Making Work Part of the Plan

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Making Work Part of the Plan

• Work Incentives for People with Disabilities

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What do you know about people with disabilities,
their benefits and work?
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• What are the two Social Security cash assistance
  programs for people with disabilities?
• What health care programs go with each Social
  Security program?
• Can people work and keep their disability
  benefits?

4

• How much can a person earn each month before
  their Social Security Disability (SSDI) payment
  is affected?
• What types of deductions can be taken from earned
  income with Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?

5

• The unemployment rate for people with
  disabilities is roughly 10 times higher than the
  national average

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Attitudes Misconceptions

• People with disabilities cant work
• People with disabilities dont want to work
• People with disabilities will lose their benefits
  if they work

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Reality

• Most people with disabilities want to and can
  work
• There are many accommodations to help people with
  disabilities in the workplace
• Employers rate people with disabilities just as
  high as people without disabilities
• We need people with disabilities in the workforce
  
• Work incentives allow individuals to maintain
  their benefits while employed

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What are Work Incentives??

• Special rules used to encourage people with
  disabilities to work.
• SSI work incentives increase the amount of the
  SSI payment received when working.
• SSDI work incentives allow SSDI payment even if
  earning more than Substantial Gainful Activity
  (SGA).
• MA-EPD work incentive that allows Medical
  Assistance (MA) with higher income and assets.

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Social Security Work Incentives
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SSI and SSDI

• SSI and SSDI differences
• Program rules
• Work rules
• Work Incentives
• People must know which benefit theyre receiving
  to use the correct work rules and work incentives.

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Work Rules for SSI
Gross Earnings Minus General Exclusion Minus
Earned Income Exclusion Divided by
2 Countable Earnings 2009 Federal Benefit Rate
(FBR) Minus countable earnings SSI PAYMENT
615 - 20 595 - 65 530 2 265 674 -
265 409
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Work Incentives for SSI

• Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE)
• Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE)
• Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS)
• 1619(b) to continue Medical Assistance

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Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE)

• Certain expenses, necessary to work, can be
  disregarded from earned income.
• An IRWE expense must be
• paid for by the individual
• related to the disability and
• necessary in order to work
• Approved by SSA

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Examples of IRWEs

• Medication copays
• Adaptive Equipment
• Transportation different from what non-disabled
  worker use for work
• Special assistance note takers, readers,
  interpreters.

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SSI with without IRWEs

• On SSI
• Earning 615/month
• 80 IRWEs/month
• Without IRWEs in this situation the persons SSI
  check would be 409
• With 80 IRWE, the SSI check will be (615-80
  535-20-652 225. FBR 674-225 449)
• 40.00 increase in SSI payment!

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Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE)

• Up to 1,550 (in 2009) of earned income per
  month (max of 6,240 per year) can be disregarded
  when calculating SSI payment
• To be eligible
• Under age 22
• Regularly attending school

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Example of SEIE

• Ben is 19 years old has a physical disability.
  He works part time during the summer earning
  1,200/month. He attends the local vo-tech. Ben
  is using the SEIE for his summer earnings.
• 1,200 Earned Income
• -1,200 SEIE allowed per month
• 0
• 674 FBR for 2009
• .00 countable income
• 674 SSI payment

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SSI with without SEIE

• Without the SEIE, Bens SSI payment would be
  116.50
• With the SEIE, Ben receives his full SSI payment
  of 674
• The SEIE results in a 557.50 increase in Bens
  SSI payment!

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Plan for Achieving Self- Support (PASS)

• PASS allows an individual to set aside
• income or resources for a set amount of
• time to achieve a specific vocational goal.
• The funds that are set aside are not used to
  calculate the individuals SSI payment.
• Examples of possible PASS goals include
• Education Equipment Transportation

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Health Care with SSI

• Medical Assistance (MA)
• (Also known as Medicaid)
• Automatic eligibility
• Must apply through the county

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1619(b)

• Allows Medical Assistance (MA) to continue after
  earned income becomes too high to allow an SSI
  cash payment.

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1619 (b) continued

• To qualify for 1619(b) the individual must
• have been eligible for an SSI cash payment for at
  least one month
• still be disabled
• meet non-disability requirements
• need and use MA
• 1619(b) can continue until person reaches MNs
  1619(b) threshold of 46,694 per year

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Work Rules for SSDI

• When returning to work a person either receives a
  check or does not- there is no formula that
  gradually increases or decreases check amount.
• Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level. 980
  or 1,640 if blind.

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Work Incentives for SSDI

• Trial Work Period (TWP)
• Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)
• Impairment Related Work Expense (IRWE)
• Subsidy
• Plans for Achieving Self Support (PASS)
• Continuation of Medicare

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Trial Work Period (TWP)

• Nine months when earnings do not affect cash
  payment
• People can earn ANY amount during these months
  and it will not affect their SSDI at all
• Any month with earnings gt 700 (in 2009) counts
  as a TWP month
• Months dont need to be consecutive

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Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)

• 36 months following the last TWP month
• Countable earnings below SGA (980 or 1640 if
  blind) Eligible for a check
• Countable earnings above SGA Not eligible for a
  check
• No new application is required to get benefits
  restarted if earnings fall below SGA.

