>> [Inaudible] and we'll start over again. This is Ray Sepula from Cornell Universities Employment Disability Institute and I want to welcome you to today's session. We have a very interesting topic today. We're talking about working from home and using your ticket to work and the social security work incentives to accomplish that. Now, working from home's not new. Some of us have been doing it -- I've been doing it for 12 years now. Jamie sometimes does it. A lot of people work at home. There are lots of things with the Social Security Administration and the ticket to work program are going to be able to do to provide you with some assistance. Not only with the systems trying to line up an employment relationship that will allow you to work from home, but to get some of the equipment that you might need to do that as well. So we have a bunch of great people with us today and we'll talk -- I'll introduce you to those folks as we get into the session. But right now you are on a webinar platform and you can see the box in front of you right now. We're talking about the audio console -- the webinar console that's in the right hand side of your screen. And we want you to participate in today's session. Some of you have already found that question and answer box because it's been very, very busy. But if you do have a question you can find the Q and A box, click open, click the little arrow next to the Q and A box and it's going to open the box up. At the bottom you will be able to type in your question, hit send and it's going to appear on Jamie's desktop. Now, Jamie's going to forward those questions to me. We're going to let our speakers do their show today and then we're going to stop for some questions for them. Then I'll continue and at the end we'll stop for questions also. Now there are hundreds of you out there. So I can assure you that we will not be able to get to all of your questions. However, we're not gong to leave you hanging. We'll provide you with information to get those questions answered. Now you have automatically been connected to today's webinar by your speaker and system in your computer. If you do want to use the phone, go up to the audio conference button and you will be able to click use phone. When you click I will call in, it's going to provide you with today's phone number and the access code that you need to use your telephone. And if there is a storm somewhere out there, you might loose that connection. So we want you to be able to access that number, as well. Now that phone number today is toll-free. It is 1-855-749-4750 and the access code is 640-869-115. And I'll repeat that in just a minute. We do want to talk a bit about accessibility. We try very, very hard to to make our webinar sessions accessibly to everybody. If you do have a problem with today's session, any type of problem at all, we want to know about it. So if you tell us about the issues you're having -- if you have any issues please let us know about it and more importantly than just telling us about the issues that you're having, if you know of a way that we can fix it, if you know of a program that we can purchase, if you know of another platform that works better just let us know. Those suggestions help us make our product better. And we always look forward to that. Again, the webinar telephone number today, if you are using a phone or have to use a phone, is 855-749-4750. The access code is 640-869-155. Closed captioning today is at www.ilr.cornell.edu /edi/captions .cfm?activty_id=4598. Now all of these numbers are being put into the chat box that's in your webinar console, by Jaime as we speak. Now, you received a copy of today's PowerPoint presentation and an accessible PDF format, along with that link for captioning with the confirmation and access letter that you received. So if you don't have it, don't worry about it. Because we'll be able to get it to you later on. The webinar presentation, the transcript and the audio recording will be archived. We try to do our best to get these archives up in two weeks. So you'll be able to review the information or listen in again, or refer a friend, and they will be listed at www.ilr.cornell.edu/ edi/m-wise-webinars.cfm. We will as I said, have a question and answer period. If you want to ask a question, use the Q and A box as we said. If you do want to use the chat box, that's okay. But it's easier for us if you use the Q and A box. If you don't -- can't -- or you can't -- can't use either, please feel free to email. You can send an email to webinars@choosework.net and we'll receive those via email. We'll be able to pose some of those questions. If you're -- have a question that comes up after we're finished you can always email your questions to support@chooseworkttw.net and we'll be sure that you questions get answered via email. Now, today we are going to talk about working from home. And we have Paula Vieillet and Lisa Seeley from My Employment Options and they're going to talk about why -- why should you choose to work from home. Why would you? You know, I know from my personal, you know, experience why I choose to do that, and why I continue to choose to do that. But there are lots of considerations to be made. Then we're going to talk about the factors to consider when you're thinking about working from home. What does it mean? I mean it does actually mean you're at home and you have to have some furniture is moved. You know, you need a dedicated workspace. We'll talk about all of that. And working from home. How do you separate your on the job time from your everyday home life? These are really significant questions when you're at home. And at some point I can share my experience with you as well, and how I do these things. As well as the types of equipment. We talk about how Social Security can help you succeed in working from home. What kind of equipment are you going to have to have? How are you going to get that stuff? The work incentives are going to help a little bit. You know, they're actually going to help a lot a bit and they'll be very, very helpful in getting you some of the equipment that you need. Unless you find and get matched up with a great employer who provides you with it all. We're going to talk about other resources. Again, there are hundreds of you out there. We want you to have all of your questions answered. But we're not going to have time to do that so we're going to talk to you about other resources that you can use to get those questions and -- those questions answered if we don't have time or get to your specific question. And after Paula and Lisa are finished we'll take a short break for questions and then we'll finish up the end of the session with questions as well. Now before we let Ben talk to you, I have some questions for you. And they're very short questions but they help us know how you heard about us, so we can do better outreach. How many of you are actually out there and little things like that. And who's listening. So the first question that I want to ask you is how did you learn about today's Wise event? Was it via email, Facebook, or Twitter? A website? A family, or friend, or some other manner? Just make a selection. We'll give you some time to get that going. It's not -- these are not questions