[ Noise ] >> Ray Sabula: Good afternoon everybody this is Ray Sabula from Cornell University's Yang-Tan Institute and I want to welcome you to today's WISE event, which provides free support services to folks who are on disability benefits and are ready to go to work. We've got a great topic today, that you'll at the very least find interesting, and I hope very exciting because it's really an endless amount of information we're going to give you today and there are infinite possibilities for you with the information we have today. We've got some great folks from Social Security who are going to visit with us today. We're going to be talking about financial stability and financial literacy and what you need to know about amassing resources. You've all been connected to today's webinar through the speakers and microphone in your computer. If you have any questions or any issues with that let us know. You can open up your question box by going to the little Q&A spot up on top of that console and it's going to open this larger box. Type in your question, your comment and hit send. As a matter of face throughout today's session we want you to make comments and we also want you to ask questions. And what we will do; Jaime will go through those questions. We will take them mainly at the end of the session and it's not likely we'll get to everybody's question. So Jaime's going to try to pick the questions that pertain to the largest number of people. We just want to warn you about that ahead of time. We will however give you some resources so that you can get your particular questions answered. Now if you do have questions -- or issues I should say -- with your audio or listening in on today's webinar via the computer you can click on the audio box at the top of your webinar console and it's going to open the box up. You're automatically -- as I said -- using your computer to hear us. If you need to call in just click use phone. I will call in and you will receive today's phone number, access code, and your ID. Now webinar accessibility is a very, very important factor for us. We want these sessions to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. We take out obligations very seriously and we try to do what we can to make this the best experience for everybody. If you do have any issues during today's session please let us know. You can let us know by signing into that question and answer box and let us know, or you can get back to us via email after today's session. And if you do have problems please explain what those problems are, and let us know what your solutions might be. If you know of a program we can use or some kind of fix that we can make let us know that, as well. That's actually even more helpful to us than letting us know just what kind of issues you're having. So please, that's important to us. If you do end up calling in today here is your toll-free number -- we want to make sure it doesn't cost you anything to call in; 855-749-4750 and the access code today is 640042490. Now if anyone has a pencil and paper handy write down this phone number because we won't be able to get it to you easy during the session. 855-749-4750 and the access code is 640042490. The closed captioning link for today's session is http://www.ilr.cornell.edu backslash edi/captions.cfm?activity_id=4104. The webinar PowerPoint and accessible PDFs and the text are located at the URL link you received with your confirmation today. We will have this presentation, the recording and the transcript and the audio available in approximately two weeks. Mike our tech guy gets them up there as soon as he could but we like to wait -- we like to ask you for two weeks' worth of time to get that up. If you want to hear this again, you can listen in at www.ilr.cornell.edu backslash edi/m-wise-webinars.cfm. Now during that question and answer period we told you how to use your Q&A box to get us those questions. There's also a chat feature. We prefer you don't use that but go ahead if you find that easier. Or if you do want to email your questions you can email them to choseworkquestions@gmail.com. After today's webinar if you think of a question drop it to us at support@choseworkttw.net. That's one word; support@choseworkttw.net. Now before we introduce the rest of our speakers I've got some questions for you guys. You know, we like to know who we're talking with. We like to know how you heard about us so we can use your information to get to our new audiences. So what I'm going to ask are some simple questions and if you could just make a selection and hit enter we'll be all set. So the first question is; how did you hear about today's WISE event? Did you hear about it via email, Facebook or Twitter, the website, a friend of family, or some other place? Just let us know how you learned about today's session and we'll know where to advertise. [ Silence ] [ Clicking ] And we actually have quite a few others today. So those of you who did answer others because there is such a large portion today, I'm going to ask you to send that information to support@choseworkttw.net and let us know how you heard about it. All right. Thank you for that. I got to wait 20 seconds for this to close down and we'll get to our second question. They're all pretty easy. Everyone will pass [chuckle]. [ Silence ] All right and our second question is; what do you hope to learn from today's webinar? Do you want to know about the Ticket to Work? Do you want to know about work incentives for SSI? Work incentives for SSDI? Employment networks and state BR agencies, or something else? [ Silence ] All right. You guys are going really fast. I appreciate that. [ Silence ] All right. We're going to shut that one down. Wait my 20 seconds. [ Silence ] I keep telling Mike we need to get the Jeopardy theme music going during these questions. But we'll get in trouble if we do that. Okay, this one's real simple and real quick. What is your gender? Male or female? [ Silence ] All right. Thank you very much. [ Silence ] I suppose if I sang a Jeopardy theme song off-key it won't violate anybody's copyright. Okay, what is your age? Please pick from one of these groups; 18 or younger, 19-25, 26-40, 41-55, 56-65 or 66 and older. [ Silence ] All right. Thank you very much. I got one more... [ Pause ] ...the little graph that shows up when you people answer. It looks just like it should on this one [chuckle]. [ Silence ] All right and your last one. We know that some of you are not alone watching us on your computer. Some of you may have other people there. So besides yourself, how many other people are sitting with you at your computer terminal? [ Silence ] [ Clacking ] [ Silence ] And we got a couple of parties out there. [ Clacking ] Okay. Thank you very much for that. Now, you know me. I'm Ray I'm going to be welcoming you. We've done that. I'm going to introduce our speakers and pose questions to the speakers during the session and most certainly after the session and my help them along with some of the websites as we're going through. We have Dawana Mitchell [assumed spelling] and Terri Udermolen [assumed spelling] both from Social Security Office of Employment and Support Programs. Two very, very nice women who know a lot about this stuff and are great resources. So I think you're not only going to enjoy hearing them but they're going to give you a lot of great information. We're going to talk about those tools for financial independence today. At the end of the session I'm going to come back with you and do the question and answer session and provide you with some other resources. Remember I said that we would -- we don't want you to go away without any answers so if we don't get to your question we will be giving you information so that you can get those questions answered. Now I also want to remind you that today is the first part of a two part webinar. We are starting today. We will have part two on Wednesday April 24th at 3:00 o'clock. So all of you who have signed up for both -- great. If you've only signed up for today's session please sign up for the follow-up session so you'll have the entire picture after