How will my Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits be affected if I work? There are three ways in which your SSI benefits can be affected if you work: the amount of your SSI benefits, your eligibility to continue to receive benefits and your eligibility for Medicaid. The mere fact that you are working and earning money does not mean that you will lose your SSI benefits.
First, the amount of money you earn will affect the amount of your SSI benefits. You are allowed to earn up to $65 a month before your SSI check will be reduced. If you have no other income in that month, you can earn up to $85 a month before your check is reduced. (Wage amounts referred to are gross earnings before anything is deducted.)
If you have no other income and earn more than $65 or $85 (if you have no unearned income), your check will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn. While you are working you will still be eligible to receive SSI benefits if: 1) your gross earnings are less than twice the amount of your monthly SSI check plus $85 if you have no unearned income, or plus $65 if you have earned income; and 2) you are still disabled. If your wages change from month to month so that in some months you make too much to get SSI but in other months your wages are low enough for you to receive SSI, you can continue to get SSI for those months in which the amount of your earnings do not disqualify you for SSI, if you have received SSI benefits within the past 12 months.
Secondly, you can continue to be eligible for Medicaid if you are working. I am talking about a special provision of the law which only applies to someone who receives Medicaid because she is receiving SSI. As long as you are receiving SSI benefits while you are working, you will be eligible for Medicaid. If your earnings reach the point that you are no longer eligible for SSI cash benefits, you can still be eligible for Medicaid if: 1) you are still disabled; 2) you do not have too much unearned income per month to be eligible for SSI; 3) you received SSI cash benefits within the past 12 months; 4) you make less than the New York State threshold annual income; and 5) you used Medicaid in the last 12 months, or you expect to use Medicaid in the next 12 months, or you cannot pay unexpected medical bills within the next 12 months. This provision is called 1619(b).
Finally, within the limits discussed above, you can earn money and still be eligible for SSI and Medicaid as long as you are still disabled. Since you were originally found eligible for SSI because you were found to be disabled, the laws requires the Social Security Administration to prove that there has been a medical improvement in your condition before it can be determined that you are no longer disabled. Social Security must send you a written notice if it is decided you are no longer disabled. You have a right to appeal this determination and to have a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. You can call witnesses, present evidence and be represented at this hearing. Before you start a job, it would be best to discuss the matter with your doctor or counselor.
NOTE: Under a demonstration project sponsored by the New York Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration called New York Works, these rules are waived for some SSI recipients who work. Go to www.nls.org to learn more about New York Works
What is a PASS and how does it work?A PASS (Plan to Achieve Self-Support) is a device that is useful to a person who wishes to go back to work but is presently receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Social Security Disability (SSD). This allows a disabled person to shelter wages and/or benefits to achieve a specific vocational goal.
In order to take advantage of the PASS, a person must meet the following requirements:
1. She must be disabled and receive either Social Security Disability and/or Supplemental
Security Income from the Social Security Administration;
2. She must have a specific vocational goal;
3. She must have a specific objective that is part of her vocational goal and for which she
will be saving money;
4. She must have a specific time frame for achieving her vocational goal.
A person must submit her PASS to the local PASS Cadre of the Social Security Administration for approval. Once the PASS is approved, the person’s benefits will be adjusted to conform with the PASS.
An example of a PASS would be one in which a person would place all her wages over the $65 or $85 “disregard” into a savings account to be used toward her vocational goal, and her Supplemental Security Income would not be reduced even though she were making more than the initial disregard level. Also, she would still be eligible for SSI even though she would have amounts in her PASS account over the SSI resource limits.
Another PASS could provide for a person to place all of her Social Security Disability benefits except for the first $20 in a PASS account. As long as she meets the unearned income limits and the resource limits (excluding the PASS account), she will be allowed to receive SSI and Medicaid. Once again, the money in the PASS account will not be counted as a resource, and her SSD benefits will not be counted as income for the purposes of SSI eligibility. If a PASS can be used to make a person eligible for SSI and Medicaid, it is particularly desirable. If the person subsequently loses her SSI because of wages, she will be covered by the 1619(b) provision for extended Medicaid benefits. This provision covers a person who, becoming ineligible for SSI solely because of wages, will still be eligible for Medicaid as long as she is still disabled.
What can be done if I receive an overpayment notice from the Social Security Administration? There are have several options when you get the notice of an overpayment and a notice that Social Security will reduce your check to recoup the overpayment.
First, if you do not think you were overpaid, or if you think that the amount of the overpayment is not correct, you can appeal the overpayment determination. You can do this by asking for a Reconsideration. If you lose at the Reconsideration, you can ask for a hearing. Of course, you have the right to be represented at the hearing. If you appeal the overpayment determination within 30 days of the day you receive the letter and request that your benefits stay the same, your check will not be changed until your case is decided. In any case, if you wish to appeal the overpayment determination, you must do so within 60 days of the day you receive the letter.
Second, if you agree that you were overpaid in the amount that Social Security says, you can request a waiver of the recovery of the overpayment.
If the recovery of an overpayment is waived, you do not have to repay Social Security. You can ask for a waiver anytime after you receive notice of an overpayment. But, if you ask for a waiver within 30 days of the day you receive the notice of overpayment and request that the amount of your benefits remain unchanged, your benefits will not be changed until a decision is made on your waiver request.