you can get wrong, so don't worry about that. The answers are coming in pretty quickly. All right. I'm going to close that down and I have to count to 20 because it's making me wait 20 seconds today. That gives you guys a little bit more time to get your answers in. There is some really, really fine participation people and we really appreciate it. When everybody [inaudible]. Okay, today we want to know what you're interested in hearing about. Are you looking for information on the Ticket to Work, work incentives for SSI recipients, work incentives for SSDI recipients. Information about employment networks and VR services or something else? Now if you do check something else, if you check that other box, drop a note into the chat box and let us know what it is you want to hear about. Because we view some of those suggestions in the past to build specific suggestions. And we've got lots of people -- lots of people clicking away. All right, I'm going to shut that one down. You have another 20 seconds to go before you won't be able to make a choice. Eight seconds left. All right, and we're going to move on to number three. Open the pool. What is your gender? Male or female? Oh Jamie, that was a tie. We generally see the women entering first. Last time we had the men answer first. But this was a virtual tie today. All right. We'll close that down. You have to wait 20 seconds. 10 seconds. And we'll go on to question four. What is your age? Are you 18 or younger? 19 to 25? 26 to 40? 41 to 55? 56 to 65, or 66 and older? It looks like we've got a really, really age appropriate group in this discussion too. That's really -- that's really good. You have another 15 seconds. Okay. And the last question. We know that some of you out there may be watching your screen alone. But some of you might have other people watching with you. So other than yourself, how many people are with you today? I was going to say, I know there are a couple of people that did that among [laughter] the people watching. This gives us a good idea of actually how many people are participating today. And we have 15 seconds before we're done. Seven seconds. All right, thank you very much for that. We had a lot of participation and that's really going to help us in the future. So Mike, if you could roll Ben's video. That would be great. [ Silence ] [ Music and Video ] [ Music ] [ Silence ] Okay, Thanks, Mike. Yeah, Ben's story, although it was a cartoon is very true. That's what we're going to talk about is your journey to work and how we can help you with that journey to work. And we want to start talking about you. Now why would you choose to go to work? Earning more money is a great motivator. You know, Social Security benefits are a wonderful thing. SSI benefits are a wonderful thing if you need them. But I can assure you, and you know as well as I do, that they're not providing you with everything that you need and earning more money will just help improve your life. Gaining independence. Now gaining independence comes in two forms. You're going to gain independence from the agencies that you're now dependent upon. So that you no longer have to report to them. You know, when you move, when you go to work, when you get married. You know, when you change your living arrangements. You know, it also gives you independence for greater decision making. The fact that you are out there working out in the community with more money gives you independence to make greater decisions about how you want to live. Where you want to spend that money. Meeting new people is a big, big part of this. Never underestimate the social aspects of work. Now you may think that's kind of strange because we're talking about working from home today. So how are you going to meet people? You will meet people. Jaime and I have been working together for years now and we've never met. But we're pretty good friends. You know, because we're communicating and working together we a lot. That type of communication is much stronger than you ever imagined. And every once in a while you may just have to, like I am now -- you know, I am at Cornell on campus now. I work six and a half -- I work and live six and a half hours away. I met lots of people because of this job and I work from home. Learning new skills from home. Learning new skills. You know, whether you have skills that you can bring to a job, whether you need new skills to be able to obtain the job. You're always going to be learning. You know, I didn't know how to do a webinar [laughter] before I started working at Cornell. I had no idea what a webinar was. So we're constantly learning through our job life. And again, if you need new skills we can help you get education. We can help you get the tools you need to do the job and learn how to use those tools. Be they monkey wrenches or computers. Now there are a couple of types of Social Security and it's very, very important that you know what type of benefits that you're receiving right now. The first one that we're going to talk about is Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI. It is an insurance-based program and it's paid through a trust fund. And that trust fund is supported by FICA taxes. So as you work in the past and taxes were withheld and paid into the FICA system you were buying insurance for social security purposes should you need it. The same money that you were using to buy retirement benefits was buying you disability insurance. And as somebody begins to work they begin to accumulate more and more insurance credits. There is no resource limit or no access limit so people can have as much money as they want. Because this is a bought and paid for insurance policy. The other program is Supplemental Security income or SSI, and this is a needs based program. The question for SSI is do you have a disability? Do you fit into one of the categories, which is age -- being over 65, blind, which means blind for Social Security purposes. Meeting their definition of blindness. Or disabled, and disabled is the same definition that is used in the SSDI program. And it is a definition specific to both Social Security programs. So it's not enough to have your doctor say, "Yes, you're disabled and you can't work." Social Security needs to make that decision according to their standards. Now the SSI program as I said is needs based program. So you also have to be poor. It pays minimal benefits and allows you to have very limited resources. And the work incentives to help people get out of poverty because people on SSI are living in poverty, are phenomenal. And we can help get you out of poverty very quickly. Now there is one more group of people and those are the people that we call concurrent beneficiaries. Those are the people who receive both SSDI and SSI. And basically what happens in this situation is that the SSDI benefits that's payable because of your work history is lower than the base SSI rate for your state. In that case Supplemental Security Income really is a supplement and brings you up to the SSI limit. Now why is it important to know? It's important to know because the work incentives are different. The work incentives for SSDI apply only to SSDI. The work incentives for SSI apply only to SSI. And if you have both benefits all of these