>> Ray Cebula: Good afternoon everybody. This is Ray Cebula from Cornell University's Employment and Disability Institute. And, I'm happy to welcome you to today's webinar. We're going to discuss the ticket to work, free support services for folks who have a disability and are ready to go to work. I am going to let you know what Social Security has by way of services to assist you on your journey to work. Before we get started with today's session, I do want to talk to you about some of the technology that we'll be using so that you'll be able to participate. You've been connected automatically by your computer's microphone and speakers. If, at any time during the presentation, you lose contact with us, give it a second, because it might be on our end. But, if you do lose contact, you can always click on that little audio box up in the left hand, right hand corner of your screen, open it up and click Use Telephone. It will give you today's information and I'll give you that toll free number in a minute and you can listen to us via phone just in case something should happen. We want you to participate today. There are going to be a couple of times where we'll ask you some questions so we can collect some information to see who's out there. And also, there's going to be a time where we're just going to ask you some true or false and we're going to ask you to raise your hand. And, you can raise your hand by clicking on that little hand that's waving at you in your webinar console. If you do have a question today, we'd love to hear from you. I can assure you that, with the number of people out there listening to us today, we're not going to get to all of your questions. So, Jayme will be monitoring the question and answer box in order to take the questions that have the most relevance to the most people. We will give you phone numbers so that you can get in touch with somebody to discuss your particular situation and get an answer to your question if we don't have, if we don't have time to get to your particular question. In order to put a question into that box, just click on the Plus Sign next to the word Questions. It's going to open up this box. You'll be able to type your question in, hit Send, and it will appear on Jayme's desktop, and then she will then interrupt us a few times during the webinar and at the end of the session she'll be asking Kate and myself those questions. And, hopefully, we'll be able to answer them for you. Now, we strive to make our webinars accessible to everybody who needs this information and wants this information. If you have any difficulties, by way of accessibilities, we want to hear from you. What I'd ask you to do is not only let us know what type of issues you're having, but also, let us know if you know of a solution. If you know of a program or some fix that we can make, that would be immensely helpful to us because we are trying to, again, make these as accessible as possible for the greatest number of people. Now, here are your toll free numbers. For today, if you do have to dial in, the toll free number is 1-877-739-5903. That's 1-877-739-5903. And today's access code, when you dial in the operator will ask you for an access code. Today's code is 180106670. For closed captioning, there's a link there right on your screen and you can get closed captioning by clicking on that link or by typing in http://www.ilr.cornell. edu/edi/captions.cfm?activity_id=3812. So, you will be able to get ahold of the closed captioning that way if you do need that. Now, today's webinar presentation and transcript and a recording of it will be available in approximately two weeks. There's the link for that as well. That's www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/m-wise-webinars.cfm. If anybody does need that site please feel free to contact us and we can get it to you that way as well. During the question and the answer period, you can submit your questions the way I spoke about by using that question box. If you do have the Chat feature, you can submit your questions via the Chat feature in your webinar console. And, the last way to do that is to get an email to support@chooseworkttw, that's one word, chooseworkttw.net. So, support@chooseworkttw.net. You can ask your questions that way as well. Now, we have a lot to talk about today. You've already been through the welcome and the introduction. I'm going to talk to you about the Ticket to Work program. Then we have Kate Kingree from ERI in Wisconsin who is an employment network representative. She's going to introduce herself a little bit more and talk to you about employment networks and how they can help you on that journey back to work. We'll talk about protection and advocacy. That's the legal wing of the system that's set up right now to help you with any issues that arise during that return to work effort. Give you some other resources, and then, Kate and I will just sit back and wait for your questions to be posed to us. Now, I told you we were going to ask you for some questions and here they come. We've got five quick questions for you just so we'll get some statistics about who's listening, how many people are listening, and how you heard about us. So, the first one is how did you learn about this national WISE event? You can make your selection, we'll give you some time, and we'll know where to advertise next time. [ Silence ] All right, great, you're all making your selections and participating very quickly. That's really good. All right, let's close that one out. Second one, what do you hope to learn from today's session? We've got a bunch of different things for you. So, if you could pick the one thing that's most important to you, that ticket to work, SSI work incentives. Oops, I didn't launch it. I'm asking you to do something and I'm not letting you do it. Okay, what do you hope to learn about the ticket to work, SSI work incentives, SSDI work incentives, employment networks and vocational rehabilitation services, or legal protection and advocacy? Jayme was thinking, wow, he didn't even forget to do it but I forget to launch it. There's always something going on Jayme. >> Jayme: That's all right Ray, thank you. >> Ray Celuba: All right. We've got a great, we've got a great group, very responsible. I really appreciate that because this information really helps us in our planning. Okay, we want to know a bit about you. What's your age? Oh my God I'm about to slip into that last one. [Laughter] I think we have to make we have to break that last group up into a bunch of little groups Jayme. [Laughter] All right, once again, thank you. What is your gender? [ Silence ] We tend to have many more women than we do men. All right, look at that, almost everybody. All right, and finally, because we realize there may be more than one of you in the room or sitting at the computer console, could you let us know how many people are with you? [ Silence ] You know, we do have a few groups out there. [ Silence ] Okay, thank you very, very much. I got to tell you, that was one of the quickest polling sessions that we've done so far. And, that information is incredibly helpful to us. So, with that being said, let's get into today's discussion. What can you expect? I'm going to give you lots of information about the Ticket to Work Program and the various work incentives that Social Security has set up for recipient to help in that return to work effort, and hopefully answer a lot of the frequently asked questions that you may very well have right now and the questions that Kate and I hear all the time. We'll try to get that information for you. Those questions and the answers that you have are only going to raise more questions. And, we don't want your questions to go unanswered. So, we will provide you with information so that you can find the answers to any questions that come up as a result of this section. We have a great success story to share with you today. And, you know, Megan's story is from 2008 is, and she's a real inspiration to me and I hope an inspiration to you to show you just how well this program can work when everybody is on