the 24th is finished. As always we have a welcome from Bob Williams the Associate Commissioner of Social Security and he's also with the Office of Employment Support Programs and is a great friend to all of us. So Bob is you could -- not Bob -- Michael if you could cue up Bob's video that would be great. [ Silence ] [ Clicking ] [ Music ] [ Silence ] >> Bob Williams: Hello and welcome to today's webinar. My name is Bob Williams [beep] and I am the Associate Commissioner for Employment Support at the Social Security Administration. [Inaudible] self-sufficiency programs [beep] [Inaudible] SSDI or SSI who want to improve their life and future by becoming employed. By viewing this webinar you'll learn how you can receive training to become employed, [inaudible] your life on disability benefits and eventually earn a better living by becoming fully self-supporting [inaudible]. [Inaudible] everyone, this is why [inaudible]. [Inaudible] I know for a fact that people with [inaudible]. [Inaudible] disability benefits is determine that [inaudible]. But I also want you to know that [inaudible] no longer has to be a lifetime [inaudible] an greater financial security. [Inaudible] opportunity and support you need to go to work and gain financial independence. I hope today's webinar will get your journey to greater self-sufficiency. Your life and future can be better. Thank you all. [ Music ] >> Ray Sabula: Okay. Thanks Mike. What I'd like to do now is turn the floor over to Terri Udermolen [assumed spelling]; she's with Social Security. I'll let her give you a little more information about herself. Take it away Terri. >> Terri Udermolen: Thanks Ray. As Ray said, I'm Terri Udermolen. I work in the Offices of Employment Support Programs and I've been interested in helping people get back to work from disability benefits for many years; even before I came back to work for Social Security. I have a disability, I've been on benefits. I've worked off of benefits. I know it's not easy and I want people who want to do it to be successful and not just successful at kind of limping along. If you can find yourself in a situation where you're taking care of yourself and you have more choices life's a little more comfortable. So which brings us to what is financial independence? And that's always a personal definition. How -- what do you consider financial independence? We have some definitions sort of here. You know, being able to support yourself from money that you make [dog barking] from work, being able to buy dog food -- sorry about that [laughter]. Being able to make choices. You know, going to buy a cup of coffee instead of feeling that you just can't [dog barking]. I was recently visiting a friend of mine [dog barking] who has very low personal budget and we were walking in a store and she was looking at things and judging if she wanted them based on pennies of difference in price. Well if you have more income that's not as big a deal. You have more wiggle room for things that you really want. You can pick [dog barking] more expensive things if you think it's more comfortable or better for you. And you wouldn't have those choices. I wouldn't live where I live, I wouldn't have the comfort that I have if I weren't working, and I feel very fortunate I was able to work off of benefits. The third reason that we have -- or the third definition we have on this slide is that you're not limited by Social Security. I think a lot of people think I get benefits I'm not allowed to work. And it's not that you're not allowed to work it's that you are receiving a benefit to sustain yourself while you're not working. If you can find work, if you can use these tools to develop financial independence for yourself, you're going to be more comfortable than just being on benefits and letting the fact of being on benefits limit you. Next slide; Is financial independence possible for me? And we're talking about tools -- some of these are tools; just smart ways to manage money. I know that since Dawana and I have started doing this I've become much more aware of bad financial habits that I've gotten into [chuckle], and much more aware of debt. But we're going to talk about some of those tools. I think the primary goal for all of us for this is if you guys -- if people who are listening, if you find the opportunity and you go to work you want to make it pay. You want it to be as large an improvement in your quality of life as possible. Let's go to slide 11; Tools for Financial Independence. Most people work because they need the money. You know, we work to pay the light bill. If you don't have an income let's say and you're -- you know, you're going to be in pretty bad shape. The Ticket to Work -- and we're going to talk about it in a little bit -- but the Ticket to Work is a tool to help you get that job, that work that can help you develop financial independence. The lovely Dawana Mitchell is going to talk about smart goals, making good goals for yourself and how to frame them. She's also going to talk about budgets and the importance of banking and credit. Because all of those things can impact what you get to take home and keep. In two weeks we're going to talk about the earned income tax credit and individual development accounts that are also, tools to help you gain more financial independence. The earned income tax credit is a credit that comes to low wage workers. Independent -- or Individual development accounts are ways for low-income people to save money. Hopefully to get out of the low-income -- kind of the struggles that you get stuck with. The next slide; I derive a lot of pleasure from my work. I think a lot of people do. I think I'm very fortunate that I derive as much pleasure but you get to meet people, you get to contribute, you get to define yourself as what you do. And I think we do that a lot in this culture and the last time we did this training I told a story about a point in my life when I was on benefits and I was -- I have a sister who is also blind and has a law practice in a small town. [Background noise] Somebody walked up to me and said, "Are you the lawyer?" And I said, "No." And they said, "What do you do?" And I started crying because I couldn't -- I derive a lot of my self-image from working and having an income. So it -- it's not saying that people who don't work don't have value. I'm just saying that's how I define myself and I think it can -- I think that's pretty common in our culture. Next slide; Are there risks? And the truth is there are. I'd really love to say all you have to do is say, "Oh, I'm going to go get a job and everything's going to be easy, and I'm going to get the accommodations I need, and there's going to be job out there that'll help me make a lot of money, and I won't have to deal with any problems." But that's not the case. The case is there are risks. It's worth taking the risks but they're out there. There are some things that you can do to help avoid the risks coming up and biting you. You've got to be smart. You've got to plan and you've got to keep track of the benefits that you get. How they're impacted by work. You've got to follow the rules. Go to the slide 14. And by following the rules that means telling Social Security if you're working. It means telling food stamps if you have additional income. It means keeping track -- learn how and when you need to report your earnings. Because you don't want to end up being afraid of a letter in the mail that says you -- we're writing to let you know that you owe us you know your first born child and all the money that you've just made. You don't want to do that. You really, really, really want work to pay and we want it to pay you [noise]. Keep good records. So that means keep track of your pay stubs. Keep track of your W2's. I'll be talking about work incentives in a minute but one of the things you really want to keep track of are expenses that you have that are related to your disability. That things that you pay for out of pocket. Because it might help you reduce the impact on your benefits right away. Come on -- hang on a second. I'm sorry. >> Ray Sabula: All right. I think