work incentives are going to happen at the same time. So it's very, very important for you to understand what benefit you have and how those benefits work when you begin that journey. Okay, and I am going to turn this over to our speaker. And I'll let her introduce herself and tell us a little bit about herself. And she's going to talk about why choose to work from home. So take it away. >> Hello. >> Hello there you are. >> Oh, there we go. >> We just got you unmuted [laughter]. >> [Laughter] Okay great. Hi this Paula Vieillet. I'm President of Employment Options and I have with me Lisa Seeley. At least I think she's be joining us shortly. Who is -- she'll tell you a little bit about herself and you'll have an opportunity to see a video about her. Our company Employment Options is entirely virtual and so all of the work we do with -- with ticket holders, those are people who are on SSI or SSDI, you all have a ticket. We call you ticket holders. All the services we provide are over the phone and through the Internet, which is something totally different. So we both have quite a bit of experience in working from home and there's a lot of reasons why to choose to work from home. Next slide. Lisa? >> Hi, I'm Lisa Seeley. I am a work from home vocational counselor at Employment Options. And it's really important to think, you know, why choose to work from home. So you want to make sure that working from home, you know, is the right fit for you. You know, you want to meet your work goals. When you do work from home you -- you do need to be real independent. You can't have somebody, you know, over your shoulder having you -- or telling you, you have to be here, you have to do this. You know, you have to set work goals and follow through with them. Being able to work from home is a great, you know, opportunity. You get to work, you know, at home. You're in a really non-stressful environment. You're in your own safe zone. So saving, you know, money with gas and, you know, transportation costs is pretty big. You know? I don't know -- you know, here in the State of New York gas is up to $3.63 a gallon. So you know, you do save a lot of money being able just to work from home and not, you know, pay for transportation costs. You know, you can transition from benefits to financial independence. That, you know, when you guys view my story that was my main goal. You know, I was very appreciative of the whole, you know, SSDI and Social Security for providing me with, you know, benefits when I needed them. But you know, I -- I still needed something more and I needed to feel, you know, independent and, you know, I have two kids as well so, you know, transitioning from benefits to financial independence, you know, that was a huge -- a huge success that, you know, I went through. So -- and, you know, you can also seek opportunities in different fields of work. I mean there's definitely quite a few options out there, you know, working from home. You know, we have customer service based positions. We have tech support. [Inaudible] positions, nursing. There's work from home nursing believe it or not. Paula you want to add anything? >> Yeah, thank you. I want to kind of touch on what Lisa was talking about. You know, it's a less stressful work environment. That's true for many people. For many people just the stress of having to try to get up and get dressed and -- and to go to work, for a lot of people that's physically difficult. It may be emotionally difficult. So work from home is very appropriate for people with those types of challenges. You may live in a remote area where there really isn't much work around or in a depressed area where there's just not that many opportunities, so work from home really to me equalizes the playing field for people with disabilities and people not with disabilities. When I talk to you over the phone -- and Lisa worked for me for a couple of years before I met her -- and I -- I didn't know what she looked like. She could have been using crutches, she could have been working out of her bed and I honestly would not have known. So I really find that working at home helps equalize the playing field for people with disabilities because I absolutely cannot discriminate against hiring you based upon any visual disability at all. And, you know, there's a big element of that where people get discriminated against because, you know, you might have an oxygen tank. Maybe the oxygen tank would be okay when you're working at home. You know? Maybe it wouldn't depending on the job you had. There are opportunities in different fields of work. It -- we're seeing more and more opportunities as work at home becomes more and more accepted in today's society. That said, I'm going to go back a little bit to that less stressful work environment. It's -- stress in my opinion is -- is personal. So what's stressful for one person might not be stressful for another person. It is stressful for some people to work from home. You don't have anybody over your back, looking over your back although if you're working for -- you know, like one of the customer services companies that we do a lot of placement with, you know, your computer bings you and that's how you receive calls. So it's really not that different than being in a call center. Except you're in the comfort of your home. But you do have to be able to structure yourself a little bit and be able to separate work from family and for some people that's a little bit difficult. You do make friends over the phone. I have the best team ever. We just all love each other and maybe it's because [laughter] we don't work together in the same office all the time. Could -- could be that. but -- but it is a little bit different so if you are considering working from home you'll have to realize that if you're one of those people that goes stir crazy at home and I'm one of them. Even though I work from home I -- I manage to put in my exercise and I structure my time to include with -- with people outside of the home. Because I'm physical able and emotionally able to get out of the house. Next slide. So factors to consider then you think about working from home. Lisa. >> Well I mean these are the types of -- you've got to think about the type of work that, you know, you'd be doing. I kind of touched base a little bit about, you know, work from home positions that we place our clients with. We do a lot of customer service placements. Basically, you know, you'd be taking inbound calls and you know, assisting people with whatever needs they be. Whether it's, you know, a cellular phone company that hires you or if it's a cable company that hires you. Depending on whatever service, you know, they provide, that's what you would assist the customer with. We have, you know, tech support positions, which, you know, a lot of clients get kind of scared when they hear tech support. You definitely don't need to have a computer science degree or anything like that to be able to handle these positions. You would be the basic trouble-shooting agent. So, you know, you would be called tier one tech support. Again, you would just -- you know, our companies would provide scripts that you would, you know, train off of. They do provide virtual training so it's a good six to eight weeks