the same page. And, she just seems like a great woman to me. She's one of my favorite parts of this webinar. So, why do you want to go to work? We choose work. Why choose work? Clearly more income helps. You we, very few of us who do this type of work, because most of us are working in nonprofit agencies, have gotten to the point where more money isn't better. More money is always better. We know that the benefits that are being paid by Social Security and the other sources of benefits that you might have is not, generally, enough to make things easy. Working can bring in that extra money to help make ends meet and to help make your life more comfortable. Gaining independence is a great thing and a great motivator for people because, when you are dependent upon benefits, as you all know, if you're recipients out there, you need to report constantly. You need to report if you get married. You need to report if you get divorced. You need to report if you move. You need to report if you go to work. Well, removing yourselves from the benefits rules not only removes all of those reporting requirements, but it removes the dependence upon the system that is providing those benefits. Earned income through employment doesn't have any of that. Yes, there are other responsibilities. I have to get up every morning and get to my desk. But, I don't have to tell my boss what I'm doing with my money, you know. And I can do what I want, live how I choose to live, and that sense of independence is a great motivator. Learning new skills, we all learn new skills. Actually, doing webinars was a skill that I learned because part of my job was at risk. So, we built a webinar series so that I could teach people to do benefits planning online. We learn new skills all the time. Do you need new skills to get to work now? Maybe you do. Maybe your disabilities have left you with skills. You need now to learn how to use those skills differently because of that disability. We can provide you with information and sources of support both financial and human support to get those skills in place. And, meeting new people, and everybody who's been working with me on these webinars has heard me talk about meeting new people. I know people all over this great country of ours because I work. I met my spouse at work. Meeting new people is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I know Jayme and Ann and now Kate because I work. And, meeting new people removes a sense of isolation that you may have because of that sedentary nature of benefit dependence. And, certainly, gets you out in the community and becomes, allows you to do what you want to. Now, here we are with Megan. As you can see, in 2008, Megan had a major depressive episode and had turned to disability benefits to keep her afloat financially. Megan wasn't exactly happy on benefits and decided that that Ticket to Work program was going to help her fulfill her life. Right now she's working and has begun, once again, to compete in ballroom dancing. And, since Dancing With the Stars is all the rage now, Megan's right out there with everybody else doing a great job of that. So Mike, I'm going to ask you to queue up that video and we can listen to Megan's story. [ Silence ] [ Music ] [ Silence ] [ Music ] >> Megan: I believe it was around January of 2008, I kind of got sick and I took another position. And from that position I ended up getting fired. And, I had a mental breakdown. So, my disability is mental illness. And, it took a lot of time for me to get everything back together. I ended up actually having to file bankruptcy. It was really great for me that I was introduced to the disability program. After so many months in the disability program, you can get a ticket to work. And then, that will help you actually get back into working. But, it also allows you to get medical assistance which helps you, for me, to be able to see psychiatrists and doctors and get my medicine and everything like that. Staying at home is not as fun as it looks. But, also, it's not me. I'm 27. So, I don't want to be at home my whole life and have a lot of things to do. So, that really made me want to get back to work because that's what I should be doing that's what I want to be doing. The first thing I received in the mail was my ticket to work. And, with that, it included some websites and pamphlets about what the program was and places you could go and people you could give your tickets to. And so, I found, actually, Transcend, and I called them. >> Transcend: Hi Megan well good to see you. How are you doing today? >> Megan: Pretty good. >> Transcend: Good. >> Megan came to Transcend about a year ago. She was seeking a job in the IT document control field. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. She worked with our employment counselor in developing her resume, fine tuning her interview skills, identifying employers. And, after, only a few months, she was able to obtain employment, actually as a temporary agent doing what she had wanted to do. >> Megan: One of the big problems or concerns that I had was would I lose my disability benefits if I started working and then I couldn't continue to work and then I'd have to start all over again. >> So, at that point, she connected with me for benefits counseling. And I was able to walk her through what, how her benefits would be effected by that work. She received Social Security Disability insurance, so, she was happy to learn that she had what are called Trial Work Period Months. And she was able, for nine months, to work at a full time position and not have any decrease in her benefits. She still received full benefits. After those nine months were over, she had an additional three months, called her Grace Period Months. And after those months are over, she has an additional three years where she's, her disability check will only be suspended based on her earnings. And, if she's not able to keep the job, she can go return to her Social Security Disability Benefits. >> Megan: It made me feel supported, that I could do it and I could try. And, if it didn't work, I could come back and I could keep trying. The job that I do is a document control specialist. And the easiest way to explain that is it's part librarian, so people return things to me and I check them out. It's part teacher, because when they return things to me, I check it to make sure it's correct. And, if it's not, I ask for them to redo it. >> What made Megan a success in her job search, first and foremost, was her willingness to go back to work. And, our job, after that, really is how can we support her to make that happen. >> I would classify Megan as a success story in that she was able to do what she wanted to do where she's continuing to work now. And, she's earning enough that she's going to be working her way off of the disability benefits. She's happy in what she's doing. And, as long as she's happy, we're very happy for her. >> Megan: The impact has been great. I have a year left to pay off my car and then it's mine forever and kind of get my life back in control. I get to move out on my own. I'm just making a lot of good choices that are good for me and just moving forward. [ Music ] One of the biggest things I like to do is I like competitive ballroom dance. And also, when I got into my disability, I gained a lot of weight. So, that wasn't as fun for me as it could've been. And so, now it's getting more fun and I'm enjoying it. I like the costumes. So, that's a big thing that I do. [ Music ] And now, I have a lot of focus. I'm not going to say that sometimes I don't fall back into the abyss. But now, I know and I've received the tools from Transcend, from myself, and from the people they put me in contact with to pull myself out and to keep going. I don't think that I'll ever not fall back. But, I don't believe that I'll never keep moving forward. This is a program that can help anyone, no matter what their disability is, no matter who you are or where you live. This is something that can help you move forward and continue on with your life. [ Music ] [ Background noises ] >> Ray Cebula: