If you currently receive Social Security Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits because of your disability, you may be afraid that going to work will cause you to lose those benefits. Since getting those benefits is based on the fact that you have disability-related barriers to employment, it is true that wages from a job could cause Social Security to send you less money or even cut off your benefits. This section will provide information on how going to work might affect your benefits. You will also find out about incentive programs designed to help you keep your benefits when you go to work.

WorkWORLD
WorkWORLD is an online computer program for people with disabilities and their advocates to help them make informed choices about work incentives, benefits, employment supports, and wages. You can use this free software to explore and understand how to best use the work incentives associated with the various federal and state disability and poverty benefit programs. It automatically computes what your benefits would be if you went to work, and takes into account the complex interaction of income, benefit programs, and work incentives.

Impairment-Related Work Expenses

Work expenses that are related to your disability may be deducted from your total earnings when determining whether and to what extent your earnings affect your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. These include any expenses you pay for yourself, that are related to your disability, and which you must pay for in order to be able to work. These might include assistive technology, medication, personal assistance, transportation, or any other disability-related expenses that are essential in order for you to be able to work.

Plan to Achieve Self Support

If you know of training, education, tools, transportation or anything else that could help you in being able to work, you might consider writing a Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS). PASS qualify you to receive more Social Security Income (SSI) than what you currently are getting.

A PASS plan is usually written with help from a counselor or advocate. It states your work goals, what you need to do and/or buy to achieve the goals, how long it will take, and what it will cost. This PASS Plan is submitted to the Social Security Administration. Your work goals can be anything you realistically expect to accomplish. The plan must also generate adequate living income. The things you need to buy must be related to the goals; training or tuition, a car or van for transportation, a computer or tools and supplies of your trade or business, day care for a child while you work or attend school, adaptive technology, etc. For more in-depth information on how to write and implement a PASS Plan, see the below listed links.

PassPlan.org
This website offers information about how to write a PASS plan along with examples of successful PASS plans.

Barrier Breakers
Barrier Breakers is a small business started by a woman with a disability who used a Social Security Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS) to fund starting her business. Barrier Breakers sells kits for developing PASS plans, VR Books with information about how to get the services you need from the state Vocational Rehabilitation agency, and posters. They also provide consultation services to assist in writing individual PASS plans.

Red Book on Employment Support
The Red Book on Employment Support is a guide to employment supports available to people with disabilities under the SSDI and SSI Programs. You can learn how earning money affects your benefits and the various work incentives available to you.

Social Security Administration Resources Toolkit
The Social Security Administration Resources Toolkit describes the various work incentives in place to encourage people who receive SSI and SSDI to go to work.

National Assistive Technology Advocacy Project
The National Assistive Technology Advocacy Project provides a booklet called Work Incentives for Persons with Disabilities Under the SSI Programs. This booklet includes detailed information about PASS, Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) and other aspects of work incentives for people on SSI and SSDI. It also includes many examples with detailed calculations of benefits.