From the Social Security Administration:
The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers a set of work incentives for Supplemental Security income (SSI) beneficiaries. Work incentive employment supports help SSI recipients go to work by minimizing the risk of losing their SSI or Medicaid benefits (Social Security Administration, 2018). One such incentive, the Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), allows approved individuals to set aside earned or unearned income and resources to achieve an employment goal. The money or resources set aside are excluded from SSI income and resource tests and can be used to pay for goods or services needed to reach the goal, such as education, vocational training, starting a business, or purchasing work-related equipment (Social Security Administration, 2017).
The number of recipients enrolled nationally in any SSA work incentive program between 2000 and 2016 remains low and has been declining. In particular, the PASS incentive program has seen decreased enrollment in the last fifteen years - a 50% decrease from 2000 to 2016 in the number of individuals who enrolled. This is especially notable considering SSA reported providing benefits to 4,845,735 blind and disabled* SSI recipients aged 18-65 in 2016. Furthermore, there are only 692 PASS users enrolled nationwide, making it the least used incentive of those offered. Please refer to Table 1 for more details on three SSI work incentives.
Despite SSAs investment in the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program, SSI work incentives remain profoundly underutilized as a path towards employment for SSI recipients.
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Maybe that is because people on Disability are, in fact, Disabled!
ReplyDeleteThe reality is that these programs are hard to figure out and I have seen many people get screwed on their benefits for trying to take advantage of them. If SSA would just make improving one's financial situation a non-punitive action, more people would take advantage and perhaps become self-supporting.
ReplyDeleteHere are some ideas to improve SSA programs:
Raise the cap.
Allow for temporary partial disability instead of these stupid CDRs.
Raise the TWP amount and the time frame. Give people a chance to really get back on their feet
Raise the SGA levels, give people credit for trying to work instead of punishing them for doing so.
In other words, help people out before they become destitute and then help them get back on their feet.
Think of it as the easy on/easy off initiative.
Sure, this would have diminishing returns the older an individual is, but it would help a lot of beneficiary's get over a rough period due to a mental or physical disability.
If I were king for a day, that's what I would do. Of course, but the time any new initiatives were ready to be implemented, there would be a new king. That is also part of the problem.
Okay all your haters, bring it on, but try to say something constructive instead of just complaining.
Some people might actually want to try to work part time and see if they can manage to work more, but as soon as they attempt this, even if they are only making $100/ month (well below SGA),SS is liable to initiate another CDR and they will be in danger of losing their benefits. I have said this before; the whole thing seems like a trap, and people are afraid to raise an RED FLAGS!
ReplyDeleteThey work for cash under the table.
ReplyDeleteNews flash, they would work under the table so much if they didn't get punished for those usually meager earnings
ReplyDeleteNews flash, they aren't supposed to be able to work at all!!!!
ReplyDelete1241, you are missing the whole point of this particular discussion we are discussing ways to make work incentives work and one of the ways would be to stop penalizing people for earning paltry sums of money whether it's under the table over the table doesn't really matter the overwhelming majority of people would wprkork if they could, the problem is a lot of people cannot withstand the rigour of full time competitive work due to their disability. Ssa rules need to reflect reality not some Dickisonian veiw of disability.
ReplyDelete@12:41 PM The standard for SSDI/SSI is not the inability to work at all.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much the admittedly terrible SSI rules are forcing SSI recipients into under the table work; plenty of Americans engage in such work activity to avoid paying the tax man and the vast majority aren't disabled or claim to be, so I just don't really see it here.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I most definitely see the frequent looks we do for folks on SSI (monthly eligibility, awesome!!!) and the complicated rules dissuading SSI recipients from doing anything that might trigger more process, including legitimate work activity that will be reported by someone if the Cl doesn't self-report.
If only our country didn't make it difficult and expensive to be poor we could ease up on SSI regulations, but if anything in this climate the rules will only become more punitive similar to all the medicaid work requirements some states are recently enacting.