All righty. I always like to thank Megan for allowing us to hear her story and for sharing that story with us because she is truly a success story. And, I'm voting for her to dance again next week. As she said, the most important things I want you to take away from that is that this program we're about to talk with you about is one that will let you try over and over again. And, as Megan said, given the nature of her disability, it might come back to bite her one day. But, she's happy and she'll be able to deal with it. And remember what she said. She may fall a little bit backwards but she will never stop moving forward. So, thank you Megan. Now, when you're ready to work, we need to gather lots of information and figure out who and what your resources are when you begin that journey towards employment. The Ticket to Work and the Work Incentives Social Security has put in place is going to help make that journey much smoother. And, when we talk about the notions of work incentives and what the ticket will provide you with, you'll understand that. And, the one thing that you need to know, Megan and Rebecca, her counselor that she was speaking with were not the only two people involved in her return to work. There was a team involved. And, building your employment team is the way to start. And, you might be sitting there thinking what are you talking about Ray? How do I build an employment team? You start by calling the Ticket to Work helpline. And, that number up on your screen is 866-968-7842 or for TTY and TVD users 866-833-2967. That will be one of the best ways to get you started. We're going to show you lots of ways to get started and there's really no wrong way. You just have to get started. Learn about the Ticket to Work, read about, read about it on the blog, and watch other success stories at www.choosework.net. Megan's not the only one who has succeeded. We've got lots of other people who've agreed to share their stories with us. And more success stories are coming in every day. Find an employment network. We've got one for you. Kate's going to tell us about the one in Wisconsin or your state VR agency, whichever suits your needs. That's the wonderful thing about the Ticket to Work program. It's a program that allows you to be in control. You are the captain of your employment team. And, you can pick and choose the players that suit your needs. And, stay connected. You need to be in constant contact with your employment network and your VR agency, and your protection and advocacy agency and any other person who is involved with your team. That might be a doctor, it might be a job coach, it might be a special education teacher. It could be a college professor, if you're going to be getting an education in order to start your job. But, we have to keep all of these people in contact. So, one more time I want to give you those phone numbers again. The Ticket to Work helpline is at 866-968-7842 or for TTY users 866-833-2967. And, that website again is www.choosework, one word, .net. Now, let's talk a little bit about the Social Security Disability programs. You may have Social Security Disability insurance also known as SSDI or Title II benefits. And, that is truly an insurance program that pays a disabled worker based on their past work history. You may have Supplemental Security Income or SSI. SSI's a very different program. It's a needs based program that provides very minimal amount of money each month, and it's different in every state, to individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. And, you may be one of the people who has both benefits. If somebody's SSDI amount is below the SSI level, provided other eligibility categories and criteria are met, you could be receiving both benefits. Now, why do we point that out? Because SSDI, oops I did something, SSDI has work incentives, SSI has work incentives and they're very, very different. So, the first thing you need to be sure of is what program you are receiving benefits from. The folks who receive both benefits are called concurrent beneficiaries. And, both sets of work incentives are going to apply. So, what I'm telling you all is this can be a fairly complex situation. But know that your employment team will help guide you through that. That's what your employment team is for. Now, I've got some questions for you. So, I'm going to impose a question to you and then give you a couple of seconds. And, I want you to raise your hands if you think this is true. If I try to go to work, I'm automatically going to lose my Medicare or Medicaid. If you think that is true, click on that hand so we can see how many of you think that's true. [ Silence ] If you're not sure, just take a guess. We're not going to mark you on this test. [Silence] Okay Jayme, what's it look like? >> Jayme: Ray, it looks like about 14% of our audience thinks that is true. >> Ray Cebula: Think that's true, okay. Well, that's good. Mike, if we can get that cleared for the next one. That is absolutely false. And, in many, many states, about 43 getting on 44, and 45 states both Medicaid and Medicare will continue for a very long, long time. Again, Medicaid being the program associated with SSI, Medicare being the program associated with SSDI. But, I can assure you, and I think, Kate will agree with me, that, at this point in time, in most states, it's very, very difficult to actually lose your healthcare benefits. And, there are very quick ways to get them back. Congress has recognized that people need healthcare to work. And, that was one of the big portions of the Ticket to Work to expand that availability to disabled people who receive benefits who are working. So, that's really not an immediate concern at all. Now, let me get us to the next question. If I use my ticket to go to work, Social Security's going to perform a medical review and I'll lose my benefits. How many people think that is true? Please raise your hand if you think that is true. You will lose your benefits because Social Security will review your case as soon as you go to work. [ Silence ] Okay, Jayme what's that one look like? >> Jayme: That is around 10%. >> Ray Cebula: Okay, who think that is true? All right, that is also not the case. That is false as well. And, if you're not voting, we're not getting your percentage in this. So, 10% of you who did vote said that that was true. And, it's actually false. The ticket to work, as we'll explain in a minute, is going to protect you from that medical review if you're making progress on that return to work. So, Social Security has removed that fear and that threat of the medical review while you're making that work effort. And finally, what do you think about this one? If I go to work and have to stop working, I have to reapply for benefits all over again. And, since it took me forever to be approved, I can't afford to wait for another two or three years. As a result, I'm not going to try to work. How many people think that is true? Raise your hands if you think that's true. [ Silence ] Okay just in time to get those hands raised. And Jayme, what do we got? >> Jayme: We're at 13% for that one. >> Ray Cebula: All right, so, 13% of you said that is true. And, that's not the case either. Again, Social Security is trying to make this smoother and easier. So, if you do go to work and you have to stop or your income level drops below a certain level, you will not necessarily have to reapply all over again. The Ticket to Work program has an expedited reinstatement process. And, what they will do is get you back on the benefits very, very quickly. Now, if you were to request expedited reinstatement today, it's April 25th, there is a very good possibility that your first provisional benefits check would be paid on June 1st. So, we don't have to wait that long anymore. And we'll tell you about that in more detail as well. And, it looks like it's still my turn. And, we're going to move right into that Ticket to Work program. All right, so the Ticket to Work, you may have received a paper ticket, some of you. They're not mailing them out anymore because everything you know is