>> Ray Cebula: Through the phone system. We do want to hear your questions and concerns today. We can't let you speak because there are hundreds of you out there, but what we can do is allow you to use the question box. Next to the word questions is a plus sign. If you click on that plus sign, it is going to open the box for you. You can type in your question, hit send, and it will appear on Jamie's desktop. Now we will not likely answer all of your questions because we've got a lot of people with us, but we do want you to know that we will forward all of your questions to our speakers and get responses to you. We will also give you some information that we can, so that you can get information concerning your private concerns and answers to questions immediately. Now, we're trying our best to make this webinar as accessible as possible, to as many people as possible. So what we want you to do is let us know if you are having any issues with accessibility of this presentation in any way whatsoever. And more importantly than letting us know whether or not you're having issues is we want to know if you are aware of any systems, any programs, anything we can do to fix the problem that you're having. So please share that with us if you are having any issues. Now for today's toll free number, if you are going to call in and want to listen by phone, the toll free number is 1-877-739-5903, that's 1-877-739-5903. You will be prompted to put in an access code. That access code is 180106670, that's 180106670. And the closed captioning availability, that website like, which Jamie will put into the chat box for you is http:// www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/ captions.cfm? activity_ id =3816. Jamie will be posting that into the chat box for you. In the webinar, accessible PDF links are located at the URL link you received with your confirmation for today's webinar. Now the presentation, today's presentation, the transcript and the audio recording will be available in about two weeks. Its posted to the Cornell website at www.ilr.cornell. edu/edi/m-wise- webinars.cfm. And again, during today's question and answer period, if you're unable to use the chat box, you can also email. You can email to choseworkquestions, one word, choseworkquestions@gmail.com and after today's session, if you have any questions, you can email those questions to support@choseworkttw, all one word support@choseworkttw.net. Now, today, you're going to have me as your host. And that's pretty much all I'm going to do is give you information and host today. We've got two people, two members of the Social Security Team at the Office for Employment and Support Programs, Duanna Mitchell [assumed spelling] and Terri Uttermullen [assumed spelling], who are going to be speakers today. We will break after each presentation for your questions. I'll then give you a bunch of other resources and with time allowing, we'll get to your questions and answers. There is going to be a Facebook question answer session immediately following today's presentation as well. So I just wanted you to be alert to that. I'll give you those links at the end of the presentation. Now, before we begin today's session, I've been teasing you a little bit, but I do have some questions for you. We want to put you guys to work and we want to know a bit about you and what you want to know about. And so if you'd help us out by giving us some information. How did you learn about today's session? Was it by email, Facebook or Twitter, the website, or family or friends? This information helps us focus a bit on our audiences.

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It's wonderful, got a lot of participation today so this is a good sign. All right, we're going to close that one out. Thank you for that. Let me, oops, let me hide this now. Please forgive me. All right. What do you hope to learn from the session today? Are you looking to find out about the Ticket to Work, work incentives for SSI, work incentives for SSDI, employment networks in vocational rehabilitation, or legal protection and advocacy? What's your main reason for being here today?

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Ok, lots of people wanting to know about lots of things. So we're going to have to do everything right today, guys. All right, thank you very much for that. Now just a bit about yourself. What's your gender, male or female?

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It's a quick one. All right, thank you for that. How about your age group, if you click off one of those age groups, 18 or younger, 19 to 25, 26 to 40, 41 to 55, or 56 or older? And there I am, in the last one. So sad. All right, thank you very much. I have one more for you. Now, so that we know how many people are participating today. How many other people are watching with you?

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We've had some folks who have had viewing parties. We just want to get a good sense as to how many folks listening to us. Lots of participation real quick, people, that's really absolutely wonderful. All right, thank you for that information. I can close those polls. Jamie will be happy with me and what we have to start out is a welcome video from Associate Commissioner, Bob Williams. So Mike, if you could queue that video up please.

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[ Music ]

>> Bob Williams: Hello and welcome to today's webinar. My name is Bob Williams and I am the Associate Commissioner for Employment Support at the Social Security Administration. We run the Ticket for the self sufficiency program, which affects person's ages 80 through 60 who are on FFD or SSI who want to improve their life and future by becoming employed. My view is in this webinar you will learn how you can receive [Inaudible] become employed and reduce the order of your life on disability benefits and eventually earn a better living by becoming fully self supporting whenever possible. The Ticket program is now for everyone. This is why the choice of whether to take advantage of it is yours and yours alone. I know firsthand that people with significant disabilities face many barriers to becoming and employed. This is especially true in today's economy. The major reason you'll receive disability benefits is that Social Security determines that you were not able to work enough to support yourself. But I also want you to know that having a significant disability no longer has to be the lifetime [Inaudible] employment and greater financial security. The Ticket can offer you the choices, raising opportunities and support you need to go to work and gain financial independence. I hope today's webinar begins your journey towards greater self-sufficiency. Your life and future can be better. Thank you for joining us.

[ Music ]

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>> Ray Cebula: All right, thank you Commissioner Williams. Now, the first topic that we're going to have today is what is financial independence and what our goal surrounding that is. And we're really happy to introduce Terri Uttermullen, who is with the Social Security Office of Employment and Support Programs, who will take it away right now and talk to us about that. So, all yours, Terri.