of virtual training that you train in your own home with and you get to know the equipment very well. And it's very repetitive, so when you do taken down calls for people calling in that need assistance with their -- their various technology, you know, you're going to seeing the same trouble shooting scripts over and over again. But if -- you know, it can get embedded into your mind pretty quickly. We do have sales positions, which include inbound sales and outbound sales. There is a big difference. Inbound sales is a little bit more easier to, you know, deal with because you'd be taking in bound calls and just, you know, landing contracts or accounts for people who are interested in, you know, doing so. That's why they're calling in. The outbound sales, you know, it's a little bit more stressful because you are making outbound calls. You know, getting people to sign up for various products or services, things like that. So you know, you definitely have to be able to take rejection easily when you do your sales positions just because, you know, especially in this economy, you know, a lot of people don't want to sign up for services or products. But I have clients who are extremely successful at sales. You know, there are companies that give hourly wages, plus bonus incentives. So I have a client who, you know, has 20 years under her belt in insurance sales and she actually works for a company, you know, making outbound sales, getting people to upgrade their cable packages. And she makes $160 a day just in bonus incentives. Plus she gets her hourly rate. So, you know, you can be super successful at sales as long as, you know, you have that -- that background with you. So... >> [Inaudible]. >> [Inaudible]. Go ahead Paula. >> Yeah, so just a little bit more about some of the types of jobs we're seeing. We're seeing more and more work from home. The kind of opportunity that was talking about where he's working at home from a company; they're out there. But you know, they're the onesies and twosies where, you know, once company -- or he may have gone and worked in the office first, and then was able to negotiate a three day working from home. So there's all sorts of opportunities out there. We are on the cutting edge. We keep an eye out all the time for what's getting out there. Our company tends to work with the larger call centers. A lot of the cable companies, telephone companies, gaming tech support. You know, the games that people play. These are the kinds of jobs that we're helping people find through these large, large call center operations that handle several different clients at the same time. Some of the other kinds of jobs that we're seeing a lot of is your, you know, like Lisa said, your basic tech support, reservations. There's kind of some fun stuff. Wasn't there a fashion one where you'd go to a website and help people pick out clothing ,or answer questions about this type of material on this type of shirt [laughter], you know, for some of the more expensive brands? >> The fashion advisor -- customer service fashion advisor. Yeah. >> Right. >> They helped basically build outfits. You know, and -- kind of neat. >> So they're not all just billing. You know, a lot of them are billing questions. I'm calling up about my -- my telephone bill. And it's -- you know, there -- we do have a variety. We see a decent variety of customer service types of calls. Things that you're looking at medical transcription you're going to have to have experience in it already. It's very difficult to get an online job if you don't have proven experience out there with -- you know, with a company. Same with medical billing. We have a lot of people who contact us, "Oh we want to go to school for medical billing." If you don't get an internship or you've never worked out in the field in medical billing I am unable to help you. There's just -- they all want that experience. So usually what these online jobs -- they want some related experience. Especially in the medical where they're very picky about it. But even -- even in customer service in order to get hired you -- you do have to have some level of experience. I think we'll go into that a little bit later. Okay? Lisa. >> Okay, so these are a few things that, you know, you need to think about when you are actively looking -- you know, especially for work from home positions. You have to do a little bit of research on the company itself. You want to see, you know, how long has that company been in business? If you see they're brand new and just opened in 2013, you know, you don't know if you're going to have that job stability. You know, sometimes new companies they start running and then stop. So, you know, you kind of want to go with a company that's established for a good couple of years. You know. Another thing that I advise my clients on is you never want to pay to get a job. So you want to see, you know, check out how many fees are involved with applying for a position. If you do see that you need to pay for, you know, send them a credit card number or, you know, you have to write a check and you're not quite sure exactly what for, you know, that could be -- that's a red flag. You -- you don't want to pay to get employment. I mean there are, you know, things like background checks that you may need to pay for, which is legitimate. You know, some companies don't cover background checks. But you would need to pay for that. But for anything else, you know, you really don't need to pay for -- to find work. You also want to double check and see, you know, check is it a W2 position or if it's a 1099. W2 position means that your taxes are withheld with every pay period. 1099 positions are not. So you would be responsible for -- to pay the taxes at -- within each tax season. So 1099 positions are a little tricky just because you have to literally make like a savings account, and put like 20% of your income, you know, into that account so you have the money to be able to pay for your taxes. So you kind of have to do kind of a self-assessment and see, you know, which opportunity would be, you know, the best one for you. >> Right, and there's a little bit of a difference in -- in what a 1099 job is versus a W2 job. According to you know, the IRS. If you're a 10 -- if you're a W2 you -- you have set hours. If you're a 1099, you know, and it's more flexible hours. That's one of the things that I had to look at as a company, that if I'm 1099 then they don't have set hours. Or, you know -- that's -- you know, and I'm not a legal specialist so but -- but that's kind of what we're seeing a little bit. So the W2 positions that -- primarily the positions that we help ticket holders get are all with really good companies and most of these companies also have all sorts of other benefits. They have 401K's, they've got health insurance if you want it at a later date. They have -- you know, vacation and -- and those types of things. Now, 1099 you don't -- you don't see any of that. You don't get vacation. You don't get 401K's. You're -- you're pretty much on your own. Now -- and -- and you may not have guarantee of hours. A lot of times we'll see some side work out there. There's websites out there that -- like ODesk and they're all 1099 jobs and but -- I can't guarantee you