virtual nowadays. But, anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 64 can participate in the Ticket to Work program. You don't need a paper ticket. But, notice the first bullet up there, that very first line. It's free and it's voluntary. It won't cost a cent. And, you choose whether or not to participate. You need to be an SSDI or SSI beneficiary in order to participate. And, you need to want to go to work. You can either be working now and want to increase your hours, start work for the first time, or return to work. So, there are many, many of you out there who are already eligible for this. Once again, you don't need that paper ticket. You just need to start building your employment team and you'll find out if that ticket is available. But remember, the program services are free and it's up to you to whether or not you want to use that ticket. Now, if you're ready to earn more money, the ticket to work is going to help you by improving your earning potential. As I said, training to go back to work, you may have to learn to do some of those duties a little bit differently, or training to go to a new job for the first time. That may be educational; it may be skills training or technical school, or tractor trailer driving school. Anything of the sort that's within the realm of possibility is available to you to get you back into the workforce. If you need personal fulfillment that comes from working, then, Social Security and the Ticket to work are going to provide you with assurance and stability that you need to feel confident during your pursuit of employment. Remember what Megan told us. All along the way she felt supported and she felt safe. She knew, because she had her team in place, that nothing bad was going to happen that couldn't be fixed, that couldn't be fixed. So, there's going to be assurance and stability involved during this process as well. If you want to be able to get benefits back, if your job doesn't work out because of that disabling impairment, as I just explained, expedited reinstatement can put you on the fast-track to receiving benefits again. Social Security will provide you with six months of what they call provisional benefits while they make a determination if you're currently eligible. That determination statistically ends up with 99.4% of the people who apply for expedited reinstatement getting those benefits back. That should provide you with a lot of assurance that that safety net will still be there if you need it. If you're overwhelmed and don't know where to turn, the Ticket to Work incentive is going to build that employment team for you. You will have people, resources, and services that you'll need and who will assist you to build a work plan. And, part of that work plan is having a resource or a service or a person to turn to when you do get overwhelmed. Megan told you about that. There are moments where she goes into that dark place again. But, she turns to her employment team and gets out and moves forward. And, I can assure you, everybody who's in the workforce, with or without a disability, goes into those dark places and we all need someone to turn to and we all have our own employment teams. But, that Ticket to Work is going to make sure that you have one and have all of the accesses to the services and support you're going to need. So, how does this program work? If you're ready to start exploring, and that's all you need to do. You just have to be ready and decide to explore the possibility of work. You can then take these following steps. Find an employment network. And, when I say employment network in this context, I wanted to include your state VR agency as well. Find one that meets your needs and give them your ticket to work. Now, I say give them or sign your ticket knowing you don't have a piece of paper in your hands. But, they will be able to find out whether your ticket is available. So, don't worry about that. Talk to them. I'm going to leave it to Kate to explain to you how you should be shopping for a suitable employment network that would meet your needs. And, stay connected with that employment network. That employment network may help you build that employment team. And, all of those people are going to be critical. And, it may be that employment network will start out being the coach of that team. But remember, you are going to step up and be the leader of that team at some point because this is your free and voluntary choice. When you're ready to get started, you need to find that EN, call that Ticket to Work helpline. That number, again, is 1-866-968-7842 or for TTY and TVD users, 866-833-2967. The other place to find a list of EN's who can serve you is on www.socialsecurity.gov/work. And, that will give you a very easy search engine. You can type in your zip code and it will provide a list of EN's, where they're located, what types of people they serve, and what types of services they can provide. And, basically, remember that you are shopping here. You're ready to explore what will that EN do for you. What will that state VR agency do for you? And, you stop shopping when you find the right fit. Now, we're going to talk a little bit about work incentives because these are also critical to your return to work effort. And, I need to tell you up front that they're, they're very complex. And, we're going to make them sound simple. But, the fact that they're complex should not scare you because remember that there's going to be a member of that employment team who will be responsible for making sure all of these work incentives are taken advantage of and used appropriately. They really are a bridge to success. As you see this little image we have, that little stick figure holding a puzzle piece. And, that puzzle piece is the final piece in the bridge from where that person's standing to success. You're going to use them incrementally much like those puzzle pieces fitting together. We're going to use sometimes we're going to use them in a specific order. But, they are all available to you. Remember what I said a few minutes ago. SSDI has its own work incentives, SSI has its own work incentives. So, your job, when you begin to explore the possibilities here is to find out and know what type of benefit you receive. Now, what are the work incentives going to do for you? There are many, many advantages, many things that you can do with them. You can receive training for those new skills that you need, or retraining for the skills that you already have to improve your ability to do those or to do them in a new way. You can pursue your education. Maybe, for some reason, you stopped, went to work, became disabled, and now you want to go back to school to finish that up. Or, maybe the job that you decide you want to get involved with now requires a two year associates degree from a local community college. That's a potential. Technical school, a four year degree is not beyond the pale here. What you need to pursue and complete that education to keep you moving forward is a possibility. You can try different jobs. Just because you will be choosing a work goal, doesn't mean that's how it's going to turn out. Lots of things happen along the way. When you're pursuing an education or training you might decide well this is all very good but I've learned something now and I want to do something else. That is possible with the Ticket to Work. So, you can try different things. Start a carrier. What do you want to do? Do you want to become a kindergarten teacher? Do you want to become a high school teacher? Do you want to become an accountant? You can do all of that using your ticket to work and the employment team that's going to help you. Gain confidence every step along the way. If you notice Megan's story, every step along the way, every progress point gave her more confidence. And, what the Ticket to Work and the work incentives allow you to do is get a little more comfortable in the work world and realize this is going to be okay. Maybe, now it's time to take the next step or increase hours. The Ticket and the work incentives give you the time you need to do