How Work Incentives Work

Artwork: Robin Mead

Social Security has several special programs to help people with disabilities work. These are called “work incentives”

You can learn a bunch more about them in the Social Security website for Social Security Work Incentives.

Some people have great experiences using Work Incentives. Some people do not. Here’s what we’ve learned from folks who have tried it:

PASS PLANS

💮 PASS plans are designed to help you start a business or go back to work with the goal of going off disability benefits.

💮 If you are working and on SSI, Social Security will allow you to put your work income in a PASS. PASS plan stops your SSI check from being lowered, even if you earn income from working.

💮 If you are working and on SSDI, the Social Security regulations will allow you to place both earned income and unearned income in a PASS plan. Some people place SSDI funds in their PASS plans, and then apply to receive SSI while saving towards their employment goals. All income placed into a a PASS plan is excluded from SSI.

TRIAL WORK PERIODS

💮 If you are able to work and earn more than $1,180, in most situations, Social Security will no longer consider you disabled and your disability check will discontinue. But there is an exception!

💮 If you are on SSDI, you can have nine months of Trial Work Periods where you can earn more than this without your check ending. Trial Work Periods are very confusing. Please be careful. It is easy to misunderstand and think you are safe when you are not.

💮 Trial Work Periods do not protect you from medical reviews. You will still get your regularly-scheduled disability reviews. You can still get cut off disability if your medical records are not strong or if the type of work you are doing indicates that your condition has improved.

💮 In addition, when your trial work period is over, you will automatically be given an additional Continuing Disability Review (also called a “Work CDR”).

💮 It is also to accidentally use more of your Trial Work Periods than you realize. Trial Work Periods begin any month where you earn more than $840, but they will not trigger problems unless you earn over $1,180. If you will ever earn over $1,180, even one month, contact Social Security and ask for written information on how many Trial Work Periods you have used.

💮 Trial Work Periods are for SSDI only. Not SSI.

💮 If you are planning to use your Trial Work Period, you may wish to get in touch with benefits counselors. See link below. You can also contact Social Security and request a copy of your Benefits Planning Query Handbook.

SELF EMPLOYMENT

💮 There are several good programs for people who are self-employed or running a small business.

💮 When determining the $1,180, Social Security will consider your income after business expenses.

💮 They may also look at a yearly average, if you receive money in a lump sum.

💮 If you receive assistance or help with your business, this may also lower the amount that is considered. Please see Social Security website for more info on work incentives for self employment.

SECTION 8 AND HUD HOUSING

💮 If you are in Section 8 or certain other types of HUD housing, income placed into a PASS Plan will be excluded as both income and assets during rent calculations. In other words, they will not count at all!

💮 Many HUD programs have other benefits for returning to work, including not counting your income when it first starts, and family self-sufficiency programs that can help you use your work income to save for a new house, while keeping your current rent low.

💮 Some HUD programs also have special incentives to allow disabled people to work. This is called “earned income disallowance.”

TICKET TO WORK & VOCATIONAL REHAB

💮 Ticket to Work programs are designed to help you go back to work and go off disability. They go by different names and may not be called “Ticket to Work.” Some Vocational Rehabilitation programs are the same or similar to Ticket to Work and some are not.

💮 If you are recovered and planning to go back to work and transition off benefits, there are many ways that a Ticket to Work program can help provide you with support, help and resources to help the transition go well.

💮 Ticket to Work programs will require you to either work or go to school a certain number of hours. The required amount will increase every year.

💮 We have heard from a number of readers who had difficulties with the Ticket to Work programs. Usually because they were not able to keep up with the work requirements and were forced to leave the program. Sometimes because after leaving they had difficulty with medical reviews.

💮 Reviews of Vocational Rehab programs have been more mixed. Some people had great experiences and were able to get free job training and support. Other people wound up not getting a lot of help and/or having difficulties with their medical reviews.

💮 If you use a Ticket to Work Agency or a Vocational Rehabilitation program, you should be aware that during your next Continuing Disability Review, Social Security may collect and read the files from that program. They won’t just read tests or assessments, they can read anything anyone in the program has written down about you.

💮 You may wish to learn about the pros and cons of these programs before making any decisions.

💮 If you are interested in trying Ticket to Work a Work Incentives Planning Assistance program can help you.

YOUR TICKET DOLLARS

💮 This is a cool version of Ticket to Work that allows you to get reimbursed for work expenses.

💮 Examples of reimbursements include: gas, work attire, computer purchases, tools and supplies, medical expenses.

💮 Learn more about Your Ticket Dollars

💮 This is still a Ticket to Work program! Everything written above about Ticket to Work still applies. You may wish to learn about the pros and cons of these programs before making any decisions.

SUBSIDIES AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS

💠 In some situations, if you are working above $1,180 per month, you may be able to show that the value of your work is actually below this amount. Here is the Social Security policy on Subsidies and Special Conditions.

💠 Here is a form you can use to help prove subsidies: Subsidized-employment-form

OTHER WORK INCENTIVES

💮 Above is a list of some of the more popular work incentive programs. To learn more and find out about other work incentives, see the Social Security work incentives  website.

WORD TO THE WISE

💮 There are several work incentive programs that are specifically designed to help you go off benefits and return to the workforce full time. For example: Some Vocational Rehabilitation programs, Ticket to Work, PASS Plans, and Trial Work Periods.

💮 If you are well enough to go back to work and start to transition off disability benefits, these programs may be a great help.

💮 If you are not well enough to go off disability benefits, these programs are not always a good match. Some readers in this situation who have tried these programs report that they ran into difficulties.

GET HELP

If you want help navigating work incentives, you can try contacting a Centers for Independent Living in your area and ask if they can connect you with someone who can advise you on working and benefits. You can also get benefits counseling through Work Incentives Planning Assistance programs.

LEARN MORE

How to Handle Disability Reviews While Working

How to Work Without (Too Much) Trouble

How Wonderful and Horrible Work Incentives Can Be

How Does Working Affect My Disability Check?

Updated July 2018. Please comment below with stories, ideas, questions or suggestions. Please let us know if any links on this page stop working. 

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