always that these are always real good legitimate employers. I think you have to be a little bit more careful with that. It could be just somebody sitting in their house saying, "I really need a programmer to help me with this, but you don't know anything about them." So you do have to be a little bit careful with that. And one thing that I suggest that people do and we -- I think we have a video on our website about work at home scams, how to tell. If you want more information on it. But one of the things that I do is I'll just -- the search engine. I'll put in, you know, scam and the name of the company and see what comes up and if there's something that comes up then -- then you'll see right away that well, this -- this company might be a problem. So okay, I think we can -- working from home, getting the job. >> Okay, so what you do, you know, work from home you've got to take some steps. You know, you've got to prepare to get that position. So the first thing you need to do is, you know, draw up a resume. You really can't apply to a positions unless you have a resume and, you know, you want to make sure your resume is professional looking and, you know, depending on what position you're going for that's how you'd want to compose your resume's. So definitely if you're going for like a customer service position, you want to pinpoint your customer service experience. I know, you know, working from home a lot of -- no matter what position you go for, they definitely don't want to be for at least six months or a year of recent customer service experience. You definitely, you know, want to get your resume typed up. Make sure it looks professional, things like that. >> And I just want to -- I just want to interject that if you go to an employment network, most employment networks will help you with your resumes. So... >> Oh yeah. We can bang those out no problem [laughter]. So yeah, that's the most important part is basically your resume, because that's your -- you know, that is your key to getting a good job. That's -- on that piece of paper, that's your time to make yourself shine and look -- and sell yourself for that position. So once you get your resume composed, you know, you go ahead and complete the application process. And with work from home applications, you know, they -- they're pretty, you know, self-explanatory. You know, it's definitely you know just like a regular paper application except you're doing it, you know, online. The only difference is, you know, they do have you do certain assessments. So they can be pretty lengthy, you know, in process. You know, they can run from anywhere between 45 minutes up to a couple of hours depending on what they want to assess you on. They want to know what your computer skills are. Computer skills -- to be able to work from home you need to really be able to know the basic computer function. Such as the shortcuts on the keyboard, the F1 through the F12 button. You really need to know how to cut and paste. They will assess you on these things. If you need practice typing they do typing assessments. Normally, you know, the goal is 35 words per minute. That what most work from home companies are looking for. You know, there are a few that require maybe 25 words per minute, but you know, I -- I advise all my clients to get up to at least 35 words per minute just so that you can cover all those bases for all the typing requirements. So you really need to know how to type. Uploading resumes, uploading documents or downloading documents. That's really important to know. You know, because when you do get a work from home positions you're going to be uploading all the new paperwork. You know, you're going to be dealing with a lot of paperwork actually even though you are working from home. So to know how to upload and download files or documents, is going to be huge. Paula what other [inaudible]. >> Multiple -- you have to have multiple -- yeah, multiple browser windows open so you need to be able to go from one tab to another tab. You're gong to need to know how to clear your cookies. But other than that, you know, it's mostly just internet based -- most of the jobs that we see anyhow, and people worry about will I need Word? Do I need PowerPoint? Do I need Excel? You know, unless you're in an accounting position, that you find some kind of accounting position online, you're not going to need those types of skills in -- in your basic customer service type of job. Now equipment. The kind of equipment that we see that most people need is a computer. Some of the companies will go down to as low as 1gHz processor, 1gHz ram. But they're very rare. You -- you really need at least, you know, 2gig of ram. A lot of people are wanting to buy the Windows 8 computers. I think some of the companies are now getting up to speed with the Windows 8. But I personally wouldn't probably buy Windows 8. I -- I still think that some of our companies are more friendly with Windows 7 than Windows 8. But you actually have to buy that online. They're hard to find in the stores. So don't go out and buy the latest and greatest because I'm not sure that's [laughter] the case. At least not for the work and home job. >> It takes us time to catch up with like, recently technology [laughter]. So buying the latest and greatest of computers is actually not the best idea. >> [Laughter] People think they need them and then they get them and they're like we can't place you with that computer. So it -- we want -- for the most part -- but if the computer's more than six years old then you're probably going to need to upgrade it. You don't really need to worry about all the anti-virus stuff. You know, once you're working with a counselor we walk you through if there's something you need. You are going to need headsets. You are going to need maybe a USB headset and a headset to your phone. You're going to need a landline. You're going to need a landline phone. One that's, you know, hardwired. So those are things that you -- you're going to need cable. No satellite, no DirecTV, it has to -- no wireless. It has to be a direct connect cable. You want to talk about training Lisa? >> Yeah, you know, all of our work from home partners and -- you know, training is I'm going to say 85% virtual. I mean most of our work from home companies we deal with its all virtual training, which is all done in your home. We do work with a couple companies where, you know, you might have to train for, you know, two to four weeks at the call center itself, depending. But then, you know, you would transition over, you know, in production you would work from home. But training, you know, is usually all done virtually. So, you know, training is also paid for. So you do get, you know, paid training. So a lot of people enjoy that. You know, and -- you know, not to scare you but to prepare you. Training is definitely, you know, I find the hardest part of the position itself. You just take in a lot of information all at one time, but, you know, that's what, you know, vocational counselors are for. Is to help you, you know, get through that situation and help you with stress management and things like that. So it's... >> Okay. So we're going to fast-forward a little bit because I know we -- we're getting close to our