that was for me [chuckle]. We have a success story. Robert has allowed us to share his story and Robert's a veteran who spend seven years serving in the Army and he had a surgical mishap in the year 2000 and was -- had an injury to his spinal cord that left his with limited mobility. And Robert decided it was worth taking a risk in order to become more dependent. He used his Ticket to Work and discovered his passion for helping other veterans. And you know we have a lot of them right now who are trying to make that transition from the military to civilian life and Robert has allowed us to share his story. So Michael if you can cue up Robert's video. Thank you. [ Silence ] [ Music ] [ Silence ] [ Music ] >> Robert: I'm -- was straight out of high school from Chicago. I had a strong interest for the military. I joined the service and I went into the Army and my job that I went in the service for was a communication [inaudible]. I spent two tours in Europe, in Germany, and I spent about over seven years total in the military. Once I completed my time in the service I continued to work for the government as a United States Postal Carrier. And after 13 years of this work it began to take a toll on me health wise and it led to some medical issues that I started to have. I became disabled from a surgery, kind of a mishap where a disc ruptured and it paralyzed me. The Ticket to Work program was introduced to me throughout my rehabilitation period. The VA was assisting me. They even offered me [inaudible] back to work. So they introduced me to a representative from Social Security who told me about this Ticket to Work program. Well, as the representative explained the program it was obvious [inaudible] there. Some of the things that I was worried about it I really did have to worry at all. Now it wasn't until '03 that representative of paralyzed veterans who again, introduced me to the Ticket to Work program and I told him I had heard of it and I was aware of it, but at this time as years had went by I felt a little bit more stronger about actually accepting it this time because I knew that I was at a level health wise, and I thought it was time for me to make some serious decisions and not be living on a fixed income when I had such a desire to want to do much more. The program had told me all the things like; well if it don't work out it was still enough of a [inaudible] to say that you don't have to worry about that. They even gave me a year even while I was working that I was still covered under Social Security. They make sure that they are there to assist you and help you in all types of ways. [Inaudible] but to follow you once you're there. After being part of the Ticket to Work program I started looking again into the availability of positions for a national service officer. At that time there just happened to be some available positions. >> [Inaudible]. Shortly thereafter he was selected to be a candidate to be a national service officer in the Chicago office. >> Robert: After the interview they immediately told me that I was very much qualified and I could prepare -- begin to come to work. I had became a national service officer for the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Paralyzed Veterans of America of course is a service organization dedicated to helping those veterans with spinal cord injuries, spinal cord disease as we assist all veterans who have VA benefits and [inaudible] veterans' health care. [Inaudible] national service officer with Paralyzed Veterans of America I agreed to meet with especially the new veterans or new patients that had just come in [inaudible]. Coming back to work has probably built up my independence, self-pride and, you know, I'm an achiever again. You know, I got something to offer society and you know it's almost like you're regaining a good portion of dignity back. I actually even coming back to work I was highly interested in -- got interested in some of the disability sporting events. The wheelchair games [inaudible] every year and it was a big event for me. Ticket to Work program; it helped open up the door and put me back to where, you know -- it's almost like it put my life back on track. [ Music ] [ Silence ] >> Ray Sabula: Okay. We have -- want to thank Robert again, for letting us use his story and as he pointed out he took the risk. He found out that there were safety nets and he made a successful transition. And that's what we're going to start with right now. We're going to turn it back over to Terri and she's going to start talking about some of the benefits and some of the work incentives that are available to you. Go ahead Terri. >> Terri Udermolen: Thank you. I actually want to back up just a little bit. >> Ray Sabula: Okay. >> Terri Udermolen: I was talking about keeping records [laughter]. I saw somebody had something which is why I said sorry [laughter]. >> Ray Sabula: Oh. >> Terri Udermolen: And I'm like okay, well it's a good time for Robert anyway. One of the things that I think is really valuable for people to do when they're planning to go back to work, or once they start working especially reporting benefits -- reporting to benefit providers is keep a notebook. If you report something to Social Security write down who you talked to. If you get a receipt; keep it in that notebook. Talk -- keep track of where you're working, how much your earning. Keep your paystubs. I know it may sound like a lot of work but it'll really help you out in the long run to know which work incentives you've used. But also, to just keep the record for your own protection. Not necessarily from Social Security but other benefit providers. Just so that if you have the information they need when they need it and you reduce the risk of you being overpaid. So the next slide is Social Security Disability programs. There are three different primary disability programs that we offer as an agency. The first one is 517; Social Security and Disability insurance. Now that's a benefit -- the largest group of people who receive SSDI or Social Security Disability Insurance are people who've worked and paid into the Social Security system and have developed a disability and stopped working. SSDI has its own family of work incentives and work incentives are opportunities for people to keep benefits a little longer. Maybe make work pay while you're transitioning into that successful career. The first type of benefit as I said is SSDI. The next one is Supplemental Security Income; SSI. And SSI is a needs based benefit that helps people with disabilities meet food and shelter needs. SSI's a very low benefit. It has a whole different set of work incentives and we can talk about them a little bit but they're -- there's a lot of detail but a lot of opportunity. With SSI you're almost always better off if you're working. Supplemental Security Income benefits is right now about 70% of the poverty level. Meaning below poverty. Those people are receiving SSI and that's all they're receiving. It can be a very limiting situation. Its income sensitive so a little bit of work may affect the check but in the long run you're going to have more money to live on if you work and you're on SSI. The next slide. There are people who get both Social Security and SSI and that's [rustling] if your Social Security Disability Insurance benefit is low enough that it's actually lower than the federal SSI payments. We exclude a little bit of that unearned income and then we pay people the rest in SSI. >> Hi baby. >> Terri Udermolen: Let's go to slide 20. Ticket to Work. The Ticket to Work is a work incentive. It's just one of many programs but it's a useful one because it helps people with disabilities access rehabilitation services and -- in different environments than they might otherwise. There's a state vocation rehabilitation agency but they're also -- there's also organizations called employment networks and the employment networks provide services to help people get jobs. It -- the ticket is a way that the Social Security Administration has created these employment networks. They -- the ticket gives them money if you go to work and are