that. Now, here are the specific and most common work incentives. By all means this is not everything there is. But, there is a lot of information on this one little slide. We're going to talk first about a couple of work incentives that apply to the Social Security Disability insurance program and apply only to that. So, those of you who are on SSI right now, it's a good time to get up and get something to drink. The first thing you have is a trial work period. Now, the trial work period is just what it says. It's a time to allow you to work that will last at least nine months. And, you can earn whatever you want doing whatever you want to do. And, you will receive your full benefits check and all of your healthcare. Your responsibility is to report that work activity to Social Security, nine months of testing your ability to work. Currently, the figure is 720 dollars, if you gross 720 dollars, that's your pay before taxes, you will have used one trial work month. And, you have a five year period that needs to capture nine of those months. So, if you went back to work in January and earned 1,500 dollars per month, your trial work period, if you continue to work, your trial work period would end in September, no impact on your cash or healthcare benefits during that period of time. The next thing that an SSDI recipient will experience is the extended period of eligibility. Now, notice what it says. It extends your eligibility three years after your trial work period. Now, these are three consecutive years, so, it's 36 straight months. Social Security will turn your benefits back on if, at any time, your earnings stop or drop below what's known as substantial gainful activity, or SGA. And, that figure this year is 1,010 dollars. So, if you're receiving 1,500 dollars in SSDI and your earning 1,500 dollars, you will not receive your check for that month. But, if you earnings the next month drop below 1,010, 1,010 dollars, you'll be paid your entire 1,500 dollar disability benefits check. How does that happen? You report your work activity and the changes to Social Security. Constant reporting is going to be critical during this period of time. Now, notice I didn't say anything about your healthcare benefits because your healthcare benefits are staying in place during this 36 month period. Now, let's talk about SSI folks. So now, those of you who are on SSDI, you can go get a drink of water, but, make it quick because this isn't going to take too long. The Earned Income Exclusion applies to SSI only. Now, we said that SSI is a very different program. It's a needs based program. So, it's going to be impacted by any type of income that you have at all. But, earned income is something where Social Security cuts you a lot of slack. Notice that less than half of what you earn is going to be counted against you. So that if you earn, let me pull out my little calculator. Let's say that you earn 1,000 dollars this month. I'm going to do some quick math and tell you that Social Security is only going to count 457 dollars and 50 cents. So, you have earned a thousand dollars. And the only interest Social Security has is 457 dollars of that. Now yes, your SSI is going to decrease. But, you still have the thousand dollars that you earned. Please be assured that there is no way for an SSI recipient to return to work and have less cash at the end of the month. There will always be more money because of that earned income exclusion. Now, if the SSDI folks back in the room tell them their water break is over, we're going to talk about expediting reinstatement. And, this is that very last safety net that we talked about when we were asking you the true and false questions. Now, at some point, because you've used these work incentives and gone through these processes, Social Security is expecting to terminate your benefits. The idea of these programs is to return to work and not need benefits. So, if you are successful, it could be two years from now, it could be five years from now, Social Security will terminate your benefits. This will not be a surprise to you because your employment team will let you know when to expect this to happen. You will be working. You will have worked for a long time. And, you will have more money because it's all planned to work that way. But, if because of your impairment, you need to stop working during a five year period after you were terminated, Social Security will restart your benefits when you make that request for expedited reinstatement. And, you'll get temporary or provisional benefits for a period of six months while they determine if you are eligible. And, as I said, it's April 25th today, so, I would expect that your first check, your first temporary check would be paid June 1st. It doesn't take that much time to get these benefits started. And, as I said also, over 99% of people that make a request for expedited reinstatement are reinstated. So, there is a safety net even after you have been terminated. Now, we also talked a bit about continuing disability reviews. Continuing disability reviews look at your medical condition and makes sure your medical condition still meets the definition of disability that Social Security has set forth. Now, they do that for everybody. But, in order to support your work effort, when you are using your Ticket to Work have assigned to a state VR agency or an employment network and are making progress toward your work goal, Social Security doesn't do the medical reviews for both SSDI and SSI recipients, no medical reviews while you're trying to go to work. Now, that removes an awful lot of the stress that comes along with receiving benefits and allows you to focus on your work effort. So, those are just some of the work incentives. And, I hope I'm making them sound as good as they are because they really are wonderful things. Now, you got to get that employment team in place. When you're ready to use the ticket, once again, start with your employment team. These people are going to be necessary parts of that team, an employment network, a state VR agency, one or the other, possibly both. And, remember that protection and advocacy agency is out there should something go wrong to help you fix what's going on. Now, who's providing you with information about these work incentives? All three of these places can provide you with information about the work incentives and how going back to work will affect your specific situation. And, with that said, Jayme, do we have any pressing questions or should we turn it over to Katie? >> Jayme: Sure Ray, can you explain provisional benefits a little more? >> Ray Cebula: I sure can. Now, the provisional benefits come with expedited reinstatement. So, remember, you have to have been terminated from the benefits program, either SSI or SSDI because you returned to work. Now, let's say I've been terminated in January of 2012. And now, it's April of 2012. If expedited reinstatement did not exist, and I had to stop working because of my disability, I would have to reapply. And, you know how long that can take. Expedited reinstatement is a quick way back on the benefits. All I have to do is tell Social Security that I have stopped work or my work has dropped below that substantial gainful activity level, and, they will put me onto benefits again, provisionally, for six months. I will get the same amount of benefits that I received when I was receiving benefits the last time. So, if my disability causes me to stop working, I will get benefits for six months. What Social Security does during that time is look at my medical situation and determine whether or not I meet the definition of disability. If I do, I just continue to get benefits. I can continue to work or go back to work at that point. This is not stopping my work effort. But, I will continue to get benefits and I'm back in the system. I hope that clears up a little better. >> Jayme: Thank you Ray. Can you also talk about that 720 dollars you mentioned a little more? >> Ray Cebula: Yeah, the 720 dollars is the figure that we use in 2012, this changes every year, to determine whether somebody