Ticket to Work

If you are interested in working, the Ticket to Work Program is the key to unlocking vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals, and other ongoing support and services to help you reach your employment goals. The program is available for people who are between the ages of 18 and 65 and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for people who are disabled or blind.

You can take your Ticket to any Employment Network or State Vocational Rehabilitation agency to request assistance in job training, preparing materials to use to find a job, locating employers informing you about work incentives and other assistance in you may need to work.

While you are actively participating in the Ticket to Work program, you can get the help you need to find the job that is right for you and you can safely explore your work options without losing your benefits.

• You can easily return to benefits if you have to stop working (known as “expedited reinstatement of benefits”);
• You can continue to receive healthcare benefits; and
• You will not receive a continuing disability review while using your Ticket.

 First, you should know that if you go back to work, you will NOT automatically lose your disability benefits. The Ticket to Work and special rules called "work incentives" allow you to keep your cash benefits and Medicare or Medicaid while you test your ability to work. For the SSDI program, there is a trial work period during which you can receive full benefits regardless of how much you earn, as long as you report your work activity and continue to have a disabling impairment.

The trial work period continues until you accumulate nine months (not necessarily consecutive) in which you perform what SSA calls “services” within a rolling 60-month period. They consider your work to be “services” if you earn more than $640 a month in 2007.  For 2006, this amount was $620. After the trial work period ends, your benefits will stop for the months your earnings are at a level we consider "substantial" -- currently $900 in 2007. For 2006, this amount was $860. Different amounts apply to people who are disabled because of blindness.