successful. It's free. It doesn't cost you anything to use the Ticket to Work [screeching]. It's voluntary; you do not have to use it. And the employment network does not have to provide services to you. It's a partnership between you and the employment network and a partnership that will hopefully end up with you earning money, and becoming more self-sufficient or financially independent of benefits. The Ticket -- as Bob said in his introduction -- the Ticket to Work is not for everybody. Employment networks only make money if people go to work at a level that the ultimately lose benefits. So if your goal is oh, I'm maybe going to work a little bit at part time and kind of sort of make a little bit of money to supplement my checks, the Ticket to Work probably isn't the best answer for you. Now if you're doing that -- I'm going to work a little bit part time just to see if I can work -- that still may be a real good opportunity for you to use your ticket with the understanding that your goal is to work and to work at a level that would cause your benefits to end eventually. I know -- in the years that I've done this I've talked to a lot of people who needed to do something small to prove to themselves that they could do it and I can say that of myself also. I started part-time when I went back to work, and suddenly realized that I was really liking it, and that I could do it and that I could make money doing it and I have been working for the last 15 years. If you want to get started and you want to use your ticket to work they -- we have a call center that you can call. The number is 866-968-7842 and Ray -- wake up -- it's your turn to read [chuckle] the website. >> Ray Sabula: [Chuckle] Wow. We don't have a website yet. >> Terri Udermolen: Oh. >> Ray Sabula: We do have two phone numbers though. We have 1-866-968-7842 for voice, and 1-866-833-2967 for TTY or -- here comes that website Terri -- you can visit www.socialsecurity.gov/work. >> Terri Udermolen: Thanks Ray. >> Ray Sabula: Yeah. >> Terri Udermolen: That's what I get for working from notes instead of... >> Ray Sabula: [Laughter]. >> Terri Udermolen: Okay, we're on slide 21? >> Ray Sabula: Yep. >> Terri Udermolen: Okay good. How does the Ticket to Work work? Essentially -- we used to give people actually a piece of paper that was printed to look like a ticket which confused people because we got a lot of calls from people saying, "Well, can I take this to get to the theater? Can I use this for airplane? [laughter]." And the answer's no, no. That -- it was just a symbol. You have a ticket to work even without having a piece of paper, and it is just the right to get these benefits from employment networks and the benefits are the help finding a job, help building a resume. Whatever services you and the employment network agree will get this where you want to be. So the first step is to find an employment network that you want to work with and the phone number that we gave you and the website is where to find what employment networks are active in your area. And once you find an employment network that wants to work with you, and you want to work with, you develop a plan and it's really important that you think through; okay, what did I really want to do? What do I need to get there? And can this employment network provide it? Do I need to go the state VR agency first and maybe use employment networks later? You can do that. We really -- actually the website I was ahead of myself even on my notes [chuckle]. Okay [chuckle] so slide 22; What are work incentives? And as I said a little bit earlier work incentives are an opportunity to transition from benefits to work. There are some work incentives that delay -- on the recording that Robert did he said, "Well they even let me have benefits for the first year." There's something -- if you're receiving SSDI; Social Security Disability Insurance benefits -- it's called a trial work period. It lets you test your ability to work and you can receive benefits while you're in your trial work period. It doesn't matter how much you make during that time period and its nine months of benefits while you're working to help you transition. Another work incentive that is extremely valuable -- this is when I was talking about keeping a notebook -- this is an important one, and this is called "Impairment Related Work Expenses." Impairment related work expenses allow the Social Security Administration to deduct the cost of goods or services that you pay for out of pocket that are related to your disability, and not reimbursed by anybody -- when they're looking at your earnings to see if those earnings are substantial or when they're calculating your SSI payment. So for example; let's say you go to work. You're on SSI [rustling] and you have to buy a special piece of equipment that costs you $100. That $100 isn't going to affect your SSI payment. The Social Security Administration will subtract that when they're making a calculation of how much SSI you should get. Another huge, extremely valuable work incentive is the continuation of Medicare. If you're on Medicare and you go to work you can continue Medicare for years without buying Medicare Part A. And even after those years run out it's possible to buy it if you still have disability. Medicaid is a benefit that comes with SSI in most states, or you can apply for it if you have low income. And there are ways to keep Medicaid if you're working. There are ways even to buy Medicaid in a lot of states if you're -- if you have a disability and you work. Bottom line is you don't have to lose your health insurance by going to work. You don't have to lose your benefits right away. But again, we don't know -- we don't want you to be limited to, "Oh my gosh. I can't lose my benefits." Because if you do then you may not -- you may not have a quality of life that you really want. And -- I have lost my place in my ramble here. >> Ray Sabula: Okay, I do have a question for you Terri. >> Terri Udermolen: Yes. >> Ray Sabula: It related to [inaudible]. >> Terri Udermolen: Yes. >> Ray Sabula: When you were telling people to keep records early on you told them to keep records of some of these expenses. And can you give them some more examples of what might be used as an [inaudible] that they would want to keep track of and keep receipts for? >> Terri Udermolen: Absolutely and thank you. And you want to keep receipts. I'm really glad you said that Ray because I was thinking and then I don't think I said it. >> [Inaudible]. >> Terri Udermolen: The [laughter] -- I'm just trying to complete [inaudible]. Okay, co-payments for medications that you think -- let's say you have a -- you may have health insurance but you have an out of pocket cost. That's something that you could deduct as an impairment related work expense. Costs for going to the physician as long as it's for the -- an impairment. Goods or services that you need because of your disability. Let's say you have a personal care attendant who helps you get -- have lunch at work and you pay that person out of pocket. That could be an impairment related work expense. And Ray I know you can think of more than I can right now. >> Ray Sabula: Yeah. No I mean with talking about -- you know we heard your dog barking and everybody hears my dog barking when I'm at home. But if you do have a service animal... >> Terri Udermolen: Service dog. Yeah. >> Ray Sabula: ...or a companion animal. You know, that animal comes along with vet bills, and food bills, and all kinds of stuff that has to be done. So if you -- I think [inaudible] are one of those things that you need to keep track of just about everything that you're spending that's related to your disability and then work with Social Security which of those items or services are allowable as [inaudible]. I would rather have you give Social Security too much information than not enough. >> Terri Udermolen: Perfect. Because we -- if somebody is looking at your disability, your reported work, and you don't give them the information you're not going to get the deduction. >> Ray Sabula: Mm-hm. >> Terri Udermolen: So you want to keep as much