approaches to communicating the information and expereince. During the two workshops, presenters explain that there are several benefits a disabled person can access from Social Security if they want to work. They focused in the California area since the audience was mainly composed of locals. Accordingly to their presentation, the following information may serve as a guide regarding the type of services people with disabilities are entitled to and what are the requirements for each of them. PASS A plan for achieving self--support, or PASS, allows people with disabilities who want to work, or start their own business, to plan for their future. A PASS lets you set aside money and/or other things you own to help you reach your goal. For example, you could set aside money to start a business or to go to school or to get training for a job. Your goal must be a job that will produce sufficient earnings to reduce your dependency on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. A PASS is meant to help you acquire those items, services or skills you need so that you can compete with other persons for an entry level job in a professional, business or trade environment. If you have graduated from college or a trade/technical school, you are usually considered capable of obtaining such a position without the assistance of a PASS. BPAO These are cooperative agreements that SSA awarded to several community organizations to help provide all SSA beneficiaries with disabilities (including transition-to-work aged youth) access to benefits planning and assistance services. Cooperative agreements were awarded throughout every State, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The goal of this program is to better enable SSA's beneficiaries with disabilities to make informed choices about work. Each BPAO project has specialists who can provide work incentives planning and assistance, and outreach efforts to those potentially eligible to participate in Federal or State work incentive programs. SSI The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a program financed through general tax revenues. SSI disability benefits are paid to people who have a disability and who do not own much or do not have a lot of income (less than US$780). This is called SGA, or Substantial Gain for Activity. The term "substantial gainful activity" combines two concepts, substantial work activity and gainful work activity. Substantial work activity means work activity that involves doing significant physical or mental activities, even if the work is done on a part-time basis or with less activities, pay, or responsibilities than in past work. Gainful work activity means work activity done for pay or profit. Work activity is gainful if it is the kind of work that is usually performed for pay or profit, whether or not a profit is realized. The SSI disabilities benefits have set the level for beneficiaries who are blind every year, to reflect changes in general wage levels. For the year 2002, if the beneficiary is blind, average monthly earnings over $1,300 will ordinarily demonstrate that he/she is performing SGA. This is higher than the current guideline for non-blind disabled workers. SSDI The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides benefits to disabled or blind individuals who are "insured" by workers' contributions to the Social Security trust fund. These contributions are the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) social security tax paid on their earnings or those of their spouses or parents. Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) The taxes imposed under this law fund social security. The employer is required to match the 6.2% social security tax rate imposed on the employee's first $84,900 of taxable wages as well as the 1.45% Medicare tax rate imposed on all of the employee's taxable wages. No credits or withholding exemptions are permitted for the calculation of FICA taxes. When there is more than one employer, each must withhold FICA tax from the employee up to the taxable wage base. Social Security disability insurance Social Security disability insurance is a program that workers, employers and the self-employed pay for with their Social Security taxes. Disabled workers qualify for these benefits based on their work history, and the amount of benefit is based on the earnings. As soon as a person becomes disabled, he/she needs to fill an application. Depending on the benefits he/she applies for, Social Security disability benefits do not begin until the sixth full month of the disability. The waiting period begins with the first full month after the date that the Social Security office acknowledges the beginning of the disability. If the client applies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), benefits will be paid for the first full month after the claim is filled or the date he/she becomes eligible for SSI. People can apply online (www.ssa.gov) or by calling toll free number 1-800-772-1213. On Benefits but Wanting to Work? One of the questions most frequently asked is: What happens if I am receiving Social Security disability insurance benefits or SSI, but I still want to work". Presenters explained that there are some issues you must keep in mind. If you want to apply for SSI, you must report any change up or down in your income no later than the 10th of the month following the month of the change. (Please refer to SSI recipients report forms from their web page, www.ssa.gov/online/forms/html). Ticket to Work Another important benefit covered by the workshops was the recently launched Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA) (public Law 106-170). The Program is gradually being implemented in different parts of the Country. The Ticket to Work program provides Social Security disability beneficiaries and disabled or blind Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries with expanded access to employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services. This program will enable these beneficiaries to obtain, regain or maintain employment and to reduce their dependency on cash assistance. Under this program, SSA will pay the providers of those services, called employment networks (ENs), after the beneficiaries achieve certain levels of work and earnings. The purpose of the Ticket to Work program is to expand the universe of service providers available to SSA beneficiaries with disabilities in obtaining the services necessary to find, enter and retain employment. SSA has assured that this program will be available in every State not later than 2004. To find more about Ticket to Work, go to: www.yourtickettowork.com.
What are the IRWE's? Workshop presenters also shared important information on Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE). These are the costs of certain impairment-related items and services that a person needs to work are deducted from gross earnings in figuring SGA, even if these items and services are also needed for non-work activities. The deductions can be made only if the amount a person pays towards the cost of the items and services is deducted from deducted gross earnings. Only after these expenses are deducted is a determination made as to whether "countable earnings" represent SGA. Impairment-related work expenses may reduce earnings below the SGA level. Such an expense may involve payment for the purchase, installation, maintenance, and repair of an impairment-related item or payment for an impairment-related service. You can get a chart with the List of Type and Amount of deductible Work Expenses searching on the Social Security web Page: www.ssa.gov Regional SSA Program Circular Supplemental Security Income Another document suggested for reviewing is the Regional SSA Program Circular Supplemental Security Income. This document helps local offices determine when income and earnings are above the 1619(b) threshold. It explains eligibility, procedures and reinstatement rights. More information can be found at http://policy.ssa.gov/poms/nsf under 1619 (b) Policy and Procedures, Regional POMS-Verification of Medicaid expenditures- SI R 02302.50. You can also consult the List of Threshold amounts for Calendar year 2002 (http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0502302200). For more information regarding the 2002 Benefits amounts for the different categories, please consult the 2002 Red Book, A Summary Guide to Employment Support available to People with Disabilities under the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Programs at pages 5 and 46 at www.ssa.gov/work/ResourcesToolkit/redbook.html Resources on Benefits to Work Presenters recommended that participants always visit the Social Security Web Page where they can find more detailed information about Social Security Disabilities Benefits, Medi-Cal and Discrimination. Following are some related resources:
Cultural Aspects Although the content of the two Sessions was basically the same, and the audience in both workshops was bilingual or functional in the two languages, there was a main cultural difference between them. The session conducted in English was more educational but less participatory. Participants spoke only at the end and had few questions to clarify. In the session in Spanish, the audience participated actively during the whole workshop, complementing the explanation from presenters with their own personal experiences. The discussion was very intense and happened almost independently from the presenters. In our view as reporters of the two sessions, there is no doubt that Latinos, even being bilingual, feel more comfortable and stimulated for participation when they can express themselves in their native language. This was an innovating and certainly successful approach of Proyecto Visión. |