has used a trial work month. So that, if I go to work in April and I earn 500 dollars, nothing happens, nothing happens at all. I get my full benefits check, I keep my Medicare, and I have 500 dollars. If I go to work in April and I earn 750 dollars, I have used my first trial work month. I still get my 1,500 dollars of my full benefits check and I still have healthcare. Now, let's go to another extreme. If I go to work in April and I earn 3,000 dollars, what happens? It's more than 720, so I have used one trial work month. But, because it's trial work, I still get my full benefits check and I still get my healthcare. So, 720 dollars is what we look at to determine if we have used one of those trial work months. And again, the employment team, when they're building that return to work plan, will have information from Social Security so that you'll know how many months you have left, whether or not, you know, and whether or not you've used any in the past. >> Jayme: Thanks Ray. So, what's the difference between that and SGA? >> Ray Cebula: About 290 dollars. SGA, substantial gainful activity is 1,010 dollars this year. Now, substantial gainful activity is tied to the definition of disability. Basically, Social Security asks you are you working. And, if you are working and earning 1,010 dollars, you are not disabled. Notice, we never got to ask you what was wrong with you. That's why we define disability in a functional way. So, when, during that expedited, the expedited I'm ready to say, I'm sorry, the extended period of eligibility, when we use our trial work period and move into that 36 month period, that SGA level of 1,010 dollars is what we look at. If I earn 1,200 dollars, I do not get my Social Security check. I do keep my Medicare. If I earn 900 dollars, because it's below the SGA level, I will get my full check. That can go on, that off and on can go off, can go on for that entire 36 month period. Now, a lot of the work incentives are also going to determine whether or not you're earning 1,010 dollars. Just because I tell you that my paychecks say, in the month of April, I have earned 1,200 dollars does not mean that Social Security's going to count it all. So, we have to do a little bit of playing around with some other work incentives to see if I've actually earned SGA. Well, that's not an easy notion to understand. But, know that, just because your paycheck says 1,200 dollars that does not necessarily mean that you have earned 1,010 dollars, there may be expenses that you've had out of pocket, there may be subsidies that your employer has allowed. So, that's another thing that your employment team will help guide you through. >> Jayme: Thanks Ray. Back to my trial work month, do they every start over? >> Ray Cebula: You know, the answer used to be no, you know. But, the trial work period begins the first time you use a month. It will end when nine months fall within a five year period. So, let's say I have used my trial work period and I have now gone through my extended period of eligibility and I am terminated from benefits because I've gone to work. Then, I have an exacerbation and request expedited reinstatement. After I have received 24 cash payments, 24 cash payments, I will then get a new trial work period. So now, it is possible to get another trial work period. Once I've gone through the entire work effort, even years could pass, I can then start again. And, there is potential for a new trial work period, yes. >> Jayme: Thanks Ray. What happens if I used my ticket and I go back to work and then something happens and I have to stop working? Can I use my ticket again? >> Ray Cebula: You know, if your ticket is still available, yes, you know. The question is, once you've assigned your ticket, if you have to stop working, you can un-assign your ticket, but at some point, that ticket might terminate. You know, you become 65 years old. You know, at that point, Social Security's going to consider you retired. You lose your benefits for some reason other than work. That's going to terminate your ticket. The employment network who you assign your ticket to receives the final payment from Social Security. So, the possibility of using that ticket does exist. And, it's a strong possibility. It's more likely that you will be able to pick it up and use it again. But, just be aware that there are instances when that ticket does terminate. You will know that as well because that employment team, particularly that employment network person, will be able to tell you about that. >> Jayme: Thank you Ray. I think, let's do one more question and then we'll let Kate talk a little bit about employment network. >> Ray Cebula: Okay. >> Jayme: But first, how do I find out if I'm on SSI, SSDI, or both? >> Ray Cebula: All right, that's a great question. Every notice that Social Security sends you tells you. It says right across the top Social Security Disability Insurance or RSDI or it will say Supplemental Security Income. If you do not have a notice handy, you can call Social Security. Call that 1-800 number that's in the phonebook or on the website on socialsecurity.gov and make contact. They will tell you. But, it's very important that you do find out. So, either the notices that you have received from Social Security will let you know or you can just call them up and ask and they'll be most happy to tell you. All right. >> Jayme: Let's go to Kate. >> Ray Cebula: All right, Kate, now we're going to talk about employment networks in an employment network discussion from an employment network. And, I'll let Kate tell you about herself. She's located in, with ERI Employment Resources Income out in Wisconsin. So, Kate why don't you take it away? >> Kate Kingree: Thanks Ray. Hi everyone, my name is Kate Kingree. And, I am the Ticket to Work program manager for a small EN out of Madison Wisconsin. Just briefly, our employment network provides post-employment services, and what I mean by that is we work with individuals once they become employed. And the services that we offer those individuals are comprehensive benefits counseling and navigation as well as additional financial assistance once an individual returns to work and is no longer receiving their SSI or SSDI cash benefit. Let me see where the slides are. I guess, are we on my slides yet? All right, thanks, thanks everyone. So again, going back to building that employment team, so when you're ready to use that ticket, you can start by calling the Ticket to Work helpline as Ray has mentioned several times throughout this presentation at 1-866-968-7842 or, you can also visit the choosework.net website and access a list of employment networks that are located in your employment area. Again, let me just also let you know, when you do call that 1-800 number, ask the benefits counselor that answers the phone to provide you with a list of employment networks that serve your area. They can mail that out to you. All right, going to the next one, selecting the employment network, this is your chance to really interview the employment network to get a feel about, to get a feel of what types of services each employment network can offer. You may want to start by asking some really important questions such as how many people have you helped through your program? What types of companies do you work with and what types of job placements are available? What kind of, how often will we need, or communicate if I have time to get to your, your agency? And, I also wanted to point out that there is an EN report card up on the choosework. website that will provide you with initial information about an EN before you make that first call. You can kind of get a snapshot of what the agency provides and what type of quality they've reported in their agency. So, when you call the EN office or you meet in person, there's some questions that, there's some things that that EN should also be providing to you, some information such as they should fully explain the Ticket to Work program and what services are provided to you. But they can provide, the EN can take some time to discuss with you your work goals and