as you can. It's a very broad category; anything that's reasonable. And I see some pretty interesting things that the claims representative making the decision about what's reasonable. I think it's great. Any other questions or thoughts Ray? >> Ray Sabula: Not just yet. >> Terri Udermolen: Okay. Well, in my notes I am to slide 23 which is; visit our website for more information. I'm going to have you read their website in just a minute. I want the listeners not to be too scared by work incentives. If you go to this website it lists all of them and they can be very, very confusing. The call center number that we gave you earlier has people who are familiar with the work incentives and can also identify which ones apply to you [scraping]. And looking on this website... >> [Inaudible]. >> Terri Udermolen: ...read carefully if you... >> Get your brush. >> Ray Sabula: Dawana, I think... >> Terri Udermolen: Somebody's not on mute. >> Ray Sabula: ...you may -- yeah, somebody's not on mute. >> Terri Udermolen: Sorry I'm so distractible. Anyway so if you look at this website the level of detail is maybe overwhelming but just again, you can get help. You can get help. You can get benefits counseling. Somebody can sit down with you and figure out okay, these are the work incentives that apply to me. This is how I'm going to use them to reach my goal. >> Ray Sabula: [laughter]. >> Terri Udermolen: And on that note Ray, do you want to read the website? >> Ray Sabula: Yeah. You give me all the good stuff Terri. Thanks [chuckle]. >> Terri Udermolen: [Inaudible]. >> Ray Sabula: Okay. That website was just posted by Jaime in the chat box. But here it goes; www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch backslash wi/generalinfo.htm#ssdissi. And I just want to give another plug to the Social Security website. I know I've been reading it off long enough but that website is very user friendly. Most of the information is just a click -- a point and a click away. So do not hesitate to access socialsecurity.gov. >> Terri Udermolen: And Dawana I think you're up. >> Ray Sabula: Yep. [ Silence ] >> Terri Udermolen: Dawana? >> Dawana Mitchell: Hi. I'm sorry about that. >> Ray Sabula: There you are [chuckle]. >> Dawana Mitchell: I was double checking something with the spouse. Apologies. All right, let's see. So my name is Dawana Mitchell. Long story short; former beneficiary of both programs. Worked my way off. I know it's not an easy process but it can be done. With that being said, so if you decide that financial independence is right for you what's next. Next slide please. The first thing you need are some goals. Your goals should be SMART. SMART being an acronym; specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Okay, so let's talk about specific. For instance, I'm a newlywed. I -- which means I now have two moms. Lucky me. I'm actually quite thrilled to have tow moms. So turns out that my mother-in-law needs a new computer. So our goal is to buy my mother-in-law a new computer, and we hope to buy her a new computer in the next six months. So my goal is specific. My goal is measurable because I have a time frame. Its attainable because we're going to take the money that we were spending on the computer of mine that we're paying off to now pay for her computer. We're also going to do some slightly different things with the groceries; meaning that we're going to buy some more of the store brand items so that we have a little bit more play in our spending plan. For those of you who may not be familiar with the term "spending plan" -- I say spending plan because it sounds so much better than budget. It sounds like so much more fun [chuckle]. Budget sounds very confining and spending plan just sounds so much -- it sounds so much more liberating. I'm a big fan of liberation in the journey of financial independence. It sounds a lot more liberating than "my budget". So spending plan. So we're going to go with that. My goal is realistic. We're willing and able to work towards it. We can do that. We have a date for achieving our goal. In the next six months we're going to get my mother-in-law a new computer so that she can play POGO. She loves Bingo on POGO. It's her favorite thing. And we want to make sure that her computer will run POGO correctly. So that is my SMART goal. I have a lot of other SMART goals but that's the one that I'm choosing to tell you about today. >> Ray Sabula: Dawana I think that was absolutely brilliant and I just have to let you know that. Because, you know, when I think -- as Terri said, when she does these presentations, when I listen to these presentations we're always picking up tricks and realizing things that we do wrong. But SMART really does help. We're not -- we're trying to talk about financial independence. We're not telling you you're going to have money for everything you want. All of us have to make plans to get what we want but it's that planning, in a smart way, that makes it possible. So thank you for that Dawana. >> Dawana Mitchell: My pleasure. It's absolutely my pleasure and your goals are where you start. Okay. So now that you have a goal what do you do? You need a budget. I prefer spending plan but other people say budget so we're going to go with what's there. Okay? So it's a plan of your expenses and your income for a period of time. Like a month or a year [sirens]. And the way to get started with one; sit down with your bills and a piece of paper so that you can calculate all the pocket change -- and if you're picking up the siren please forgive me. I live within three blocks of a police station and about a mile and a half from the fire station. So please forgive the siren. Let's see. So sit down with that piece of paper and figure out the pocket money because we all have little pocket things that we do. The snack at the vending machine at the office. That oh so delicious Starbucks coffee [chuckle]. I love Starbucks. My husband loves Starbucks. I have a friend who -- we spend a lot of time there. We love -- we all love Starbucks. We all love that extra little special thing. So sit down, figure all that stuff out. Think about the tolls. Think about the money for the laundry. You know, think about all of the -- maybe the little nuances. If you have a thing for -- I'm about to tell on myself -- if you have a thing for Godiva chocolate and you joined that club they have where you get a free piece of chocolate once a month, but inevitably when you go in there for your free chocolate you end up get -- buying something else; factor in your Godiva. You got to factor that all in to get a realistic picture of how much you've got and where you're spending it and then after you've got all of that down for where -- what you've got and where you're spending it sit down and figure out where you can change some things and figure out where you can save it. Figure out -- you know, maybe if I don't go in the Godiva -- I know it's painful for those who like chocolate -- but maybe if you don't go into Godiva or instead of going every month, maybe you go every other month. Maybe once a quarter. You know, maybe cut down on the Godiva a little bit. Cut back on the Starbucks. Figure out where you can save that money. It's very important. Okay. So next slide please. If you need help putting together your budget contact your local center for independent living and Ray, here comes the website because I get tongue tied on this all the time. >> Ray Sabula: All right. The Centers for Independent Living can be found at www.ilru.org/html/publications/directory/index.html. >> Dawana Mitchell: Mm-hm. And if you happen to want more information on budgeting you can also check out these other two websites. >> Ray Sabula: Okay, we have an AARP website at www.aarp.org/money/budgeting-savings/ and an FDIC website at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.html. And Jaime has posted those in the chat box for you. >> Dawana Mitchell: Okay. I just want to say something really briefly about Money Smart. Money Smart in addition to being able to discuss budgeting; they also cover a lot of the other topics in Money Smart that we're addressing