>> Terri: Thanks Ray. So what is financial independence? And that is going to be a different answer for everybody. So I'm going to tell you about what it is for me. I used to be a beneficiary, I had a disability. And financial independence for me has meant working full time, having a salary, not being on benefits anymore, and earning enough to have choices. So that I can do things that I want to do, not just that I have to do to survive. And the only way we can get that in our economy right now is through work. You can, your benefits are, support people and they help people make it through but they're not, it's not generous. We can't, we're replacing basic needs. And if you want to have choice, to travel, to do things that are fun, to buy things, that's independence. Not having to worry about whether or not buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks is going to affect your ability to pay your gas bill. And again, I think, personally for me, the only way I've been able to do that is by going to work and by working in a career, not just augmenting my benefits or earning a little bit or being afraid of the limits, but shooting for what I wanted to do. And being financially successful at it. Next slide. So is it possible for me? It was for me and I hope it's possible for you. It's not easy and it's scary. When I was on benefits, I remember thinking, because I actually have problems with hands and [inaudible] totally blind and remember thinking who's going to hire a blind person who can't use her hands very well? And I didn't think it was possible. I actually spent time thinking that nobody would every hire me and I wouldn't be able to get out of the benefit [inaudible]. And there are a lot of tools out there that can help people overcome that barrier. And a lot of times the barrier, their real literal barrier, you can't get in a building or you can't get a job or you can't get somebody to recognize the skills and strength that you have. But sometimes the barriers that are out there are your own expectations or the expectations of people you run into. You know, as a person with a disability, frequently, I run into people who will say things like, aren't you amazing. Aren't you amazing? And they're talking about that I can get dressed in the morning or do very basic things. And [inaudible] and I just live. And if you want to say I'm amazing, say I'm amazing for something else, something that I've done that actually is amazing, not just surviving. So there are a lot of tools out there. And we're going to talk about some of those tools today, some of the tools that will help you, not just get started or augment your income, but hopefully help you shoot into what you can do and go as far as you can. I'm actually working from notes and I'm going to have Ray keep me honest on what slides I'm on right now. Ray, where are we? Are we on 12?

>> Ray: We are on the pieces of financial independence, which is slide 12.

>> Terri: Ok, this is just a list of some of the things that we're going to talk about. We're going to talk about work and how important it is. And I'm pretty passionate about this because again, because of my own personal experience. Unfortunately, a lot of people with disabilities in the United States today are living in poverty or just barely above poverty. And you know, people with disabilities are my peeves, because it's certainly what I have experienced in my life and it's something that I understand. And I want people that I deal with and myself to have work, to be able to be employed, to be out there to be participating, but also to be successful at making it and not having to think about things like the electric bill all the time, or you know, whether or not you're going to be able to get soap. So we're going to talk about work. Why you should chose work, what kinds of resources are out there. We're going to talk about the Ticket to work very briefly and it's a way to get support to help you meet that career that you want to meet or to get where you want to go down the road. Work incentives are a tool, it's a toolbox that you have with the Social Security Program and with other programs. And [inaudible] are things that help you get started and not have work immediately impact your benefits, that you have a little bit of a running start, sort of an on ramp. I want to talk about goals and how important it is to set goals and what kind of goals to set. The importance of having a budget, the importance of having a bank account and how valuable it is to have credit. And the earned income tax credit, which is a tax incentive for low income workers and then Ray's going to come for me to talk about individual development accounts, which is an incredibly cool program for people who need help saving for basic, important goals. So we'll talk about that. So let's go to slide 13. And the question is, why chose work? And obviously, I've already said a lot of this but it's about having choice and being able to do things that are fun and not just the absolute necessary. Can I buy the groceries? So I have to think about whether or not this kind of cheese is more expensive than that kind of cheese, paying the light bill. And I think that's why most people work, most people in our economy. Whether or not you have a disability, it's about paying the bills and having the luxuries that you want and the freedom that you want to do some fun things now and again and not have to be afraid. But there's also, next slide, there's also social advantages to working. And in my own experience, I actually, I worked off of benefits twice. And the first time I worked off of benefits, I worked for that ten years and then I had problems with my hands and I was off work again. And when, I have sister who is also blind. She doesn't look like me at all, but you know how it is, somebody sees a person with a disability and very often, they don't see the individual features. And my sister is an attorney and people would walk up to me and say oh, are you the lawyer? And I'd say no, and then the next question would be what do you do? And I would burst into tears because so much of what we do in this society is how we define ourselves and fortunately or unfortunately, that often is what we do, how you, what your job is. So you go to work, you have social contacts, you can feel good about contributing and then you go back to that slide before and hey, after work, that means you can go out to dinner or do other things. It's not easy, but it is a quality of life issue, to have access to the main stream of good careers and employment. Slide 15 and I'm having trouble with my notes, here, are there risks? Is that where we're at?

>> Ray: Yes it is, yes.

>> Terri: Ok, yes, there are. It's not easy and the path to getting where you want to go, financially, and the path to getting where you want to go with employment can be challenging. And sometimes the very programs that are out there to help can create some of the barriers or some of the things that are scary about going to work. There have been studies, one of the things that people are most afraid of is losing health insurance. Or, having an over payment from Social Security or losing some other essential support. So the challenge for people who want to make this, take this risk and have the reward is that sometimes there are risks, sometimes things are going to happen. And you, as the person who wants to do this, have a responsibility to try and understand what you've got to do to learn the programs that support you and what could affect them, to keep really good track of who you have talked to, what they've told you, next slide, to follow the rules of various programs, to report. That's absolutely critical. I think that a lot of people in this country think that Uncle Sam knows everything. And the way our Social Security rules work, people are required to report. Even though, you know, Uncle Sam takes this [inaudible] out of your pay check, you know, the FICA tax and federal taxes, Social Security decisions about work on your, whatever kind of disability benefits you get, are based on your reports. So you may think ok, so if I have to report it and Social Security won't know or do anything about it, then hey, cool, I won't report. And if I don't report then, I'll just keep getting benefits and the bad news is that eventually, we catch up. And if you don't report timely and you don't keep track and you don't let SSA know, and give the right receipts and right information when you report, you could have the big over payment. And the goal is to not have that happen. So it's really important to keep records. It's really important to keep pay checks. It's really, I always recommend to people that they keep a notebook and in that notebook, they write down, when they worked, what they made, who they reported it to, keep receipts, if Social Security gives you a receipt because you've made a report, keep receipts for goods and services that you need and [inaudible] because you might be able to deduct them after taxes if you're not receiving benefits. And if you are receiving benefits, you might be able, the Social Security Administration might be able to deduct them and allow you to receive benefits a little bit more longer or a little more, depending on the type of benefit that you get. Next slide.

>> Ray: Terri?

>> Terri: Yea.

>> Ray: We're moving into work incentives right now. Are you going to be covering that or is Duanna covering that?

>> Terri: No, that's me.

>> Ray: That's you, all right.

>> Terri: It's me, yeah.