your intentions for work. They should talk to you about your strengths, your limitations, your fears about going to work. And, if you decide to choose that employment network and assign your Ticket, this employment network should work with you to develop an employment plan called an Individual Work Plan that will include these employment goals. And, the services should be outlined in this employment plan that will the services should be provided in this employment plan to outline how you're going to choose the implements. I think we'll go a few more slides. [ Silence ] Thanks. So, when you visit the employment network's office or you speak to the EN over the phone, there's some things that you should really keep in mind, that, your signature on this individual work placement actually assigned your ticket to that EN. The EN may also have some routine forms that they'll want you to sign. These forms may include releases to Social Security so that they can talk to Social Security on your behalf and get some more information about your benefits. And, as always, to keep in mind, if you need different services or the EN is not a good match for you, you always have the choice to un-assign your ticket and reassign your ticket to another agency. Also, your EN should talk to you about the continuing Disability reviews and that if your ticket isn't signed and that you are making timely progress, that you will not have a medical review initiated. This is one of the big protections with the Ticket to Work program. [ Background noises ] So, I want to let you know that a lot of EN's are, EN's are quite unique and some offer different types of services. Each may be, offer whole curricula via of services or some may offer, more of them tend to only offer one or two services. And again, as a reminder, you have the choice to assign or un-assign your ticket, to choose the EN that is going to best provide the services that you need. Some examples of the services that an EN could provide, there's resume development, interview skills and tips on how to explain long absences from work, or how to better disclose your, without disclosing your disability, job accommodation resources, tax incentives, or referrals to other resources in your area, again, as Ray talked about, really developing that employment team. In addition, they may help you to find job leads or direct you to the job fairs and recruiting events. Or, the EN make work as an access point so you can access resources such as the EN's computers, internet, email, again there's other services such as job development. Or, your agency may help and refer you back to or start working with your local state Department of Vocational Rehab. [ Background noises ] That's all my slides, I believe, everyone. >> Ray Cebula: Okay. Thank you very much. And, we are coming up to the half hour. So, we need to move on pretty quickly. We're going to talk about vocation rehabilitation. Now, Kate is from an employment network and that is an option for you. The other option is the state VR agency that has been in existence for a long time in all of the states. And, the good thing about state VR agencies is that folks who receive Social Security Disability Insurance and SSI are presumptively eligible for services. So, the state VR agency has to help. You know, what they offer is up to you to ask. Much like Kate said when you're shopping for an employment network that makes a good match with you, you want to make sure that the state VR is a good match for you. But remember, there's presumptive eligibility. You and your VR counselor are going to develop a plan, the same type of plan that you would develop with an EN. And, that plan is also going to be signed by you and the state VR agency, that vocational counselor you're working with. Now, unlike the situation where the EN's plan assigns your ticket, a VR agency does not assign your ticket but places it in what we call in use status. Remember, we said you had to assign your ticket and make progress in order to get that continuing disability review protection. Well, right now, the Ticket to Work has been broken in half, almost, so that you can go to state VR agency, get some of the hardcore services that you need from that agency, you put your ticket in use so that it's not assigned. You do get protection from those medical reviews just like you would if you went to an EN. And, then, when you're finished with VR, you can take what's remaining on your ticket to an EN to get follow up services and on the job services that you need to support that effort. So, it's a very good system now. It's a very, very good system now. Now, when you begin working with your state VR agency, you're going to discuss with that counselor that you have an opportunity to have an EN provide you with some employment services. Again, in lots of states, EN and VR are working together very, very carefully, so, very closely. So that it's, there's a potential that you'd be working in Wisconsin with Wisconsin State VR and with Kate's organization. There's that potential that one, you know, we now know that state VR does things great and employment networks do other things great. And, you need both of those great things on your employment team. So, Social Security has made that happen. And again, as I said, when VR closes your case, you can take your Ticket to Work that's never been assigned but has been providing with protection, to an EN for follow up services or for on the job services that VR will not provide. So, this is really a seamless and a great system. Now, we're going to move on to protection and advocacy or PABSS, as we call it, Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security. And, the PABSS program is the legal arm of the Ticket to Work program. Every state in U.S. territory has an agency. I'm located here in Massachusetts. So, our agency is headquartered in Boston. And, it does serve the entire state. And I know that a lot of the states out there are much bigger than Massachusetts. For instance, Texas has their PABSS agency based in Austin. It does serve the entire state through satellite offices. New York is based in Albany. So, you may be in Buffalo contacting somebody in Albany. But, please know that you'll be referred to someone locally for assistance. These folks are there to provide you with free legal services and informational services and advocacy services if, at any time during your return to work you run into a problem. Now, you have to receive cash benefits from SSDI, cash benefits from SSI or be in one of the extended Medicare or Medicaid programs. So, just about everybody who has returned to work that still has a connection with Social Security is eligible to receive free services from a PABSS agency. Now, these services are available whether or not you assign that ticket because, remember, we said the ticket was a voluntary thing. So, even if you just get your own job and go to work without any help, you can still use PABSS' services. Now, I hope you don't need them, you know, and before I moved to Cornell, I was a PABSS attorney here in Massachusetts and did these things. And, clearly, you don't need a lawyer or legal advocate unless something goes wrong. But, something goes wrong sometimes. And, what will PABSS do? Workplace accommodations, what if your employer refuses to make an accommodation for you based on your disability? How do you ask for that accommodation? How do you and when do you decide to reveal your disability to your employer or your benefit status to your employer? PABSS can talk to you about when and how it's best to do that. And, if your employer refuses, can potentially represent you to get that accommodation. You know, most accommodations are relatively cheap. Employers don't necessarily know that. And, usually, this stuff can be taken care of with a phone call. Now, what else do we do? Advocating for VR services or employment network services, now, here's where Kate and I start butting heads a little bit. What if Kate puts a plan together and she wants to get you an HP netbook so that you can take notes at school. And, you come to