in this webinar. That definitely may be a site that you want to hang on to. You can go there, they have a lot of information on a number of the topics that we cover and some of the things that we couldn't cover today. So that may be a site you definitely want to hang on to. All right, that being said; now that you've got your spending plan, you figured out how you can save some money; Where's a good place to put that money? In the bank. In the bank is an excellent place to put your money and let me tell you why. If you put your money in the bank and someone comes in your house accidentally. Someone comes in your house and they happen to peak under the mattress, they go in that jar marked asparagus [background talking] in your refrigerator; they don't run into your money. They don't find your money. They don't find that little special hidey hole that you have. Because your money is safe in the bank with, you know, the huge safe and the time -- and the vaults on timers and surrounded by people with weapons. So a bank is an excellent place to keep your money. You also want to build that banking relationship because if you need that loan for a house, if you need that loan to go to school, if you need -- you know, a loan for a bigger purchase you want to build that relationship with your bank. It's very important to build that relationship. It goes into all of the other things that we'll be talking about. It goes into your credit and everything else that I'll be talking about in just a few minutes. So you want to have a savings account. It keeps your money safe while you save for your goal. You want to have a checking account. It gives you quick money to you bills. You can -- to pay -- I'm sorry, for the money to pay your bills. I also do my online banking which to me is one of the brilliant inventions ever. I don't have to go to the post office. I don't have to worry about stamps. I can sit in front of my computer and pay my bills. I think it's one of the most brilliant ideas [chuckle]. But so you can pay your bills, you can buy things and you keep your money safe. Next slide please. Okay. Bank On -- sometimes -- I know I've had family members who've had issues with banks. They have perhaps made some errors. You know, we all make mistakes. It's part of being human. We -- and we just need a chance to start over. Bank On is a program that has options who people are either unbanked; meaning they don't use banks or they're under banked; meaning they may have a bank account but they use other options like payday loans. Options, that may not help with building your financial picture. I'm sorry. I just had a mental flash onto a lender that I see the commercial for all the time and I sat down one day and -- in very small print at the bottom they have a listing of how much interest you pay them when you borrow money from them. If you borrow the maximum amount of money from them and you pay it back in like, 64 monthly payments it comes -- when I sat down and did the math the money you end up paying them is actually like five times what you borrowed. So, you know, that's why you may not want to deal with those types of lenders. You may be better off working with a bank. If you need more information about Bank On they have a website. >> Ray Sabula: At http://joinbankon.org. >> Dawana Mitchell: If you maybe want to do something like a bank but maybe something a bit smaller, a bit more personal you can also find a credit union in your area. I'm a big fan of banks and credit unions. I think that having that banking relationship regardless of whether you chose a bank or you chose a credit union is extremely important. You can find your credit union or what credit unions are in your area at... >> Ray Sabula: www.mycreditunion.gov/pages/default.aspx. >> Dawana Mitchell: Next slide please. Now, now that you've -- now that you've got your goal, you've got your budget, you've gotten banked; here's what's next. Your credit. Your credit is extremely important because if it's good you will have a much easier time doing what you need to do in terms of getting loans for the largest purchases like the home, like the education, like the car [pages turning]. If those are the things that you want to do. But let's say that like most of us including myself, you may have had a slip at some time. Let's say that okay, there was a slip and you might -- you know, you may need a little help getting it back together. That's when you want to make sure you make your payments on time. You want to make sure that you contact your creditors. Make arrangements. You know, you can get it back together. Just because you have a slip does not mean it has to stay not in the best of shape or not in the shape you would like it forever. It is possible to rebuild. You just have to take it one step at a time. Next slide please. All right. If you want more information on how to use money these websites can be of help to you. >> Ray Sabula: Okay, the first one is www.realeconomicimpact -- that's one word, real economicimpact.org and the second one is www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/i -- I'm sorry, /index.html. >> Dawana Mitchell: Next slide. Let's see. Financial independence; is it possible for me? Hm-mm. I'm trying to remember which section we're on. If this is my section, or if this is Terri's section. Next slide please. I'll be able to tell you after I see the next slide. Let's see. Financial independence is absolutely possible. You can have the good job, the good career, and the self-supporting future. I know it's hard. I know that it's hard work and it takes planning, and education, and support from Social Security and other resources. I -- believe me, I've been there. I know it's hard. It can take a while. We're not talking about an instantary thing. I think it's a quote from Margaret Thatcher; she said, "You have to plan your work and work your plan." That's exactly what we're talking about. You have to just go ahead and plan your work and then work your plan. And it may just take a bit of sticktoitiveness -- to borrow a word -- to get there. But it is more than possible to get there. Next slide please. All right. On that note I believe that I will turn it over to my lovely friend and colleague Miss Terri Udermolen. >> Terri Udermolen: What are you turning over to me Dawana? I thought it was Ray at this point [laughter]. >> [Multiple Speakers]. >> Ray Sabula: All right. Ray is going to take over I guess from both lovely women [laughter]. Dawana, you gave me all kinds of things to think about and, you know, I'm thinking about people who are thinking this is just way too much and it's not. It really isn't. She meant -- you know Dawana mentioned payday loans and those little check cashing stores. If you're suing those you're spending a lot of your monthly income just to get a check cashed. If you decide today that you don't want to do that anymore your first step should be to go to your local credit union. Those people are phenomenal at helping you set up accounts, teaching you how to use them, and you will probably save 20% of your monthly income. That's the first part of building assets. It may be scary and it may seem hard but we're not asking you to jump in and buy a new car and buy a house tomorrow. We're asking you to just think about what you're doing and stop Starbucks once a week, or don't go to Godiva Dawana [laughter]. And put that $5 in that credit union. It's that easy to start. Now for more information on Social Security work incentives we've got the plan to achieve self-support which is almost a way to begin to amass money and funds in order to attain a vocational goal. If you need training -- you know, whether it's technical training, whether it's formal educational training; Social Security will let you set aside money -- this is an SSI program -- but will let you set aside some money that goes above the current resource limits so that you can use that money to spend on things that are related to that work goal. So if somebody out there wants to become a Kindergarten teacher we've got a way for you to do it. If somebody out there wants to become a truck driver