Social Security

If you’re on SSI, there are several work incentives you may qualify for. These include:

Allowances for earned income.

When figuring your monthly benefits payment, SSI ignores the first $65 of your earned income, plus one-half of the remainder. This is called the Earned Income Exclusion. This means that you can make more money from a combination of work income and SSI payments than you can from SSI payments alone.

The Federal government’s Social Security Administration (SSA) offers two programs that pay disability benefits: the Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income program (SSI). Here’s how they compare:

The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program is an employment program for people receiving SSI and SSDI with disabilities who are interested in going to work. The goal of the Ticket Program is to increase opportunities and choices for Social Security disability beneficiaries to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation (VR), and other support services from public and private providers, employers, and other organizations.

This program assists Vermonters who are receiving Social Security Benefits (SSI or SSDI). If you are interested in returning to work but you are concerned about what will happen to your benefits and health care if you do work, VR Benefits Counselors can help. In most cases, people on Social Security Disability benefits are financially better off if they work – as long as they understand the work incentives. Our Benefits Counselors can help you: