Making Work Part of the Plan

1
Making Work Part of the Plan

• Work Incentives for People with Disabilities

2
The Landscape

• Approximately 70 of people with disabilities who
  want to work are unemployed.

What keeps people with disabilities from working?
3
Policies Attitudes Fears
Misconceptions

• Family
• Friends
• Employers
• Government
• Society
• People with disabilities cant work
• Ill lose my benefits if I work.

4
Public Program Policies
Change from people with disabilities opting in to
employment. TO People with disabilities opt
out of employment.
5
What are Work Incentives?

• Special rules used to encourage an individual to
  work.

6

• On Supplemental Security Income (SSI), work
  incentives increase the amount of the SSI
  payment.
• On Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI),
  work incentives let SSDI cash payment continue
  when earnings are above the Substantial Gainful
  Activity level.

7
Substantial Gainful Activity Level (SGA)

• The amount of monthly earned income SSA uses to
  help define disability
• 980 (1640 if blind) in 2009

8
Federal Benefit Rate (FBR)

• The maximum monthly SSI payment
• 674 in 2009

9
THE SSI FORMULA
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
10
SSDI Work Incentives

• Work incentives can reduce earned income by the
  amount of the deduction for people earning over
  SGA.
• Example
• 1000 earned income (over SGA)
• 80 IRWE
• 920 countable earned income (under SGA)

11
Work Incentives

• Ticket to Work (Both)
• Trial Work Period (SSDI)
• Extended Period of Eligibility (SSDI)
• Expedited Reinstatement (Both)
• Impairment Related Work Expense (IRWE) (Both)
• Subsidy (SSDI)
• Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS) (Both)
• Earned Income Exclusion (SSI)
• Blind Work Expense (SSI)
• Student Earned Income Exclusion (SSI)
• 1619(b) (SSI)
• Extended Medicare (SSDI)
• MA-EPD

12
Ticket to Work

• Increases clients choice in obtaining the
  employment support services, vocational
  rehabilitation services, and other and other
  services needed to get and keep a job
• www.yourtickettowork.com

13
Impairment Related Work Expense (IRWE)

• Allows certain expenses, necessary to go to work,
  to be disregarded from individuals earned
  income.
• An IRWE expense must be
• paid for by the individual
• related to serious medical condition necessary
  in order to work
• approved by SSA

14
Subsidy

• Support that may result in more pay than the
  actual value of the services performed.
• Examples
• More supervision for the same job and same pay
• Fewer or simpler tasks to complete for same job
  and same pay
• Job coach or mentor

15
Trial Work Period (TWP)

• 9 months when a person can test their ability to
  work and not affect their SSDI
• TWP month earnings over 700 in 2009
• SSDI payment continues during TWP, no matter how
  high earnings
• After TWP, if earnings remain under SGA (980 in
  2009) SSDI continues

16
Extended Period of Eligibility

• During the 36 consecutive months after the Trial
  Work Period, if earnings are over SGA, SSDI will
  stop BUT
• SSDI benefits can be re-started without a new
  application, disability determination or waiting
  period.

17
Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS)
Income or resources set aside for a set amount of
time to achieve a specific vocational goal

• Examples of possible PASS goals include
• Education
• Equipment
• Transportation
• Funds set aside are not counted when calculating
  the SSI payment

18
Health Care with SSI

• Medical Assistance
• 1619(b)
• Allows Medical Assistance (MA) coverage to
  continue after the individuals earned income
  becomes too high to allow a SSI cash payment.

19
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 or assets
  exceed limit

20
Healthcare with SSDI

• Medicare after 24 months on SSDI
• Extended Medicare people who work their way off
  SSDI continue to receive Medicare for at least 93
  months after the end of the Trial Work Period
• Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with
  Disabilities (MA-EPD)

21
MA-EPDA work incentive/health care program

• Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with
  Disabilities

22
MA-EPD Eligibility at a glance

• Age 16 to 64
• Certified disabled
• Employed
• Pay taxes
• Meet 20,000 asset limit
• Pay premium
• NO upper income limit

23
MA-EPD Eligibility

• Individuals must be at least 16 but less than 65
  years old
• Individuals must be certified disabled by either
  the Social Security Administration or the State
  Medical Review Team (SMRT)
• Continued on next slide

24
MA-EPD Eligibility (continued)

• Individuals who cant be certified by SSA due
  only to earnings over SGA (980/month in 2009)
  may be certified disabled through SMRT.
• Individuals on extended Medicare continue to be
  certified disabled by SSA even though their cash
  benefits have ended. Refer to SMRT prior to
  Medicare coverage ending.