>> Ray: It's you.

>> Terri: My favorite subject.

>> Ray: Ok.

>> Terri: Work incentives and it's really important to understand the work incentives that affect you. They're really confusing, there's a lot of them out there. If you look at the Social Security red book, or some of our manuals, you might get a little dizzy looking at all those programs. But remember, you only need to know the ones that apply to you and you only need to know the ones that apply to you now. And then learn the next one and try to be informed. And it's also really important, in order to know what work incentives [inaudible], understand what kind of programs, what kind of benefits you get from us because we have two major disability programs. We're on 17?

>> Ray: We are now on 18, I just posted the SSDI block.

>> Terri: Ok, SSDI is a benefit based on work, it's a Social Security disability benefit. And essentially, a person gets retirement benefits early because they can't perform substantial work. And this is one of the challenges that we have because we kind of define disability by saying you can't work and here we are the phone saying not only do we think you can work, we think you can work and earn enough money to live on. And that's dichotomy or that's clash always kind of throws you when you're looking at this. But and that's why work affects these programs. But SSDI is a benefit that the amount that you get is based on how much you paid into Social Security or if you received a benefit as a child of a deceased or disabled worker, it's based on what your parents paid in or if you're a widow or a widower, it's based on what your spouse paid in. And the Social Security disability program doesn't have any resource limits. There's a lot of stuff that doesn't affect it. But, work can affect and there are some great work incentives out there. We're not going to talk about them in detail at all but we have a lot of resources and Ray's going to read the websites to you, that you can look up what work incentives might apply to you. You can get help. You can call our Ticket to Work line and talk to them and get more information if you need it. But it is important to understand what kind of benefits you have. And if you have Medicare, you usually are getting an SSDI benefit. If you have a benefit that's over $700 a month, it's likely that you're getting an SSDI benefit or a benefit based on your disability, that's kind of what an SSDI benefit is. So if you're not sure, you should verify it. You can call the Social Security Administration and they can give you a letter verifying the type of benefit and how much it is. If you work with a benefits counselor, if you have a state that has benefits counseling programs, they can actually get a, what they call a benefits planning career, it would give you more details about your benefits. So that's one of the first things that you got to have in your notebook about yourself and that is the kind of benefits you get. So that is SSDI and then the next slide is SSI or supplemental security income. And SSI is a different kind of benefit. It's not, the amount you get isn't based on how much you paid into Social Security. Instead, it's a benefit based on your financial needs. And because it is very income sensitive, it has resource limits. So if you have money in the bank, sometimes your SSI can be affected. So it's important to understand which type of benefit you get and what affects it. And then the next slide talks about the concurrent benefits and that's somebody who gets both. And that happens if your Social Security disability payment is low enough that you would still be due some SSI. And with SSI, in almost every state, you get Medicaid coverage. So if you have a Medicaid card, it's possible that you're getting SSI. If you have a Medicare and a Medicaid card, it's possible that you're getting both. But again, you should know, and if you have both, it allows you to access all kinds of work incentives but it also means that there are more rules that could affect your Social Security or supplemental security. The programs are very different. Ok, that was slide 19?

>> Ray: We're right there now. What is the Ticket to Work?

>> Terri: Ok, what is the Ticket to Work? The Ticket to Work is a program that we have that gives you an alternative rehabilitation source. [Inaudible] the rehabilitation, every state has a vocation rehabilitation service and that's, they provide vocational support. The goal of the Ticket to Work is to create some alternatives, some other employment network, is what they call them. But they are agencies and they can be the [inaudible] but they can be other types of agencies that provide services to support your return to work. And it's important that you understand that you have that resource, that you have choices and that's another program that our call center has a lot of information about. And you can call them to found out what employment networks are available in your area, what they may offer. And one of the great things about Ticket is it is a choice. You pick, you find a network, an employment network, and decide whether or not they can provide what you need. And if they can't provide what you need, they don't take you on. So it's a choice on both sides. But gives you better options or different options and it's not for everybody because the way that employment networks get paid is if people go to work. And, so this isn't about kicking tires. If you decide to use your Ticket to Work, your goal should be to go to work. And we've already talked about some of the benefits of actually doing that. Ray, I think there's more stuff on that slide that I need you to read. Is that correct?

>> Ray: Ok, yea we do have the help line here on this slide, for people who want to get some information, real quick, about the Ticket to see if they're eligible. The call number is 1-866-968-7842, that's for voice. For TTY, its 1-866-833-2967, or you can also visit the Social Security website at www.socialsecurity, one word socialsecurity.gov/work.

>> Terri: All right. Now we're back to slide 23.

>> Ray: Absolutely.

>> Terri: Ok, what are work incentives? Now, as I told Ray, this is one of my favorite topics because these are tools that you can use to help yourself test your ability to or transition successfully to work and they are protection. They either help you keep your benefits a little longer or help you receive a little more SSI, if you're on the SSI program. And most important of all, a lot of the work incentives that we have protect your health insurance. We have something called an extended period of Medicare coverage, that if you're receiving Social Security Disability insurance and you go to work and you earn a lot of money and your benefits are suspended or ultimately terminated, you can keep Medicare for free, Medicare part A, for quite a while, for like up to 93 months after the end of your trial work period or even longer. And after that in other work incentives, we have that you can buy Medicare if you need it. And if you're on SSI and you have Medicaid, there are protections that help you keep Medicaid coverage for a longer period of time. And there are other programs that have work incentives like housing programs often have work incentives. In other words, they'll exclude some of the income that you make from work so you get to keep more money and or, they'll help you save for a down payment on a house. There's a couple programs that do that. So one of the things that you want to understand, add to your notebook, once you know the kinds of benefits you receive, is what work incentives are out there for that program because a lot of people don't know about them. And if they did, they would be much better off, it would be a much smoother transition to the career goal that they want to meet. All right. Slide 24 for more information, Ray, I'm going to pass that one back to you.

>> Ray: Absolutely. There is a website, again, it's a Social Security website, but let me read that address to you. If you're looking for more information and this is a very, very user friendly and informative website, http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabiliyresearch, one word, /wi/generalinfo.htm hash mark ssdissi. Jamie has posted that for you in the chat box as well. We can move onto the next slide, Terri.