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Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE)

• Rules same as SSI (must be approved by SSA, paid
  for by individual, needed to work, etc.)
• Reduce countable earned income

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How does an IRWE work with SSDI benefits?
Helen has used her TWP and her earnings are now
990.00 per month.
Gross earnings 990.00
If IRWE approved, Helen can earn 990.00 and
still receive SSDI cash payment!
Minus Metro Mobility - 95
Countable Earnings 990 95 895
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Subsidy

• The value of added support an individual
  receives on the job does not count as earned
  income when determining SGA.
• Subsidy must be approved by SSA

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Examples of Subsidy

• Job coaching
• Extra supervision on the job
• Coworkers checking the persons work and
  providing added assistance
• Person is doing fewer or simpler tasks than
  others with the same job title but is getting
  paid the same rate

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How Subsidy works
1,000.00 Gross Earned Income
Minus 120.00 Subsidy
Countable earnings for SSDI purposes 880.00
By using subsidy earnings for SSA purposes are
below SGA and SSDI can continue!!!
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Health Care with SSDI

• Medicare
• People under age 65 can get Medicare if they
  are
• Receiving SSDI benefits (after 24 months, plus
  the 5 month waiting period)
• End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) (within 3 months
  of SSDI)
• Lou Gehrigs disease (ALS) (first month of SSDI)

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Continuation of Medicare

• People who work off of SSDI can keep Medicare
  for 93 months (almost 8 years) after the last TWP
  month
• Must already have Medicare and
• Be working at or above SGA
• Not be medically improved

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Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with
Disabilities

• MA-EPD

A work incentive that enables people with
disabilities to earn an income while maintaining
Medical Assistance (MA) eligibility.
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MA-EPD Eligibility

• There is no upper income limit for MA-EPD
• To be eligible for MA-EPD, a person must
• Be between 16 and 64 years old
• Be certified disabled by the Social Security
  Administration or the State Medical Review Team
  (SMRT)
• Be employed or self-employed
• Continued on next slide

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MA-EPD Eligibility

• To be eligible for MA-EPD, a person must
• Pay Medicare and Social Security taxes
• Have average monthly earnings of more than 65
• Have less than 20,000 in assets
• Pay their monthly premium

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MA-EPD Eligibility

• Eligibility may begin up to 3 months prior to the
  month of application, if the person is eligible
  and pays the premiums.
• Individuals not certifiable by SSA due only to
  earnings over SGA (980/month in 2009), waiting
  for SSA approval, or in their 5 month waiting
  period may be certified disabled through SMRT.

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MA-EPD Eligibility

• Individuals on extended Medicare continue to be
  certified disabled by SSA even though their cash
  benefits have ended.
• Enrollees may have an interruption of employment
  due to a physician verified medical condition for
  up to 4 months.
• Enrollees who lose their job through no fault of
  their own may remain on MA-EPD for up to 4 months
  while looking for another job.

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MA-EPD Information

• www.dhs.state.mn.us/maepd
• 651-431-4300

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How are benefits affected by work?

DB101
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Anne, Not Working
SSDI 575.00 SSI
119.00 MSA 81.00 MA
Yes Medicare
Yes Food Support
16.00 Subsidized Housing
-207.00 Available Income 584.00
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Anne earning 650 per month vs. not working
Earning 650/mo. 650.00 -
97.50 575.00 0.00 0.00 Yes Yes
0.00 -148.20 979.30
Not Working 0.00 0.00 575.00 119.00 81.00 Yes
Yes 16.00 -207.00 584.00
Wages Minus 15 taxes SSDI SSI MSA MA Medicar
e Food Support Subsidized Housing Available
Income
395.30 - A 67 increase in available income
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• 1-800-976-6728
• 651-632-5113
• www.mnworkincentives.com

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Finding the right resources just got
easier1-866-333-2466
Information and Referral
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DB101

• Information on state, federal, and other
  disability benefit programs
• Tools to show connections between work and
  benefits
• Tailored plans for moving forward
• Links to MNs information network

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• What are the two Social Security cash assistance
  programs for people with disabilities?
• Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI)
  Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
• What health care programs go with each Social
  Security program?
• SSI Medicaid (MA)
• SSDI Medicare ( MA or MA-EPD)
• Can people work and keep their disability
  benefits?
• Yes

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• How much can a person earn each month before
  their Social Security Disability (SSDI) payment
  is affected?
• Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) 980
• Remember Trial Work Period months (9) when
  earnings exceed 700
• What types of deductions can be taken from earned
  income with Supplemental Security Income (SSI)?
• Earned income exclusion 65 ½ remainder
• Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE)
• Student Earned Income Exclusion
• Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS)
• Subsidy