we've got a way for you to do it. Want to be a plumber, an electrician? We can make that happen. And you know, and those past plans are progressions. It can take quite a while. You move at your own pace to fulfill the plan and at the end you have a job, you have a career which will allow you to become financially independent. And I want to give you a website to look at -- just look at it and play with it. It doesn't cost you a cent to look and explore and its www.edi.cornell.edu/pass and that's going to get you an interactive website that will allow you to consider what you might want to do and actually build a pass plan very intuitively. It's a very -- you know, I have to congratulate the web team and my colleague Ed Lopez who built that site because it's phenomenal, and we've got hundreds of people who are using it to build on passes. I also want to mention that we do have other archives that are available to you. You know today we're talking about financial stability. Terri mentioned some of the programs that you might be receiving benefits from. Some of the work incentives. What is an [inaudible]? Well, if you look in the archives that we're going to -- that these webinars are all posted in, you can access the other presentations that were made an we have some basic presentations in there as well that discuss all of the work incentives that are available, and I'm going to read that for you again. You can look at those and listen to those webinars at www.edi.cornell.edu/m-wise-webinars.cfm. So you can get some more basic information, or as we like to say all the time, this is a no wrong door program. You can contact just about anybody to get into this program. When you want to consider work, when you to just get some information, about what work will do to your current situation. And remember what Terri said, it's only going to make your current situation better and richer. But when you start; we're looking at an employment team -- you know, that's you, that's your support network meaning maybe a family member, maybe a spouse, maybe a counselor. It's a benefits planner. It might be the VR agency in your state or an employment network. You can start anywhere but if you want to speak to an expert to get information or to get the ball rolling call the Ticket to Work helpline at 1-866-968-7842, or for TTY users 866-833-2967. You want to do something and not even talk to anybody; socialsecurity.gov/work. You can read the blog, you can get all of the information you need about returning to work. You can watch other success stories from people like Robert. There are some great success stories about people who have decided yes, this is worth the risk and succeeded, and succeeded. And I need to tell you, you know, I don't work for Social Security but have been doing this for a long time. Social Security wants these programs to work. So all you're going to find is support and planning support. If you want to start by contacting an employment network, or the state VR agency in your state that's a perfectly acceptable way to start, as well. But when you start making contact with all of these members of your employment team it's important that you stay connected with them. You are the boss of these people. You run the team. We are not here to tell you "Terri, you are going to be a truck driver." You know, "Dawana, you're going to be a first grade teacher. You can't get strawberries at Godiva anymore." You know, it's not up to us to tell you what you want to do. We can help you decide by asking you some questions as to what you might be interested in, but this is a team that reacts to your questions, your wants and your desires. Now, before we get to the questions I did mention at the beginning this is part one. Next time we're going to start -- I think we mentioned the Ticket to Work program and IDA's are going to be discussed next time. The Ticket to Work program is another valuable asset that will help you build that employment team. IDA's; individual development accounts is free money wanting out there. You know, if you took that $5 a week, you could turn that into $10 a week very, very easily by finding an IDA in your area. So there's some really good information and the earned income tax credit. You know, lots of people that we work with tell us that well great, I know that I'm going to gross $1,000 a month but they're taking taxes out of that. And that's the truth. We all pay taxes. But with the earned income tax credit that is geared toward lower wage workers [door closes] and sometimes -- you know I'm thinking that it's getting up there where it's middle wage workers, as well -- you can get not only all of your FICA tax back but a credit towards those taxes. So you may actually get more money back. You know, we can get you in contact with people who can provide you with tax preparation services at no cost. And you can register online for that webinar, part two at www.chosework.net/wise or give Jamie a call at 866-968-7842. She'll personally help you register; every one of you. Or for TTY at 866-833-2967. And now I want to take some of those questions. So Dawana and Terri are you ready for me? >> Dawana Mitchell: Absolutely. >> Terri Udermolen: Yes. >> Ray Sabula: All right. I've got one person who says reporting to Social Security is a real bugaboo. We're given a number but that's it. How do I prepare for the call and what information should I have on hand? >> [Multiple Speakers]. >> Dawana Mitchell: I was going to say do you want that question. >> Terri Udermolen: Yes. My recommendation would be that you make reports -- don't call the 800 number except to create an appointment. And -- the Social Security Administration is going to want to see your receipts for out of pocket expenses that we talked about. If you actually go to the Social Security office with your paystubs if you have an appointment you can get a receipt right there and keep track of that. The 800 number is valuable service, but they don't make decisions about work activity. So it is really important that you do this -- that you know who you talk to, that you work with a local office. And you might even be able to setup a phone appointment and send in your wages with the evidence of the expenses that you've had. But whatever you do you can also do it by mail. You could mail it to the local office. If you mail anything make sure you've got your social security number in there because remember working in a field office and we'd get letters and it would be the person's first name and no social security number [chuckle] and we wouldn't know who it went to. So it's not -- it is a challenge but I would not recommend you use the 800 number to report wages except, to setup and appointment to talk to somebody else. >> Ray Sabula: Yeah and Terri I think that -- when you're talking about keeping receipts, keeping copies of things; this is a trip to the dollar store. You know? And buy an expando folder, buy some pens, buy a pad of paper, so that when you go to Social Security all of your receipts for those [inaudible] are in one place. All of your wage stubs are in a place. All of the receipts that Social Security gets you are in another part of that folder and you have paper available to you to find out, and write down the names of who you spoke with that day. Record keeping is going to be very, very important and it's not a big deal. It's not a scary thing at all. It's just a trip to the dollar store to spend $4 or $5 on supplies and you're all set to do that. How about this one. Are there any EN's that are completely online? Transportation is a big issue for me. >> Terri Udermolen: There are employment networks that serve across the country and they may be by phone. I don't know if -- Dawana do you if there are any that are just online? >> Dawana Mitchell: That I don't know but I do -- I suspect it would be one of the national ones. You can always go to the website and check it out and see if you can locate one that way. With the find help tool. You could also call the Ticket to Work helpline, and ask one of their knowledgeable customer service representatives. I'm sure they can get you on