time. >> Okay [laughter]. >> So -- I -- a lot of people think they need training and most of the time when I talk to people they don't need training. What they really need is to go sit at their computer. Maybe go do a little few online classes and -- and touch -- brush up your skills. You might want to go to your local library. They might have a computer class. If you don't have a computer at all, if you don't know how to use it at all then -- then, you know, you may need formal training. But most people can -- you know, you -- you -- again, the initial skill training when you begin to work from home, many times is paid for by the employer and -- and it's specific to the job. You know, you might need continued training or mentoring to refine your skills and that's something again an employment network can help you with. Or you may actually just get on the job. And other places you might be able to get training for. Everybody thinks they've got to go and be in a special class and it doesn't really matter how you get your skills. The big thing is you have them and so you might be able to get training from your families. Well from your employer if you get the job. From the state department of labor -- those are your American made job centers -- the one-stop centers. They have some training programs. If -- if you really don't have any computer skills at all then you probably are going to want to talk to your state vocational rehabilitation agency who have funds for training. And so again, if it's a customer service position you're looing for, the biggest training issues that we have is that you know how to get around on the computer, You know how to get around, open and close a browser. You know how to get on the internet. You know how to find something on the internet. You know how to clear you cookies. You don't need real fancy lots of programs because the work is all on internet-based programs. Next slide. So working from home on the job. So yay! You got hired [laughter]. >> So you got the job but now -- now -- now what can you expect? A lot of companies -- well, all the companies that I've been familiarized with perform background checks. They want to, you know, make sure that you don't have any misdemeanors or any felonies. You know, some background checks are a little bit more lenient than others. You know, if you are going in to a -- are going for a financial positions and they do find on your background check that you were arrested for theft. I mean obviously you're not going to pass that background check. Especially, with financial -- financial companies. Just because you know, it's -- it would be a hassle for them to hire you. You know, you just can't have anything like that. You know, like things that are like DWI's, you know, or maybe drug arrests. Things like that maybe wasn't more lenient. But, any violent crimes, or theft, or fraud, you know, that -- that would definitely disqualify you from a work from home position. >> Right and different companies -- I just want to add here different companies with these background checks, some companies go back seven years, some background -- some companies go back 10 years, but again, if it's one of those, you know, felonies for theft or violent crimes, they don't ever seem to go away and -- and the credit checks -- the reason why they're going the credit checks is because of you would be handling credit card information. And some big wig figured out that people who were having -- struggling financially sometimes are more likely to steal. I didn't make this up. And so they -- they do -- not all the companies we work with provide credit checks and they're not looking for -- what they're looking for is judgments against you. Whether you've -- you haven't paid a bill and you had a credit card bill and the credit card company finally got tired of -- of coming after you for the bill and so they just -- they just let it go. They just said, okay -- it's called a chargeback. And if you have four or five chargebacks, I can't -- these companies won't hire you. If you've got medical bills in collections they don't look at that. They don't look at bankruptcies. If you've had a bankruptcy, a couple years ago believe it or not that's not a problem. The problem is when you're in debt and you got all the collectors calling you and -- or when they have dismissed it when -- when they've -- they've issued you a chargeback and you can pull a free credit report to see what you've got, which is sometimes what we recommend for people when they're not sure. You want to continue Lisa? >> Sure can. You know, some of the work at home positions do require drug testing. It's not because of the company, it's because it's a request from their client. So you will -- you know, some of them do require the drug testing where you would need to go out. You know, they assign you a station or, you know, a place to go. So you need to have the drug test and submit it in a timely fashion, as well. You know, if something pops up where you do have to get legal documentation from your doctor, that wouldn't be a problem. So -- but, you know, some of these positions do required the drug testing. Also, you know, when you do get hired you do have new hire paperwork that you need to complete and when you do work from home, you have a lot of new hire paperwork just because they want to make sure you are who you say you are. So you're going to have to submit a lot of information such as, you know photo ID. You're going to have to do, you know I9 forms, W2's. You know all these different things. So and, you know, it -- work from home counselors can definitely assist you with organizing the paperwork and make sure that you're submitting it, you know, properly. Also when you work from home, a lot of misconceptions is that you're able to work, you know, whenever you want. That may be with 1099 positions but, you know, we basically stick with the W2 positions and you will have a set schedule. Okay? So when before you do accept the position you are able to view, you know, when the schedule will be to make sure that it fits your lifestyle. So you know, if you have small kids and they're at school all day, you probably would want to accept a position that would be, you know, like 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. -- 4:00 p.m. Something like that. So when you are hired you will have a schedule and you need to log in probably at least 15 minutes before your schedule -- before your set schedule. Just in case there are tech glitches -- you know, there are tech glitches all the time when you work from home. It's kind of like technology. I mean the same thing is if you were going out in the community you probably are going to have -- you're definitely going to have [inaudible] issues once in a while. Same thing with your computers. So you just want to be sure. So you just want to make sure, you know, that you log in a good 10, 15 minutes before your set schedule. You know, don't make doctors appointments during your -- your shift. I mean you're not able to -- when you are working during your set shift you need to be there every single minute. You can't even take bathroom breaks. So, you know, you have a set time when you're able to take your break. You do have lunches depending on