>> Terri: All right. This has some more resources that I'll have Ray read in a minute. But one of the things that it says on this slide is if you receive SSI or you could be eligible for SSI and you don't have a lot of resources, money in the bank, or savings, you should consider a plan to achieve self support, or a PASS, and there's a website that Ray will read in a minute that will give you the address of a fabulous website that Cornell has run for a long time and its information about plans to achieve self support. But I want to talk about them real quick. A plan to achieve self support is an agreement between you and the SSA. And you say hey, SSA, I want this job and you list the job. And you think about the steps that you need to take to get from where you are to what you want. Let's say you're, Ray, give me a job, think of a job.

>> Ray: I want to be a licensed daycare provider.

>> Terri: Ok, Ray wants to be a licensed daycare provider. So what does he need? Well, he needs a place to have the kids and he needs a license, so he may need to do some certifications, some training, some testing and [inaudible] cost money. So what do you do? You write out the steps between what you want and where you are. And then you figure out how much it's going to cost to perform those steps. And then, this is the really cool part, is SSA agrees, and you have money other than SSI to connect to this plan, and that's really important, and SSA will say hey, you know what? We'll pretend you don't have that money. We'll let you use that money to pay for those steps to reach your work goal. And if you're fortunate and you work hard and you keep track of stuff, and you get to the other end and hey, you're a licensed daycare provider and you have a job and part of your, part of the agreement is that that job is going to help you be less dependent on benefits. So it's a really interesting and very cool work incentive and it's kind of scary when people first, the form is really long and it has a lot of steps you have to fill in. But it is mostly just an agreement and you have to think about it that way. Like ok, this is just a plan. I'm going to plan to do what I want to do and I'm going to plan this in a way that SSA can help me pay for it. And not just SSA, but maybe [inaudible] might pay for some pieces of it that you need. Maybe there are other programs that you have access to, maybe your uncle Fred is going to give $5,000 to help you pay. You can protect that, put it in the PASS and maybe that will help you buy equipment that you need or something else. So there may be other resources but you can't put your SSI in the PASS, that's very important. It has to be other, some other kind of income that would normally count against you, normally would reduce your SSI payment or make you ineligible and you promise to spend that money to meet your own goal. So keep it in mind as a possibility of a way to get where you want to go. Ok, Ray, do you want to read the resources on that one?

>> Ray: Sure. And I want to thank you for the commercial. The website is a Cornell website and it's again, a very user friendly product that will help you develop a plan and give you enough information to allow you to think about it. And you can take your time, do some work, save your work and come back so you don't need to finish it at one time. And that website is www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/pass. Back to you, Terri.

>> Terri: Yea, it has sample plans that people have written, if I remember correctly.

>> Ray: Yea.

>> Terri: That are accessible.

>> Ray: Yea, and you can also Google Passonline.org and that will get you there as well.

>> Terri: That's how I always find it.

>> Ray: Yea, me too.

>> Terri: ok, so this next slide, should be 26, we're talking about an employment team. And I want to expand this a little bit because this is talking about who can help because it isn't easy to overcome some of these barriers. I remember from my own story, or my own life, times that I went in for a job interview and somebody would, clearly, the minute they found out I was a person with a disability, you could just tell that they were not interested in having me work for them. And that's really hard, I mean, I apologize, my dog is dreaming, I don't know if you can hear it.

[ Laughter ]

The, you know, that's really hard and sometimes you need extra support to get through situations like that or to know how to handle them or when to disclose or what happens when I'm discriminated against. And there are services out there that help and primarily, we're suggesting the employment networks, CCR, and yourself. You are the most important part of this team and keeping track of what you need, keeping track of what you earn and all those other pieces are essential. And keeping track of it or you keeping those records, doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do it. If you're not capable for whatever reason of, maybe you can't read, maybe you have trouble writing because of physical limitations, it just means that you can get help and sometimes that help may be your family or it may be somebody in the community who does the job that you want to do and is willing to help you understand what you need. Going back to Ray, if he wants to be a licensed childcare provider, well, somebody on your employment team might be somebody who is providing like childcare who can say, oh no, you need to get a certification from here. But you're the one who has got to do the leg work, to figure out what you need and how. But the rewards are really worth it. And Ray, I'm going to pass this back to you. Is there anything else, anything on that slide that we need to cover that I haven't?

>> Ray: Yea, we still, we've got to echo the Ticket to Work helpline as a way to start beginning that employment team building. If you don't have resources that you're aware of right now and that's at 1-866-968-7842 for voice. Or TTY at 1-866-833-2967. You can also get another website up, www.chosework.net and that can help you find an employment network, your state vocational rehabilitation agency, both of which are great places to start. As Terri said, this employment team goes well beyond these professionals that you're going to need to deal with and can be a mentor, a family member, anybody. There's no wrong way and these websites and phone numbers are just another way to start beginning that process. And I think Terri, we have a couple of questions for you.

>> Terri: Alrighty.

>> Ray: Yea, this first one is one I've heard a lot. And I want you to listen to me very carefully because it's a very long question. I was once told that Medicaid would only last 36 months after the trial work period. Then someone told me it would last five years. Now I'm hearing 93 months. What one is right?

>> Terri: Well, it depends on how long you've been on benefits because some of those numbers are, were real in the past.

>> Ray: Remember Terri, this person is talking about their Medicaid benefits.

>> Terri: I heard you. I'm getting there.

>> Ray: All right, ok.

>> Terri: Because I think that person is actually asking about Medicare because Medicare is to help insurances tied to SSDI and the trial work period only applies to SSDI. It's a work incentive that's specific to that program. So Medicare is a health insurance for SSDI and SSDI has the trial work period and since Ticket to Work and work incentives improvement act in 1999, the law now allows for 93 months, at least, of free Medicare part A after the trial work period. And the reason I say at least is it's possible that you, maybe you don't earn substantial gainful activity right away, and maybe you've had your trial work period and 10 years down the road is where you are now and you're thinking, ok, I want to go to work. Well, obviously, you're on Medicare because you're a beneficiary. But once you go to work, there may be some ways to continue it, it just, it's a very funky calculation that you should go to the Social Security office and find out what you're status is and how long it will last. And if the free Medicare part A runs out, you can buy. Now Medicaid, which is tied to SSI, doesn't have a time limit, it's about income and how much you have in the bank, resources. And its possible, if you're an SSI beneficiary, and you go to work and you earn enough that you don't get any SSI payments, you can have Medicaid for decades, provided that you meet all of the other criteria for SSI other than work income. So that's Medicaid, is for people who get SSI, Medicare is for people who get SSDI.