In order to be granted a waiver, you must show two things. First, you need to prove that the overpayment was not your fault. This means that the overpayment was not caused because you kept information from Social Security or because you did not report a change that you are required to report when you were supposed to report it.
Secondly, you need to show Social Security that you cannot afford to repay the overpayment. You can prove this by showing you need the full amount of your benefit to live and that you do not have any extra resources. Because many factors can affect whether you were at fault or not, it is a good idea to get legal advice on whether or not to ask for a waiver.
If your request for a waiver is denied, you can ask for a Reconsideration within 60 days from the day you receive the denial. If you lose at the Reconsideration, you have 60 days from the date you receive the Reconsideration notice to request a hearing.
Finally, if you have to repay the overpayment, you have the right to ask that the amount withheld from your check be reduced. Social Security cannot withhold more than 10% of your total benefits, but less can be withheld even if it means it will take a long time to repay the overpayment. To get a reduction in the amount withheld, you need to show the claims representative that you need most or all of your check to pay for your living expenses.
Since there are options when you get a notice of an overpayment and since quick action can keep your benefits from being reduced, you should contact your legal representative as soon as you get such a notice.
How will working affect my Social Security Disability Benefits?The effect that your wages have on your Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits depends upon the amount you earn. If you earn less than $740 per month, it will not affect your benefits as long as you are still disabled. (The wage amounts referred to are gross wages before anything is deducted.)
Each month in which you earn $530 or more and you continue to be disabled will count as a Trial Work month. A recipient of Social Security Disability benefits is entitled to nine months of Trial Work. If, after the Trial Work period is over, you continue to work and your gross wages are less than $740 per month and you are still disabled, you will continue to receive benefits. The Trial Work months do not need to be consecutive, but once a recipient has had nine Trial Work months, within a 60-month period, the Trial Work period is over.
However, once your Trial Work period is over, you will not be entitled to SSD benefits for any month in which you earned $740 or more. If you continue to earn $740
or more a month, your Social Security Disability benefits will be terminated. This will happen whether you are still disabled or not. This is because Social Security considers earnings of $740 or more a month to be Substantial Gainful Activity.
Sometimes, however, even if you earn $740 or more a month, your work may not be considered Substantial Gainful Activity. If you are paid any part of your wages for a reason other than the work you do, that part is not considered in the total amount of your earnings. Reasons other than your work for which you could be paid include: a subsidy paid at a sheltered workshop or through a government work program, or money paid to you because your employer is a friend or relative. You can also subtract any reasonable expenses which are related to doing business or which are necessary to your being employed because of your disability. If your earnings are less than $740 per month after subtracting the part of your pay not connected with your work or the above expenses, your benefits cannot be stopped unless Social Security proves you are no longer disabled.
You will receive your benefits for the first three months after the end of the trial work period no matter what your gross wages are. For the next 33 months, you will receive Social Security benefits for any month in which you earn less than $740. In order for you to be considered no longer eligible for disability benefits, you must earn $740 or more a month over several months. Earnings of $740 or more for one or two months are not enough to make you ineligible for Social Security Disability benefits. In addition, if you have to stop work because of your disability or if your wages drop below $740 in fewer than six months after you began to earn $740 or more a month, Social Security considers this an unsuccessful work attempt. This means Social Security must prove your condition has improved and you are no longer disabled before you are considered no longer eligible for benefits.
If after the end of your Trial Work period you earn $740 or more a month on a continuing basis, you will not receive any Social Security Disability benefits. However, you can receive Medicare coverage for an additional 93 months as long as you are still disabled. Also, if you stop work or earn less than $740 a month within 36 months of the end of your Trial Work period, your disability benefits can be restored without your reapplying.
What is the difference between SSD and SSI?SSD or SSDI is an abbreviation that refers to Social Security Disability benefits. Social Security Disability benefits are paid to a wage earner who is disabled and unable not only to do his past work, but to do any work. The amount of a person’s monthly SSD benefits is based upon his past wages. There is no limit on the amount of resources or unearned income that a person can have and still receive SSD. A person who is eligible for SSD will not receive SSD benefits for the first five months after he becomes disabled; however, he can be awarded SSD benefits for up to a year before the date of his application. After a person has been eligible for SSD for 24 months, he is eligible for medicare.
SSI is an abbreviation that refers to Supplemental Security Income. SSI is a federal welfare program. To be eligible for SSI on the basis of a disability, a person must be disabled and unable to perform any work. The amount of his monthly SSI benefits is based upon the person’s income and living arrangements. There are limits on the amount of income and resources that a recipient of SSI can have. Someone eligible for SSI can receive benefits from the date of his application or the date he became disabled, whichever is later.
To be eligible for SSI, a person cannot have more than $2000 in liquid resources. Liquid resources include cash, money in the bank, savings bonds and anything else that can be sold easily for cash. Someone who receives SSI may also have $1500 in a burial account. In New York State, a recipient of SSI automatically receives Medicaid.
Depending upon the amount of SSD a person receives, she may also receive SSI. In New York State, the local Department of Social Services will pay the medicare premiums for someone who receives both SSI and SSD.
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