If you receive supplemental security income (SSI) or social security disability insurance (SSDI) and want to try to return to work, help is available. The ticket to work program lets you get back to work or school while protecting your medical and disability benefits. By joining this highly successful program, you’ll have all the resources you need to find all kinds of employment, including work from home and onsite opportunities. Keep reading to learn about the top four reasons you should consider participating in the ticket to work program.
Free and Voluntary
Participating in the ticket to work for disability job placement is extremely easy. The program is entirely free and voluntary, so you can decide to use it whenever you want to go back to work. All services provided are automatically and immediately available to people between 18 and 64 years old who receive SSI or SSDI “non-retirement” disability benefits for their own illness or disability.
Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about losing your social security insurance. Whether you choose to use the ticket to work program or not, your SSI or SSDI benefits will stay the same. You can talk to a benefits planner to find out what could happen to other benefits, like cash, medical, and housing, if you return to work or go back to school.
Available Across the USA
The disability ticket to work program is available in all 50 states. Created and managed by the Social Security Administration (SSA) since 2002, the ticket to work program gives you access to hundreds of service providers across the US. As an outcome-based program, the SSA authorizes specific state agencies, non-profit organizations, and private Employment Networks (ENs) who are passionate about providing free services under ticket to work.
Access to Employment Network Agencies
Employment Network agencies provide free vocational help across various employment services. These may include resume assistance, interview practice, finding genuine employers that fit your abilities, job development, accommodation assistance, and help to answer your questions about the program and your disability and health insurance.
Each provider varies based on what their specialties are, the locations they serve, and the services they provide. Some agencies serve clients across several states, while others serve only a few states and have local offices in certain cities. They can also help with career advancement and may have resources for when you need more rigorous job training or if you want to go back to school.
Timely Progress
Once you assign your ticket to an employment network (EN), you’ll get an Individual Work Plan (IWP), which you need to sign. Your IWP specifies what your goals are and which services the EN will provide you to help you meet these goals. One major goal is to make progress towards reducing, and eventually eliminating, your dependence on Social Security or SSI benefits. Timed progress is used to measure your advancement toward supporting yourself through employment.
For the first two years you use your ticket, there are no work requirements. Your only obligation is to follow your IWP guidelines to prepare for work. During the third year, your gross earnings need to stay above the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level for three months. In the following year, you’ll need to earn more than the gross SGA for six months.
At this point, you can use impairment-related work expenses (IRWEs) and other exclusions to lower your earnings for the remainder of each year. This will allow you to continue receiving SSDI checks. By the fifth year in the ticket to work program, you should be earning enough of an income to become ineligible for SSI or SSDI benefits.
If you want to partake in the ticket to work program or are looking for ticket to work job openings, visit the website for DisABLEd Workers USA anytime. You can register with us, and send your questions and comments to https://www.disabledworkersusa.com/contact-us/. Call us toll free at 1-877-291-9806 if you are not registered on our site.