Will I Lose My Social Security Disability Benefits?

If a beneficiary has completed his or her trial work period, is working, and has significant income, the Social Security Administration  may stop your Social Security disability benefits.  There are a few work incentives that may allow a beneficiary to continue receiving SSDI or SSI cash payments for a time, and the Social Security Administration can quickly start your disability benefits again if your income drops or you have to stop working.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment will be reduced as earnings increase until the SSI benefits are completely eliminated by your income.  Remember eligibility for SSI is dependent on your income and resources, so when your income level increases, it is likely that you will no longer meet the requirements to collect SSI benefits.

For a thorough explanation of how earning affect Social Security disability benefits, refer to the Social Security document, Working While Disabled-How We Can Help.

Will I Lose My Right to Have Medicare if I Go Back to Work?

Probably not.  Most Medicare recipients keep their Medicare coverage for a minimum of 8½  years after having returned to work.

Some states will continue Medicaid coverage or permit workers to purchase it.  To learn more, contact the Medicaid office in your state, or look on the website for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services:  http://www.cms.gov/.

Will My Working Status Trigger a Medical Review?

If you are a participant in the Ticket to Work program, and are making appropriate progress following your return to work plan, you will not be given a medical review.

Social Security disability and Supplemental Security Income disability beneficiaries now have more opportunities to test their ability to work.  Here are the employment resources that SSDI and SSI beneficiaries will have:

·         More selections when seeking employment services;

·         Increased health care coverage options;

·         Local planning services for benefits;

·         An easy process to get disability benefits restarted if a person’s medical condition precludes them from continuing to work; and

·         A Ticket to Work.

How Does the Ticket Program Work?

The Ticket to Work program is voluntary.  SSDI and SSI benefit recipients get free training, job referrals, and other necessary services required to work.  A beneficiary can give their “Ticket” to an approved provider of their choice.  The provider can be either an employment network or the state vocational rehabilitation agency.  The beneficiary and the provider work together to create a work plan.  The plan lists exactly what services the provider will supply.  If a beneficiary first works with a state vocational rehabilitation agency, and their Ticket is not assigned to them, once the case is closed, the beneficiary can assign their Ticket to an employment network, as long as the beneficiary is still eligible to participate in the Ticket program.

What is an Employment Network?

An employment network is a group that may assist you in finding a job and provide other free employment services.  They are listed on the MAXIMUS website.

What is MAXIMUS?

MAXIMUS, Inc. is a company that assists Social Security to run the ticket program.  For additional information on the program, call MAXIMUS toll-free at 1-866-968-7842 or     1-866-833-2967 for the hearing impaired.  You can also visit the MAXIMUS website at:  http://www.yourtickettowork.com/.

Individual Development Account (IDA)

If you are working and have limited income, there is a possibility that you may be qualified for an Individual Development Account (IDA) through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program or an Assets for Independence Act (AFIA) grant.  An IDA is a trust-like bank account that assists you in saving your earnings to start a business, go to school, or purchase a home.  When you make a deposit to your IDA account, a participating not-for-profit organization will match your deposit.  The general match is one dollar for each dollar that you deposit.  The Federal government also adds an additional match, limited to $2,000 for a single person, or $4,000 for a household over the life of the program (typically around five years).

If you have an IDA through TANF or an AFIA grant, they will not count any of the earnings that you deposit into your account, and matching deposit, or any interest earned on this account as SSI resources or income.  Consequently, the benefits you receive from SSI may increase. *Note:  IDAs that do not receive federal funding are not exempt from SSI and will be counted under the SSI rules of income and resources.*

The Social Security Administration does not determine eligibility for an individual to have an IDA.  For additional information regarding IDAs and to locate a program in your area, visit: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/afi/.

Disability Program Navigator (DPN)

The Disability Program Navigator was originally financed in 2003 to expand the capabilities of the One-stop Career Center system to serve customers with disabilities by supplying accessible, integrated, and seamless services.  Now, there are more than 420 Navigators in 42 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Other than simply creating systemic change, the Navigators also behave as facilitators to assemble multiple partners in the One-stop Career Centers to create an integrated resource team approach combining and blending resources around an individual customer’s employment needs.

For additional information on the Disability Program Navigator Initiative, visit the following link:  http://www.doleta.gov/disability/new_dpn_grants.cfm.

EARN Job Seeker Network

The Employment Assistance and Recruiting Network (EARN) is an initiative financed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.  This is the nation’s leading provider of no-cost services to help employers to recruit and hire proficient employees to meet their workforce needs.

EARN also provides aid to employment services providers and jobseekers with disabilities.  This includes giving service providers and jobseekers with job leads from companies that are expressly interested in including jobseekers with disabilities in their recruiting efforts.  Regardless of whether an individual is working with a service provider or is on a self-guided job search, EARN can provide assistance with both online and offline support.

Want more information about how EARN can benefit jobseekers with disabilities and organization, contact EARN at:

Toll Free        Monday through Friday,

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

1-866-EARN-NOW  (1-866-327-6669)

Website:  http://www.earnwork.com/

EARN is an initiative financed by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS)

In all 50 states and U.S. Territories, there is an agency that protects the rights of people with disabilities.  This Protection and Advocacy System also manages the Social Security Administration-financed Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) program.  Each PABSS agency can:

·         Investigate any complaints made against an employment network or other type of service provider that is supposed to be assisting beneficiaries in returning to work;

·         Provide information and advice relating to vocational rehabilitation and employment services;

·         Talk with beneficiaries about the Social Security Administration’s work incentives that will help them to return to work; and

·         Help individuals with their problems or concerns associated with their individual work plans under the Ticket to Work Program.