25
MA-EPD Eligibility

• Individuals must be employed
• To be considered employed, a person must have
  average gross monthly wages or countable
  self-employment earnings of more than 65

26
Earned Income

• Enrollees must receive earned income each month,
  unless
• They change jobs and receive no pay check for 1
  month because of different pay periods
• They are on a temporary medical or job loss leave
• Continued on next slide

27
Safety Nets

• 4-Month Medical Leave
• Enrollees may have an interruption of employment
  due to a physician verified medical condition for
  up to 4 months.
• 4-Month Job Loss Leave
• 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.
• Continued on next slide

28
Safety Nets (continued)

• There is no limit on the number of leaves a
  person can use, as long as they return to work in
  between.
• A job loss leave can be used immediately
  following a medical leave.
• A medical leave cannot be used immediately
  following a job loss leave.

29
Taxes

• To be considered employment, Medicare and Social
  Security taxes must be paid or withheld from
  earnings
• Proof of state or federal income tax being paid
  is not required.
• Continued on next slide

30
Assets

• Individuals must have assets of less than
• 20,000
• Exclude standard MA assets plus retirement
  accounts, medical expense accounts set up through
  an employer and all spousal assets.
• People on MA-EPD who lose employment for any
  reason retain the MA-EPD asset limit and rules
  for up to 12 months.

31
Premiums

• Individuals must pay a premium of 35 or more,
  based on their income and household size
• People with unearned income must pay ½ of their
  unearned income.
• Continued on next slide

32
Premiums (continued)

• Counties bill and collect initial premiums
• Eligibility cannot be approved until premium is
  paid
• Applicants can choose which month(s) they want
  eligibility and pay only those months

33
Remember

• Counties must reimburse Medicare Part B premiums
  for MA-EPD enrollees with income below 200 FPG
  who are not eligible for QMB/SLMB

34

• Ongoing premiums can be paid by mail, in person,
  by auto-withdrawal, or online at
• http//payments.dhs.state.mn.us/selectthepaymentty
  pe.asp
• MA-EPD premium estimator online at
• www.dhs.state.mn.us/maepdpremium

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Benefits Analysis (BA)

• Comprehensive look at how all benefits
• are affected by work.
• Includes
• Benefits verification/information finding
• Identification of work incentives
• Development of examples of different levels of
  earnings----individuals goals
• Exploration of health care options
• Comparison of finances before after working
• Benefit management help follow-up

36
Anne Not Working
SSDI 595.00 SSI
99.00 MSA 81.00 MA
Yes Medicare
Yes Food Support
14.00 Subsidized Housing
-222.00 Available Income 567.00
37
Anne Earning 650 per month vs. not working
Earning 650/mo. 650.00 -
97.50 595.00 0.00
0.00 Yes Yes 14.00 -363.00 798.50
Not Working 0.00 0.00 595.00 99.00 81.00 Yes
Yes 14.00 -222.00 567.00
Wages Minus 15 taxes SSDI SSI MSA MA Medicar
e Food Support Subsidized Housing Available
Income
231.50 - A 40 increase in available income
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Coming 2009
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An interactive web site designed for people with
disabilities, and those who help them.
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• Information on disability benefit programs
• Tools to show the connection between work and
  benefits
• Tailored Plans for moving forward
• Links to get the help you need

41
Employment Supports
SSDI
CADI
Sue wants to work
Medicare
Child Care Assistance
MA
Subsidized Housing
Food Support
DB101 brings it all together
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• If you want more information about DB101, want to
  participate in testing, or have any input or
  ideas to help DB101 succeed, please contact
  Lesli.Kerkhoff_at_state.mn.us

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Work Incentives Connection
Goal Assist people with disabilities to return
to work to increase work effort or to work off
benefits. Method Answer, What will happen to
my benefits if I work? 1-800-976-6728 651-632-
5113
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MA-EPD Contacts

• MA-EPD Information Line651-431-4300
• Disability Linkage Line
• 1-866-333-2466
• Beth Grube Brian Jorgensen
• 651-431-2412 651-431-4241
• Beth.grube_at_state.mn.us Brian.jorgensen_at_state.mn.u
  s
• MAXIS email QS MAXIS email kcm

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Disability Linkage Line

• 1-866-333-2466