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I received my "Ticket to Work" and I'm ready to get to work, now what?
Let's talk and figure out what type of work you are looking for, and will match with your challenges.
For example if you have substantial spinal injuries, maybe working in a warehouse lifting heavy boxes is not the right choice for you. Perhaps going to school to become a long haul truck driver is. Maybe being a programmer is a better choice for your personality.
There is soul searching and coaching that has to be done here, and we're here to help you.
Sometimes the result is that you can't do what you used to be qualified for, and you need to go back for retraining. That's where we may recommend a PASS plan.
Your Ticket to Work can be used to find a job to help with school expenses while on a PASS plan.
You don't have to use both at the same time, but you can!
For us to be able to help we will want you to fill out a Individual Work Plan and submit it to us. We will also need two Social Security releases. We use them to check to make sure you are eligible. Once Ticket to Work eligibility is determined we will talk with you and ensure that what you've applied for is the right choice for you. Remember, it's always your final call, we just want to help you maximize your success!
Using your Social Security Ticket to Work
Your Ticket to Work gives you an opportunity to use all the work incentives and benefits that Social Security has available for recipients that want to work or go to school. Does your EN know the intricacies of how work affects your benefits? Make sure you know! We'll help you understand how you can keep your Medicare/Medicaid while working! Do they help you with a Social Security PASS Plan? A PASS Plan can give you hundreds even thousand of dollars of grant like assistance over and above what you now receive.
In this section we will discuss the Ticket to Work Program and jobs for the disabled.
We highly recommend that you contact your State Vocational Rehabilitation Service offices and see how they can assist you with employment training. They help alot of disabled people. I received help (my story) through my State VR, but if they are not going to help you to reach your goal, then why turn your ticket into them? You have a choice!
Maybe we're the Ticket to Work choice for you!
If you are interested in school make sure you check out our other pages to use your Ticket to Work and PASS plan. We will need you to work and earn over $360 in your first 2 weeks of work, to be able to assist you through the Ticket to Work. We will then use the PASS (Plan to Achieve Self-Support) to try to get you the school funds you need to reach your goal, through the “Ticket to Work”.
Turn your Ticket to Work in to us and we will offer you things like:
- While your Ticket to Work is assigned and active you will not be subject to medical review.
- We can give work assistance bonuses of $500 once every quarter for the first 12 months that you earn over $720/month. (There are eligibility requirements.)
- Turn your Ticket to Work into us and we will help you in understanding different Social Security Work incentives and how they will affect benefits received. Including help with keeping track of TWP, EPE, Extended Medicare months, Medicaid 1619b, IRWE, and subsidies along with others; as long as wages are reported.
- If you assign us your Ticket to work we will help in preparing a Social Security PASS Plan, if it is appropriate in your case.(Example: training expenses, transportation assistance, assisted devices, etc.)
- We can help in showing your potential employers how they can receive a $2400 - $9000 tax benefits by hiring you. Also, how their medical costs will actually be reduced because you already receive Medicare/Medicaid.
- Referrals to other agencies or websites if needed.
We will help you use your Ticket to Work to benefit you in any way we can!
What can I write a Social Security PASS plan for?
Well, the possibilities are pretty much unlimited. If you can show SSA that using PASS Plan funds will increase your employment or earning power, a PASS Plan can probably be used.
Your employment work goal does have to be feasible, and funds are limited to the amount of your countable earned income + any unearned income that you receive. The more you earn because of employment the more you have to put into the PASS Plan. Using your Ticket to Work and a PASS makes working pays twice!
If you are receiving the maximum SSI, Medicaid, and are not working a PASS Plan will not help you, but if you go to work and need assistance a PASS plan can help.
If your car breaks down and you need a new engine or transmission, a PASS plan could pay for it. It can even help purchase a better car, if you can show in detail how you will use a car to reach a vocational goal.
Would a disability grant for employment training, assisted device, or technology make you more productive? Purchasing that work equipment and leasing it to your employer or subcontracting your work, may give you a better chance of finding a job. The PASS Plan can make this a possibility.
Have us check it out for you!
How will working affect the Social Security Disability Benefits I now receive? Does the Ticket to Work affect them?
For those receiving SSI only.
The maximum SSI disability benefit is $674/month in 2011. (Some states do supplement this amount)
If you are disabled and employed, here is the formula that Social Security disability uses to figure your SSI disability check. (Maximum SSI-((Gross monthly Wages-$85)/2)))
- Gross Monthly Wages-$85
- then divide by 2 = this equals what Social Security calls "countable (work) earned income"
- take the Maximum SSI - "countable (work) earned income" = Your SSI disability check for the month.
If you have a Social Security PASS Plan, you receive the maximum SSI disability check no matter how much you earn! Your "countable earned income" is then used to pay for your PASS Plan expenses.
If you receive SSDI, or both SSDI and SSI
Figuring how a PASS Plan will affect your disability benefits while receiving SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) is a little more complicated. Employment wages and the amount of SSDI affect your SSI and PASS Plan. The more employment or wages you have the more you can put into the PASS Plan.
Often this part is easier to explain to you on the phone...
You have to insert the number of TWP months that you have used, your work wages, and your SSDI + other unearned income. Then calculate your total income, amount put into the plan, and what you will have remaining for living expenses.
Marital status and assets are two more important factors that will need to be considered when deciding whether a PASS Plan is appropriate for you. Your spouse may have to contribute half of their earnings to your PASS.
We'll show you all the possibilities that are waiting for you to take advantage of.
Live your dream!
Register below and give us a call. Let's see which work incentives would be of the most benefit to you and your life situation.
One more important fact - if you are using the Social Security PASS Plan, you are eligible for Medicaid!!!
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