>> Ray: Ok, thanks Terri, and I've got one to follow up that. How do I find out which benefits I receive? How can I confirm that?

>> Terri: Well, you can always request it from the Social Security Administration from 1-800-772-, uh oh, is it 1213?

[ Laughter ]

What is it? Duanna?

>> Duanna: 1-800-772-1213.

>> Terri: Ok, I was right. Oh, good, you know, I'm getting old. Anyway, that's our 800 number and you can call them and say I need a letter verifying my benefits and they'll tell you. They can send a letter out to you and it will tell you what your benefits are. Also, you may have letters from the Social Security Administration and they are really clearly marked at the beginning of the letter, it should say Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. So those are the easiest ways. And even if you call the phone number that Ray gave you earlier for our Ticket Line, they can actually, they have access to some of our records including what type of benefit you get. So they may be able to tell you when you're talking.

>> Ray: All right. Now, someone's a little concerned. What happens if I'm working and have to stop because of my disability? Can I get my benefits back?

>> Terri: There are several work incentives that protect you. And it depends on what kind of benefits you get so I'm going to talk about Social Security Disability Insurance first. We talked a little bit about the trial work period and then what follows the trial work period is called an extend period of eligibility. And all it is, is [inaudible]. so let's say you go through the trial work period and you work for another year at substantial, at a substantial level [inaudible] they suspend your payment. You're not getting checks anymore. And it happens and your disability worsens and you need to go back on benefits. If you're in your extended period of eligibility, which is at least 36 months after the trial work period ends, you can get your benefits back without reapplication or anything. It's a safety net, it opts you right back into benefit status. All you have to do is report it to Social Security and let us make a decision based on the earnings that you had. It takes a little tiny bit of time to get the checks started again, but you would be eligible again. And the other quick thing about the extended period of eligibility. Like I said earlier, Uncle Sam doesn't know if you're earning at a substantial level. We don't always catch up right away. But if you haven't reported it, and you're still getting your checks, and you're working at a substantial level, you may not be due those benefits and we may want them back. So it's really important that you report when your work changes. Now there's another protection there in this program, called expedited reinstatement. And you don't need to remember the name as much as the fact that even if your benefits are terminated because of work and you're not in that extended period of eligibility. You've been working. If the termination was less than five years ago, all you have to do to get back on benefits is request expedited reinstatement. You can also reapply, but expedited reinstatement can get your benefits back faster and pay up to six months of benefits while you're waiting for a decision about continuing payments. So instead of applying and waiting, you go in and make your request, in essence, they can actually start payments for up to six month while the disability determination service is making sure you still meet our disability standards. If you're under SSI, that other program I talked about, the one that is based on needs, the one that has resource limits, the one that's tied to Medicaid, it depends on where you are in the program. If you have Medicaid coverage, you're not getting a check, but you still have Medicaid coverage under SSI, you're still a beneficiary and you don't have to do anything other than report the change in your income. If down the road, you need to get SSI benefits back and you work, you'd need to reapply depending on why your benefits were terminated. That's kind of complicated, but there are protections, you can get the check back provided that you still have a disability that meets our standards. So, that's always the worry for people and they say well, you know, I had a lot of trouble getting my benefits and now I'm going to work and are they going to [inaudible] I'm disabled. And the neat thing about expedited reinstatement, which applies to all of our disability programs, is that provided that you still have the disability, you can get your benefits back based on your old disability decisions. So it's not, the only way that we would deny it is if you have medically improved, that you're better than you used to be instead of having going through the whole process again. That's a lot of information, Ray, and I may have confused everybody.

>> Ray: That is a lot of information, but it's all important and if anyone has any questions, once again, these benefits and work incentives are dependent upon the benefit that you receive and that Ticket to Work helpline is available at 1-866-968-7842 and for TTY users at 866-833-2967 and I think, Terri, I'm going to let you take a bit of a rest, ok, and I'm going to introduce Duanna Mitchell who is also with the Social Security office of Employment Support Services and we're going to talk now about if financial independence is right for you, what's next. So take it away, Duanna.