the road to finding what you're looking for. >> Ray Sabula: Yeah. And, you know, I think also it depends on the services that you need. Because if you're looking at somebody who's completely online; if you're talking about getting a resume put together, getting some job leads? You know, then maybe that's the way to go. But I don't think you should discount the potential that there are employment networks out there who would come to you. Because I know -- you know I'm right now in New York, in rural western New York, and there are EN's that will do home visits because people are trying to setup their home businesses at home because they're homebound for some other reason. So it's not beyond the pale and I think contacting those experts at the Ticket to Work helpline is a great way to find that information. What if there's no EN in your area? >> Dawana Mitchell: Are you talking about physically in your area, or are you talking about serving your area? Because there are... >> Ray Sabula: I don't know. That's... >> [Multiple Speakers]. >> Dawana Mitchell: Okay. Well then let me take it a couple different ways. While there may not be an EN physically in your area, there may be an EN that is perhaps physically located in another state that serves your area, that serves remotely, that serves via phone or perhaps it has a satellite office or something. I mean just because they are not physically in your area does not mean that they are unable to serve you. Just try -- you have to try to have an open mind about this. Think about the services that you want. I know that face to face may be the service delivery method that you're thinking of, but there may be other ways to serve you just, as well. That maybe that phone conversation would work just as well. As you can tell I'm a pretty lively person and just in case you had any doubt I'm just as lively in person as I am right now. Matter of fact the people who know me would probably tell you I'm a little bit -- possibly a little bit more lively and occasionally a bit too much. But so just try to -- I know that you may have a perception of how you want to be served, but try not to limit yourself so much that you're missing an opportunity, or that perhaps you're missing a chance to build a relationship with an excellent service provider who would be the team member that you would need to get you where you need to go. >> Ray Sabula: And I think that everybody should remember that every state VR agency is also an EN. So there's always going to be somebody that can help you and just to remind you again, as Dawana said earlier, go to that find help link on socialsecurity.gov/work. All of the EN's are listed and all of the zip codes that they cover are listed. So you'll be able to find who serves your zip code and begin that way. Remember when you're looking for an EN you are, basically shopping, and you're interviewing them. So if you want someone who is going to do a home visit call a few of them and see if somebody can do that. If you want somebody who will talk to you, talk to a few of them. Find out who you're going to work best with. There are many, many ways of doing this but remember that you are the boss, and you are basically hiring this person. You need to get along with this person as a team member or this relationship is going to have a tough time. So remember, look around, shop around. Kick the tires if you will. Okay, Terri I think this is a good one for you. If you start a job but your disability calls for you to be out what happens? Some disabilities are tough to call when they're going to impact your ability to work. >> Terri Udermolen: That's always a challenge and it -- you know, the what happens is a pretty broad answer. You may be able to -- depending on how long you have to be out you may be able to have an accommodation from your job that they would keep your job for you. The question is what happens to your Social Security benefits? If you're receiving SSDI and you go to work and your benefits are suspended because of work; if you've been working for a long time and making money there's a protection called "the expense period of eligibility." The last three years after your trial work period I was talking about earlier, and this is called a reinstatement period. Let's say you work -- you work for a couple of years, something happens. Your disability kicks in and you're going to have to be off work, you lose your job. What do you do? You can go to the Social Security Administration; take your last paystub. Say look, my work has ended. This is -- it's ended because of my disability and we can start your checks back up. Even after that extended period of eligibility there's a protection called "expedited reinstatement" that lets people whose benefits have been terminate because of work come back to the Social Security Administration; say I lost my job, I'm unable to work because of my disability and I want to request expedited reinstatement. We make a decision about whether or not you still have a disability, but during the six months that -- or up to six months you can get provisional payments while Social Security's making that decision. So it's not like the first time you applied when they had to wait for them to wait to make a decision in your favor before you get any money. And these provisional payments are yours. Even if they find -- Social Security finds that you're better and can't pay you benefits, you would not be overpaid these provisional payments. SSI is even easier for people if there's a break in work because very often if you're -- I'm getting feedback and it's distracting me. I'm sorry. Very often if you're working and earning a decent wage you still have Medicaid under SSI. You can get right back on benefits if you have to. If something happens and you stop working. So there are protections out there to help you if something like that happens. As far as your job, that's going to be between you and your employer. And it dos happen. It happens that sometimes it causes people to lose their employment. There are protections in the law there, as well that -- Family Medical Leave Act; FMLA allows people to be off of work for up to 12 weeks without -- it is without pay but it is with protection. So there's -- there are protections out there. >> Ray Sabula: Yeah, I think that's the name of the game right now is safety nets. Almost everywhere you turn if you ask a question what will happen; we're going to respond with a program that provides a safety net for you. And as Terri mentioned that last one, expedited reinstatement happens after you've been terminated. So even after you've been terminated because you go to work there's still another safety net. So I think we've tried to make this return to work journey as safe as humanly possible and again, everybody wants it to work. We want you to be successful. And that's pretty much going to do it. I'm going to give you some more information, some more phone numbers and some more websites before we sign off. For those of you who did not get your questions answered or had very specific questions about your own situation please call the Ticket to Work helpline at 866-968-7842 or for TTY 866-833-2967 [sirens]. If you're exploring and just want some basic information without talking to somebody socialsecurity.gov/work. If you want to continue to get some information you can like us on Facebook; http://www.facebook.com/chosework. And if you are part of the Twitter generation you can tweet, or be tweeted and get information that way; http://www.twitter.com/choseworkssa. And I'd like to thank Mike for making everything happen in the background. For Jaime for getting those questions to me and most importantly Terri and Dawana, for providing us with some great information and remember, part two is coming on the 24th of this month. Register for that session at www.chosework.net/wise and come back and hear more information from Terri and Dawana. Thanks a lot ladies and we will... >> Dawana Mitchell: Thanks a lot. >> Ray Sabula: ...and we'll see you all next time. >> Terri Udermolen: Thanks. >> Bye-bye. [Rustling and phone hanging up]. [ Silence ]