me and tell me that you can't use a netbook because it's too small and your manual dexterity issues require you to have a full size keyboard. And Kate's, for some reason, is not understanding that. Well, maybe it's my turn to call Kate and explain to her why you need a bigger computer. That's something that we can talk about. When you're making those plans, those individual employment plans with an EN or a VR agency, the PABSS agency can help you negotiate or just be there with you during that process. Information and referrals and advocacy around benefits we know that most people who receive Social Security benefits don't just receive Social Security benefits. They're clearly receiving healthcare benefits as well. There may be food stamps or what we're now calling SNAP involved. There may be subsidized housing involved. There could be TANIF benefits involved or family assistance. The PABSS agency can help you talk about or with all of those benefits or agencies that are providing them to you to make sure that your earned income and your work activity is being reported to everybody and everybody is on the same page. Assisting you remove barriers to work, all kinds of barriers to work can pop up, in the hiring process, in the firing process, in just the day to day work situation. You know, once again, if you're joining the workforce or have already been in the workforce, you know that some days are good days and some days are bad days. And that's just the nature of work. But, if there are barriers to work or issues that are related to your disability or benefits status, then, PABSS can provide you with free legal assistance in addressing those. And the last one is overpayment issues. Now, we've talked to you about how smooth all of this is, right, the transition from benefits to training to work to independence. Well, every once in a while an overpayment occurs. Now, I know that telling you that an overpayment is going to happen is going to scare some of you. But, please know that they do happen. And, they're not anything that you need to be afraid of because there are most certainly steps that you can take to remedy those overpayments. Last month we had Social Security talk to us about overpayments during one of these webinars. And, maybe we'll get another chance to do that. But know that PABSS is there to help you to secure a waiver of the overpayment, to determine whether the overpayment is correct, or, to set up a payment plan that will not interfere with your return to work. So, that's a very, very valuable service. And remember, they are free services and they're available in every state in U.S. territory. And that gets us to our other resources. Here we go once again, you probably, whoa, excuse that people in the background. We're going to repeat some of the information we already gave you. The Social Security website is a really user friendly website. So, www.socialsecurity.gov/work will get you to the place where you can find all of the employment networks that will serve your area. And, that's how you can begin to shop for an employment network that's going to suite your needs and begin to build that employment team that's going to work with you until you're ready, willing, and able to say I don't need your help anymore. Everything's fine. Call that Ticket to Work line, that helpline, that's another place to start. Again, 866-968-7842 or if you're using a TTY or TTD, 866-833-2967. As Kate said, those helpline workers can send you the list of EN's that provide services to your area. And, that list will include who they are, what services they provide and what types of disabilities they're used to working with. And Jayme, that gives us a couple of minutes for questions. >> Jayme: All right Ray I'm just taking a look. How about. >> Ray Cebula: Okay. >> Jayme: Do I have to tell my employer that I receive benefits? >> Ray Cebula: Oh God no, no you do not have to, and, as a matter of fact, if you tell Social Security, even when you go back to work that, you do not want them to contact your employer, they will not contact your employer. That is your decision when to tell them, how to tell them, and, when you're working with your employment team, why to tell them. There are going to be some very good reasons for telling your employer. But then, again, remember, that is your decision to make. >> Jayme: Thanks Ray. Kate, I think this question's for you. If I'm not happy with my employment network, can I get a new one? >> Kate Kingree: Absolutely. Again, this is, it's your choice. So, you can always un-assign and reassign your ticket to another agency. There is no, you know, limit to how many agencies you can assign your ticket to as long as you, you can only assign your ticket to one agency at a time. But, as Ray points out, you could potentially work with your state VR agency and have your ticket in use and then move to once agency that provides a certain follow along service and then un-assign your ticket and go to another agency. >> Jayme: So, how do I un-assign my ticket? >> Kate Kingree: How do you un-assign your ticket? You can un-assign your ticket by contacting the Ticket to Work Program and they can walk you through the steps of un-assigning your ticket. Or, you can ask your, your, you can ask your current EN to un-assign your ticket for you. >> Ray Cebula: If I can just add to that, I just want everybody to know that it's very important when you're un-assigning a ticket to make sure that you actually take those steps of telling people. You just can't walk away from this without telling the employment network and or Social Security that you want that ticket un-assigned. >> Kate Kingree: Correct. >> Jayme: And this one's for either one of you. How do I get support for school or additional training if I have to change careers? >> Ray Cebula: I'll let Kate start with that one. >> Kate Kingree: Well again, when you are shopping around and trying to pick the best EN for you, you want to ask that EN, you want to ask an EN, when you call them, do you provide training or additional services and what type of training do you provide? I know, right now, a lot of individuals use our state vocational rehab here in Wisconsin to sometimes get that additional training. But, there may be other EN's that provide training and assistance. Just be sure to ask what services they provide. >> Ray Cebula: Yeah, and there are also specific work incentives that will allow you to set aside money if you're an SSI recipient or could be turned into an SSI recipient that would allow you to save more money than Social Security would ordinarily allow you to have to pay for that education. >> Jayme: Okay, it is now 4:30, so, one final question for the both of you. How do I get started? >> Ray Cebula: All right, here we go again. Now, let's look at the screen. I'm going to give you that Ticket to Work helpline one more time which is 866-968-7842 or for TTY users 866-833-2967. I suggest, if you do know of an employment network in your area that that's a great way to get started. You can also get onto the social security website at www.socialsecurity.gove/work. And, what was that other one? It was. >> Kate Kingree: It was www.choosework.net, which may be a little bit more user friendly for the beneficiaries out there than the Social Security website. >> Ray Cebula: All right, so that's the other one. Any one of those ways are absolutely fine. And, if you look also at the current slide there, here we have Ticket to Work on Facebook. How do you like that? www.facebook.com/choosework, one word or you can even tweet, I still haven't figured out what tweeting is. But, you can do it if you can do it www.twitter.com/chooseworkssa, one word. Any of those methods is going to get you started Jayme. >> Jayme: Okay, thanks Ray and that's all the questions we'll have time for today. >> Ray Cebula: All right, again, those of you who did not get your specific questions answered, give that helpline a call. Thanks Jayme. Thanks Kate for your help today. And, I want to thank Mike and Gloria in the background and wish you all a very pleasant afternoon. Take care everybody.