>> Duanna: Ok, you've decided that financial independence is right for you, congratulations. Now, you need a goal. And we don't want it to be just any goal, we want it to be a smart goal. And I'm going to talk about what that is and we're actually going to build one together because I have one. So my goal is to go on my mother's birthday cruise. She's having a big birthday next year and I want to go on this cruise. I know I want to go, but how do I get there. Ok. That's a really broad goal. I know that I just paid off one of my credit cards. So I have $100 in my budget that is not being used right now. So I can take that money and put it in a vacation savings account for a year and that will give me enough money to go on the cruise and celebrate my mother's birthday with her. The reason that goal is smart, I have a specific goal, I can measure it by tracking how much money is in the vacation savings account. Its attainable, I have a plan. It's realistic. I'm definitely going to work towards it. I would do almost anything in the world to make my mother smile. And its [inaudible]. I've got a system [inaudible] of one year. So this is why this is a smart goal. The other thing I want to mention to you is that when you plan out your goals, the other thing you want to do is write down your motivation. I'm also a former beneficiary and it took me a very long time to go from being an SSI beneficiary to not being on benefits now and having my education and owning my own home. It was a long, long road but it was definitely possible and definitely doable. But along the way, I needed to make sure that I reminded myself about my motivation. So the next thing I'm going to suggest to you is write down why that goal is important to you. write down why you are doing it, put it on a piece of paper, put it on a tape. why did I just show my age, gee. for those of you who are under a certain age and you ask what recording to a tape is, burn it to a CD, put it on a DVD. Put it somewhere where you can hear it or see it or you know, hold on and grasp that motivation every day. Because on the days when you may not feel like going to class or you really want to buy those shoes but you know you need to take that money and put it in your savings account, you can kind of remember why you are doing this and keep your eye on that goal. Next slide please. Alrighty. Ok, you have a goal, now you need a budget. The important thing about a budget is to keep track of all your expenses and all of your income, even if its small things like somebody is paying you back for something they owe you. like let's say a friend owes you 10 bucks, it's important to keep note of that you know, include that in the budget as well. Make sure you include all of your expenses including the things that may be automatically deducted. If you're not sure where your money is going, there is a very simple way to address it. Get a pen and a piece of paper or carry some kind of recording device or just, when you get things, when you buy things, keep the receipts with you and just sort of make a mental note of what that receipt was for. When you have a certain amount of expenses, like maybe after about a week or so, take a look at it and see where your money is going. Organize, put all of your expenses into categories and think about, is there a less expensive way to accomplish the [inaudible] that I've worked on? For instance, I like to eat, I love to eat, I love food, I love unusual flavors. So on occasion, I go out to lunch. I don't do it a lot because its expensive. I know that if I want to be able to save money, it's cheaper for me to pack my lunch and bring it with me. That's cheaper and I can save money that way and put money toward my goal. So you know, always think about is there a cheaper, is there a less expensive way to accomplish your goal. Do you need to talk to your cell phone company and see if maybe there is a less expensive plan that will accomplish the same thing for you? can you talk to your credit card company and see if since you've been faithful with your payments, that perhaps they'll drop your interest rate which would lower your minimum payment. It would give you more [inaudible] to put towards that larger goal. You always want to reevaluate your budget and your situation because that budget, just like you're a living person, that budget is a living document. You should never just do it and let it sit. You should always look at it periodically, once a month or so, and make sure that that still works for you. let's see. Next slide please. If you need help putting a budget in place, contact your local center [inaudible] and Ray, I'm going to ask you to read the next slide for me because sometimes I don't read those very well.

>> Ray: Absolutely. The website to find you local center for independent living http:// www.ilru.org/html/ publications /directory/ index. html and I'm going to ask Jamie to post that into the chat box along with, look, she's ahead of me already, for more budgeting information, you can check out these websites. http: //www.aarp.org/ money/budgeting-savings, or http://www.budgetworksheets one word, budgetworksheets.org. and back to you Duanna.

>> Duanna: Ok, thank you so very much. All right. You've got a budget, that's great. You now know not only how much money you have, you know where it's going. You are now in the driver's seat of your financial future. That's fabulous. Another important piece is opening a bank account. Having a relationship with your bank is an awesome thing for several different reasons. First thing is if something happens, you know, like there's an emergency. Your money is not in the house. You don't have to worry about somebody breaking into the house. You can go to the bank and still access your money in that emergency. Your money is, and you can get to it. That's the first reason it's really important. Second reason it's really important is because when you've got to get a loan for a larger purchase, say a home or your education or you might need an automobile for your work related goal. You may need a nice, reliable used car to get to and from work and you might need a loan. Banks are more likely to give loans to people they already have a relationship with. So if you already have a checking account or a savings account, you've already built that nice solid relationship with your bank and they may have a program that can help you, you know, kind of reach that goal and get that loan for that larger purchase. So it's extremely important to build that relationship. Next slide please. And so when you're choosing a bank, you want to ask questions about their goods, their services, and what options do you have with them. And let's say you had to issue [inaudible] before and you need an account that maybe has a little bit more flexibility. You will look into options like joinedbankon.org and if someone could please post that, that'd be great. You want to look into bankon.org and find a credit union in your area. Ray, I'm going to let you read that one, my throat is actually getting a little dry some I'm going to take a drink of water for just a second.

>> Ray: All right. Thank bankon program is at http://joinbankon.org. and if you're looking for a credit union in your area, you can find the credit union locator at http: //www.mycreditunion. gov/pages/default.aspx and those websites are also being posted to the chat box.

>> Duanna: Thank you very much. I now have a little water and I think I sound a little bit better so hopefully.

[ laughter ]

All right, now you've got your bank account, you are rolling right along. Another piece of this puzzle is having good credit. It means that the bank and businesses are more likely to give you favorable terms, favorable interest, you know, seek to help you, move around on your journey a little bit easier. So you want to make sure that your credit is solid. You want to make sure that you're paid up to date on everything. This is where negotiating with your credit card company can be a good and helpful thing, definitely something you want to keep in mind. You may want to also access your credit report just to make sure it is accurate. But you definitely want to make sure that you have good credit. And if you want, next slide please. If you want more assistance on how to use your money and all of the different ways that a bank can help you and some of the different terminology involved as you start shopping for loans and things related to [inaudible] involved, there are excellent websites that can definitely help you start it. Definitely a good beginning with any of those. Ray, could you do me a favor please and [inaudible].

>> Ray: I'm looking at a whole page of them and I'll do that for you, Duanna. Ok, and Jamie will be posting these as I speak to the chat box. Here are three websites for you to check out. http://money.howstuffworks .com/personal finance/debt- management/10, the number 10, ways-2-build-credit .htm. Another website is www.realeconomicimpact, that's one word, realeconomicimpact .org. And the final website is http://www.fdic.gov/consumers /consumer /moneysmart /index.html Ok, Duanna, I'm going to give you a quick quiz. We have a couple, two questions for you and then we can move onto eitc. Somebody's concerned that opening a bank account and a checking account is expensive. Aren't banking fees pretty high?

>> Duanna: no, not necessarily. Most banks have starter accounts or accounts if you're a student. You need to contact your bank and find out what are the account options and see what the different options are. And remember to shop around at the different banks in your area and remember, you can also look at your credit unions. Credit union is a great option. They are a lot like a bank, some people find them more people friendly, so remember to keep that option in mind as well.

>> Ray: Ok, that's great information.

>> Duanna: [inaudible]

>> Terri: a little bit about what happens if you don't have a bank and you need some of those other resources. I think that's something that people don't think about that much.