your, you know, schedule. If you're part-time I don't think you get a lunch. But if you're full-time, you know, working eight hours, you do get a lunch. I recommend people tell your family and friends, you know, you're working. You know, don't come to the door if -- you cannot have any background noise whatsoever. All of your calls will be recorded and if they hear anything like doorbells, dogs barking, kids or, you know, anything like that you will be written up for it. So you want to make sure that you have, you know, childcare set up, pet care set up. You know, try to have your pet put, you know, on the other side of the house in a crate or whatever you need to be able to, you know, secure your work environment. >> So you -- you may have interruptions. So tell your family and friends about your work schedule. I know when I first started working at home everybody used to pop over and I couldn't get any work done and -- and so you're going to need -- what type of work environment do you need? You need quiet and private. Comfortable chair. I actually work on one of those -- those exercise balls. I like it better than a chair. It's better for my back. Good lighting and eliminate as many outside noises as possible. So we're going to hear something about Lisa now. Lisa told her story and it's -- this is a real ticket to work success story and I'm just really happy to have you meet Lisa. And so I guess I'll turn this back over to -- to Ray. >> Okay. And I'm going to turn it right over to Mike to let us -- let him cue up that video. [ Music ] [ Music and Video ] >> Okay. Thank you Lisa for sharing that story with us. Again, another success story. We will give you some more information about where you can find other success stories from people who have actually used their ticket to work to gain financial independence and Lisa's a perfect example of that and I have to say that it's the first time I've ever actually presented with somebody who went through the ticket program rather than just watching the video. So this is a great day for me too. So Paula if you want to finish and tell us about your company and if you could add to that a little bit about what an EN in general that would be helpful. >> Okay, great. Well, Employment Options is an employment network with the Ticket to Work administration and the wonderful thing about the Ticket to Work program is that you have a choice of employment networks to work with. It used to be you -- if you wanted to get employment services and help finding a job, the only place to go was your -- pretty much your department of vocational rehabilitation, and what happened is Social Security said, "Hey, we need to give -- we want to give consumers a choice." And they came up with this Ticket to Work program, so there's over 700 employment networks. Now, each employment network is a little bit unique. Some -- some meet with you in person and only work with you in person. Some are national, some are local. Some may specialize in -- in a different type of employment. There's all sorts. Some are larger, some are smaller. And each employment network is unique and what you need to do is -- is, you know, look and -- and check them out and assess what it is that you want to do. Now, our company, we specialize in work from home. And if you want to get services through us and you want work from home, you have to go to our website and apply on our website. And the reason for that is -- is that if you don't have the computer skills to apply online or -- or the equipment, you can -- you know, to apply online then we're probably not going to be able to help you get a job. You have to have that because that's what these work from home jobs require. Now, if -- if you do apply and you find -- and we find that you're probably not suited for work from home after we -- we speak with you or your equipment needs to be upgraded, we'll let you know. If we feel that you'd be better suited because of your -- your particular circumstances -- we feel that you'd be better suited to a local network or with the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation we will refer you to the place that we think would be your best bet. We -- you know, we can't help everybody but we do help a lot of people and if we find that, you know, you've got really good skills but that we feel like working in the community and not a work at home job would be a better option for you we will suggest that to you at that time. It -- in order to apply for jobs you visit our website, www.MyEmploymentOptions.com. If you're unable to use the computer and want to be evaluated for work at home in the community you can call us at 1-800-441-3114, 800-441-3114. And if you do apply online, you click apply on the gold bar. Option one is work from home application and then you know, we try to get back with you within 24 hours. But if we're real busy it can take up to four business days. And so, the other thing is if you are using JAWS, or screen readers, unfortunately the jobs that we have right now -- the work at home jobs that we have right now, they do not accept JAWS and they do not accept screen readers because the screen readers especially, unless you can figure out how to work it with your 60-inch TV, they have to have multiple windows open. You might have 10, 12 tabs open at a time on your browser window. So there are some limitations for work from home. Not that there might not be something out there if you are visually impaired or if you, you know, if -- but at this time our company hasn't been able to convince those employers yet that they really got to get things integrated with JAWS. So I -- I apologize and we're working on it, but right now those -- if you want to apply for work at home job you are going to need to be able to go through our application and -- and -- and in our application, just so you know we are going to request a typing test, we are going to request a -- a writing sample. We're going to have you put in all your computer specs like how big a gigahertz is your computer. We want you to find that thing and the reason for all these questions -- our screening is because working at home you have to be pretty independent and you have to be able to do this kind of thing. If you're having trouble filling out our application and it's not a computer glitch on our side, which does happen, but if you're having trouble filling out that application then, you know, then you may not be a good candidate for work from home because those are kinds of things you're going to be doing. Everything's online. So feel free to call us or for any other questions and we're just delighted to have been able to help with this live seminar and hope that -- the -- the -- you know, there's a lot of information that's been helpful for you. >> All right, thank you very much. Now we're going to have to move directly into the informational part of this session and I'm going to try to answer some of the questions that have been posted as we go through this. But how can Social Security help you with your goals to work at home? The Ticket to Work which is the basis of all of these benefits is free and voluntary. You all probably have a ticket. Some of you may have received one in the mail. Most of the tickets are now virtual. You're