The listed benefits are free for individuals receiving SSDI or SSI benefits because of blindness or disability.  If you would like to locate a PABSS agency location that is near to you, you can call 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967 for the deaf and hearing impaired.  The contact information is also offered in the Social Security provider directory, under P&A  (or Advocacy Program).

Work Incentives Seminar Events (WISE)

Throughout the year, Social Security Administration-funded WISE events will transpire all through the country to provide you with the necessary information to either assign your Ticket to Work or seek other work incentives.  These seminars will provide opportunities to meet with representatives from organizations that provide assistance and free information to assist you in going to work for the first time, returning to work, or reaching other employment goals that you may have.  For more information on WISE events, visit the following website:  http://www.cessi.net/WISE/.

State Vocational Rehabilitation Providers

State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies provide a large assortment of services to assist people with disabilities return to work. The purpose of these services is to provide people with the training or other services required to return to work, enter a new line of work, or to join the workforce for the first time.  For additional information on this subject, please visit State VR Agencies, ENs and Employers on the Social Security website.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA)

WIPA projects are community-based organizations that collect grants from the Social Security Administration to supply all Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefit recipients (including youth in the transition-to work age bracket) with free unlimited access to work incentives planning and assistance.  Each WIPA project has Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC) who:

·         Offer work incentives preparation and assistance to benefit recipients with disabilities;

·         Execute outreach exploits to those benefit recipients (and their families) who are potentially qualified to participate in state or federal employment support programs; and

·         Work in collaboration with private, state, and federal agencies, as well as not-for-profit organizations that serve benefit recipients with disabilities.

If you are a SSDI or SSI disability beneficiary who wants to work, a WIPA project can help you to learn what employment support programs are available to you, and allow you to make informed decisions regarding work.

WIPA services are accessible in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US Territories of the Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.  To find the WIPA organization location nearest to you, please call     1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967 for the hearing-impaired.  Contact information can also be found in the service provider directory on the  Social Security website.

LTD FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO RETURN TO WORK DURING A DISABILITY

The majority of long-term disability insurance companies offer financial and benefit-based incentives for individuals who are disabled to return to work.  Some of the incentives include the following:

·         Return to work incentive: Provides employees with an incentive to return to work by enabling disabled workers to earn up to 100 percent of their pre-disability income through a combination of monthly LTD benefits and earned wages during the first 12 or 24 months after returning to work.

·         Return to work responsibility:  Sets a clear expectation for partially disabled employees to return to work if they are able to earn 20 percent or more of their indexed pre-disability earnings.

·         Rehabilitation plan provision generally pays some or all of the costs incurred by a worker for approved education and training; family care; job search; and other job associates expenses that support helping the employee return to work.

·         Temporary recovery:  Permits employees who suffer from a relapse and again become disabled from the same cause(s) to reopen their claims without being forced to serve another benefit waiting period.

·         Reasonable accommodation expense benefit:  Repays employers up to $25,000 for approved jobsite modifications that are made in the interest of a disabled person and allow the employee to return to work.  The modifications must be approved by the LTD insurance company prior to getting the work done.

A Social Security disability attorney or disability advocate is paid once the disability case has been won.  They will receive a percentage of the claimants back pay.  Because the representative only receives payment after (and only if) the disability case has been won, a person working as a representative has every reason to make certain that their client’s case is won and that their client is awarded Social Security disability or SSI disability benefits.

A disability attorney or non attorney representative is allowed to receive 25 percent of the claimant’s total back pay from SSDI and SSI disability.  However, this is capped at a maximum amount .  As of 2009, the maximum fee that a representative, attorney or non attorney, was allowed to receive for their services, was $6,000.

Finding an attorney to represent your disability case is pretty easy.  You can search “Social Security disability attorney” on the internet, call the bar association for the state where you live, look up attorneys in the yellow pages, or get a referral from your LTD attorney.

However finding the “right advocate” to represent your case, whether that person is a Social Security attorney , or an experienced disability advocate, is a completely different issue.

If the Social Security disability representative you select is a lawyer, you may want to know if the lawyer specializes in SSDI or SSI , or handles them infrequently on top of  growing caseload of personal injury, traffic, and Social Security disability cases.  It is nearly always best to select an attorney who is specialized.  A lawyer who specializes in disability claims  will have substantially more experience and aptitude that a lawyer who handles a Social Security disability case occasionally.

If the Social Security disability representative you talk with is a non lawyer (disability advocate), you may want to ask about their background.  Are they formerly an Examiner for Disability Determination Services, or formerly a claims representative for the Social Security Administration.  If so, you can normally deduce that they bear a strong understanding of the disability system in addition to an insider’s perspective.

Regardless of the “insider’s advantage,” there are many non attorney representatives who are extremely qualified without having an insider’s perspective.  For instance, a representative who works for a statewide or national law firm that handle only SSDI and SSI claims might be extraordinarily proficient based on experience and knowledge.

The most important factor in who you choose to represent you is who makes you feel comfortable.  This is a matter of trust, and who you trust to handle one of the most important issues of your life:  winning SSDI or SSI benefits.

As we are all aware of, trust is something that is typically earned; therefore, when it comes to choosing a lawyer or non attorney advocate to handle your Social Security disability claim, you may want to gauge your “initial trust” level based on the following issues:

1.    Were you able to reach the representative by phone?

2.    Did the representative seem knowledgeable relating to the SSDI and SSI disability system?

3.    Was the attorney or disability advocate willing to answer questions?

4.    Did the attorney or disability advocate return your phone calls?

It is true that this list is quite short, but it is a good starting point for choosing the person or group to handle your disability claim.

If your chosen representative is reachable by phone or is prompt about returning you calls, is familiar with the way that the system operates and can use that information to benefit you, and is willing to ease your concerns by explaining the process of the Social Security disability system, and will keep you updated on the status of your claim.  It is more than likely that you are receiving acceptable representation.