>> Duanna: well, let's see, thank you Terri, for reminding me. If you don't have a bank and you're using something like the check cashing places, and the payday loans. Think about the fact that every time you cash a check, you're giving them money. I read somewhere that

[ Audio skips ]

Five hundred dollars a year just so they could cash the check and access their money. So in the long run, you're going to be better off with a bank, you're going to be better off with a credit union. It's going to be less expensive for you to access through them than it is to go through that check cashing [inaudible].

>> Ray: Ok, I couldn't agree with you more there, Duanna. And one person wants to know if there are any resources available to help them learn how to use a checking account.

>> Duanna: That, all of those resources on the previous slide are excellent resources. My personal favorite is the MoneySmart resource, the FDIC website. That is actually a little game. It actually ends up a little board game with you like, monopoly back in the day and you watch a little sheep move along the board and it actually goes through the questions you should ask when you're looking at a bank account and it goes through the steps in the check register. It's actually puts a little check register up on the screen so you can see, excuse me, the different pieces that need to go in your check register and which column is for what. [inaudible] all the different parts of a check and why they are important. So that is an excellent resource for that and you can always check with your local [inaudible], they're happy to help you learn how to use a bank account.

>> Ray: All right, and that will do it for the questions right now, Duanna, so if you want to take us to the earned income tax credit.

>> Duanna: Goody, I love this part. Next slide, all righty, and we're on the slide that says do you know the IRS can give you a tax credit for working?

>> Ray: That's where we are, we're looking for free money, Duanna.

>> Duanna: Basically, ladies and gentlemen, there's this awesome thing called the earned income tax credit. Because you work, if you're a low to moderate income person between the ages of 25 and 54 or 18 and 54 with a qualifying child, the IRS is going to give you the money because you work. So in addition to the money you got paid for working, the IRS wants to encourage you so they are going to give you back money for working. And even if you didn't make enough money to be legally required to file taxes, you can still file for up to three years back and they will apply this tax credit to you if you qualify. So you can take that money and put it towards your long term goal, put it towards, you know, whatever that goal is that's going to help you be more sufficient, you can take that money from your credit and put it there. So, basically free money because you're willing to work, just because you gave work a try. Sounds like an excellent idea to me. Its right up there with free shoes if anyone who owns a shoe store is listening, right up there with free shoes.

[ Laughter ]

Definitely a fabulous idea. And if you want to know more about that, you should contact your volunteer income tax assistance program, they are available nationwide. They assist persons with low income and disabilities with filing their taxes and getting their tax questions answered. So that 1-800-906-9887. You can also contact your local American Association of Retired Persons. They also provide tax assistance. And that is 1-888-277-7669. And if you want to know more about the earned income tax credit, you can visit the chose work blog and I'm going to let somebody else read that because that's a long one.

>> Ray: All right, that is at www.chosework.net, /blog/jsp/bloglist .isp?tag=earned _tax_credit.

>> Duanna: Ok, and then there's also the IRS website, which is www.Irs.gov/ipc. I have to let you know, I've been on that site, it's absolutely awesome. It will take you through questions that will help you figure out if you might qualify and it actually has a calculator on it to see if you might qualify and what that may mean for you.

>> Ray: All right, thank you very much, Duanna. And I just wanted to give folks another helpful hint. If you are looking for volunteer income tax assistance services, if you simple Google VITA and the name of your state, you'll get all of your state information as to where those centers are. And they are exceptional places who will make sure that you take full advantage of that EITC because as Duanna said, it is money that's sitting there waiting for you if you return to work. And we're going to move back to Terri and talk about another great, great opportunity, an individual development account. So Terri, we're back to you.

>> Terri: All right. I was thinking about, this whole call, one of our goals is to give you resources and resources that might help you save money, reach financial independence, get where you want to go. And individual development account is one of the coolest resources when you can use them. And what it is, is a way to save money to reach one of three goals. And this is a federal individual development account. And I will talk about the goals in a second. But if you have earnings and you've promised to put a certain amount of those earnings into this savings account, the idea, an individual development account program will match that. So let's say you're going to put ten dollars a month into the account. Depending on the program, they might add ten dollars or they could add up to eighty dollars. Some programs match eight dollars for every one that you contribute. Most of them are one or two, but it is a way to save money and it's a way to save money that doesn't count against most economic programs like SSI. And there are two of these, two types of programs that don't count against it at all. And it's under the essence for independents act or if it's from your local welfare agency or TANF, temporary aid to needy families. So what happens is you make this promise, you contribute your earnings, and the program, at the end, once you've met your goal, they match it and then you have the money to do what you want. And slide 41, what can you do with it? The primary goal for most IDA's, are one of three things, and that's saving for home ownership, saving for education, or saving to develop a small business. These are ways to have real economic change in your life. Home ownership, that's usually the biggest resource we have are our homes and this is a way to save money to buy a house. Now it's not going to buy the whole house, but maybe a down payment, it may help you get into a program that you can afford to buy a house, have that as a resource. Or save for your education or have a small business. There are other individual development accounts, other programs around the country that are private, they are not federal. So they may, in fact, they may be considered resources by some income sensitive programs. But for example, in the state of Oregon, there is an individual development account that would help you save for adaptive equipment. There are individual development accounts in Connecticut that would help you to save for a vehicle. So what you need to do to find out what's available to you in your state is do what Ray's been telling you and that's go on Google and just do a search for individual development accounts in your state and the various programs that are available should come up. and it's a really cool way to help yourself make that leap, especially if you work in tandem with your employment team and perhaps, a PASS, or plan to achieve self support that I was talking about earlier, it may be the earned income tax credit and any of these programs, if you use them all and you use them together, sometimes they can really help you make the leap that you need to make to reach your career goal. I took my hands off my notes.

>> Ray: Ok, we are on.

>> Terri: I think we were on the resources page.

>> Ray: We are and I'm going to read those sites for folks. But I just wanted to echo Terri's excitement about IDA's and to give another story. In Florida, there were recently, within the last couple of years, three young people who used IDA's to actually purchase their own homes. So these are just wonderful, wonderful resources folks. And here are some more resources for you. and before I read these sites, I just wanted to remind everybody that this will be archived within two weeks. I'll give you the site again at the end of the webinar so all of these resources that I'm reading out, you'll be able to print these documents and have the resources in writing. But some IDA's, if you want to find availability, you can check out www.idaresources.org/afigrantees, that's afigrantees, that's one word. For more information on how IDA's can work for you and what these programs can do for you, you can check out www.cfed, c f e d, .org/programs/idas I d a s. all right and Terri, we are moving into your last topic, I believe, financial independence, is it possible for me?

>> Terri: Again, that's a question that you have to answer for yourself because you are, as I said earlier, the most important person on your employment team. And sometimes you have to really think about what you want. You have to believe in yourself and not buy into the little expectations that somebody else may have of what you can do and use these resources and use other resources and any resource that you have, that's all fair game. I think it's possible and as I said earlier in the presentation, there were times in my life that I didn't, I didn't think it was possible or I didn't feel like I was employable or I got a really negative message from somebody and it shook me up. but obviously, it is possible because I'm working and I'm making decent money and I'm doing work that I really enjoy and I have all those social benefits and I can pay my light bill and go on a vacation and does it mean I'm out of debt completely, no. is anybody?

[ Laughter ]

We were talking about this presentation earlier and we had three different people in the office ask Duanna if they could join the budget section of the thing. Because as Americans, it's pretty unusual for anybody to be completely out of debt and absolutely perfect and have everything that they want. But it is nice to have enough income to have the flexibility to do stuff that I want to do instead of, as I said earlier, what I absolutely need to do. So I think it's possible. And you've got to believe that its possible and you've got to be willing to work towards it and try to be smart about how you do it and make the reports that you need to make. And don't be afraid to use resources that are out there and I wish you all, anybody on here who's thinking of going to work, I wish you the best of luck to get there.

>> Ray: Ok, thank you, thank you very, very much, Terri, that was great. It was extremely honest and I couldn't agree with you more. So let's talk about some other resources that are available to you to get some more information. To start this journey to work or to pick up from the point where you are at and move forward. The social security website, again, is a very, very user friendly website that has just about everything you're going to need to make this journey. And you can find that at www.socialsecurity.gov/work, and that's going to allow you to get all of the work incentive information, the work incentive ticket to work program information and to locate an employment network or your state VR agency. You can also, if you're beginning this journey, call the ticket to work helpline, that's at 1-866-968-7842 and if you're a TTY user, 1-866-833-2967. Right after today's session, which is coming up real quick and Terri and Duanna are going to have a lot of work to do, we're going to have a Facebook question and answer session. If you want to hang around and ask some questions via Facebook, please do that. It's going to run for an hour from 4:30 to 5:30 eastern time and to pay attention to that and view that, it's at http://www.facebook.com/chosework. To participate, you're going to need to login to Facebook and create an account. That's quick and easy at www.facebook.com/help/createaccount. And for Facebook accessibility and assisted technology you're going to want to login to www.facebook.com/help/accessibility. Now if you want to participate via html, you can do that at http://m.facebook.com/chosework hash mark !/chosework question, I'm sorry, let me do that again. http://m.facebook. com/chosework hash mark !/chosework ?v=feed+_user=zero. If you can't access FAcebook, you can send your questions to choseworkquestions@gmail.com. And you can visit that chose work blog after the question and answer facebook in order to access the transcript. Because remember, somebody else out there has the same question you do and often times, listening to or reading someone else's questions and the answers to them will give you the information that you need. If you do have further questions about today's information, or how to begin this journey to work, please give a question, give a call to that ticket to work number, once again, the ticket to work helpline is at 1-866-968-7842 for voice, or 1-866-833-2967 for TTY. You can like ticket to work on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chosework and if you want to listen to all of Jamie's tweets, you can follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/choseworkssa. And I want to give you the site once again, we have been reading websites over and over today and looks like, Duanna, my tongue is tied right now as well. But we have one more for you, remember within two weeks time, today's webinar's going to be archived. You'll be able to listen to it again and most importantly all of these slides can be printed so that you're have access to all of these web addresses again. And the website where you can find this will be www.ilr.cornell.edu /edi/m-wise-webinars.cfm. and I am showing that we have four minutes left so Terri and Duanna, we do have more questions for you and Terri, I think this one is for you, but Duanna, please jump in. is an IDA available for someone who receives SSI or is it available to somebody who receives SSDI?

>> Terri: Its available to anyone who need the IDA's income limit and most often that's going to be somebody who receives either of those benefits. What's incredibly cool is about individual development accounts for the SSI program is that not only does the money that you're saving not count against you as a resource, but the income, the work income that you put into the IDA is excluded as income for SSI. Now that doesn't happen with SSDI, but its still, you can still access them and its really valuable and it's a really valuable tool for anybody who has variable income. That, and what I said about the SSI program and what can be excluded only applies to two types of individual development accounts and that's the ones under the access for independence act and the ones under the temporary aid to needy families, which would be from you local welfare office. So there are some of the other ideas like the one that I mentioned that does, you can use it for transportation or one that I mentioned that you can use for adaptive equipment, those have different resource impacts on benefits. So you want to figure out what kind you're getting. But yes, people in either program are eligible for, should be eligible for individual development accounts provided that they have earned income to go in and they meet the other requirements of that program.

>> Ray: Ok, so once again, if you Google IDA in your state name, you will find what IDA's are available in your area and you can check out those specific requirements. And we have one last one for Duanna. What information do I need to bring to the bank with me in order to open an account?

>> Duanna: You should bring your ID, that's very important. If you have a state issued ID, that's extremely important. They may need, you may need your social security card. You should bring also, whatever money you're using to open the account. That's usually an excellent place to start.

>> Ray: Ok, I want to thank everybody for listening to us and putting up with us reading all of those websites to you. once again, remember that within two weeks time, they will be posted to the archived website we gave you and you'll be able to print out all of that information. Thanks for your questions. I want to thank Duanna and Terri for some great information. And just invite you all to watch your email and other sites for our next webinar. And thanks for participating everybody, have a great day.

>> Terri: thanks for the help, Ray. Terri.