just eligible for them. You don't necessarily receive it in the mail. You don't need the ticket. But again, it's a free service and it's voluntary. You don't need to do anything about it. But it is there to help. And Lisa and Paula have given you some of the types of help that you can receive. Whether you're looking to increase your job hours right now or whether you're entering work for the first time. Now you can get a ticket to work if you are between the ages of 18 and 64. If you are age 18, you must have been determined to be a disabled adult. So there's a little bit of a step there that must be made. But once you have been determined to be a disabled adult you're eligible for a ticket. And the Ticket to Work representatives can help you understand this program and how it works for you. Whether it be a home employment situation or whether it be another job situation. We've mentioned home employment today. You know when we talked about that 1099, just for those of you who've asked the question, we are talking about self-employment. So this does relate to self-employment. You want to talk to somebody and get the feel of the landscape before you start, give a call at 1-866-968-7842 or if you're a TTY user 6 -- 866-833-2967. Or if you just want to explore in a really safe environment where you don't talk to anybody visit socialsecurity.gov/work. It's a very user-friendly website that will give you all of the information that you need. Now when you're ready to work how does this Ticket to Work program begin? If you're ready to earn more money the Ticket to Work program is going to help you improve that earning potential. You heard Paula talk about how that's going to work. You saw what happened to Lisa. This really does work. Do you need the personal fulfillment that comes from working? All I have to do is say, did you watch Lisa's video? It will provide you with the assurance and stability you need to feel confident while you pursue this employment. We are all there to help you. There will be a team of people behind you, assisting you through this process. Do you want to be able to get back on to your benefits if the job doesn't work out? Well, Social Security's thought about that. That used to be a big block for people. It's not anymore. There are very quick ways to get back on to benefits if things don't work out. Special work incentives have been developed for that very purpose. If you're just simply overwhelmed and don't know where to turn, the Ticket to Work is going to connect you with people, resources, and services, that you need. This is going to become your employment team. When we talk about an employment team I mean lots of people who are there to help and listen and help you move forward and succeed. Now, once you and your employment network -- that person who is in Paula's position or your state VR agency agree to your goal, whether it be self-employment, whether it be home-employment, whether it be a job out in the community; what you can do is get all kinds of help. Now this slide is really directed at self-employment but I'm going to turn it into a home-based employment. What do you need to set up your office? You saw Lisa's video. It looked to me like she had a room set aside as an office. That's what I have at home. She had a desk, she had a work -- a work station. Yeah, she had a computer that was dedicated to work. When I'm at home I have my work computer and if I want to play games and do Facebook, I have a personal computer. I have a home phone, I have a work phone. I am fortunate enough to have a room where I can leave and shut the door when I'm finished working. You know, how are you going to set that up? Where are you going to get that equipment? The ticket can help you do that. Support you when you start. I mean it's great that we can find people jobs and placement. But employment networks and potentially your state VR, but more employment networks, are there to help you survive getting to work. There is a lot of stress that comes with starting a new job. That's your employment team. We're here to help you. We're here to listen for that, and help you find funding or what you need to work at home. You need a desk, you need -- you need an exercise ball if you're Paula. You know, what do you need to make this work? Do you need a new phone line? Do you need a fax machine? Anything like that that your employer may provide for you or may not. But again we're talking about building an employment team. The EN or your state VR agency is most certainly part of that team. There are other people, benefits planners who can help you with the financial process of moving from benefits recipient to financial independence. You know, you might need to talk to a tax preparer, whether it be H&R Block or a tax service. You know, I have a person who helps me with my taxes every year. Speak with an expert. The Ticket to Work line has people who know how these programs work and they can start you to build -- start you with help building that employment team. And there again at 866-968-7842 or TTY at 866-833-2967. Learn more about the Ticket to Work program and those work incentives. We have a blog. You can listen to success stories, you can read success stories, you can watch success stories at socialsecurity.gov/work. Or you can find an employment network. If you decide working at home is what you want to do, you have an employment network now. Contact Paula. I was really happy to hear her say that if she's not able to help you, she will refer you to somebody who will be able to. That's a wonderful employment network. Or work with your VR agency. There are all different ways to start this program, to start your journey to work. None of them are the wrong way. Everyone is the right way. And once you do put that team together make sure you stay connected with your team. Because you are the boss of us. We do what you want us to. We are not telling you what your job's going to be or how you're going to do it. You know, you need to tell us what you want from life and what you want from this return to work journey. Now we're going to talk very quickly about some of the work incentives. Work incentives can be a very complex matter and again, I'm going to refer you to that socialsecurity.gov/work website so that you can find a benefits planner to help you juggle that and they will be part of your employment team, as well. Lots of great work incentives. Again, they're really, really good. They're designed to help you make more money, help you take that shot at work whether it succeeds or not. Help you test different types of jobs you may be able to do. And as you're earning more money you're going to save more money. And that is going to lead you to independence like we talked about at the very beginning. Now, the PASS plan is a great work incentive. If you receive SSI or you can come -- become eligible for SSI a PASS plan is going to let you set aside money. Remember we said SSI has that resource limit. It's $2,000 for a single individual, $3,000 for married couple. That's not a lot of money if you need to go to college to take a few courses. A PASS plan will let you save money above those limits to put towards your employment goal. So if you need -- Paula tells you you need some computer skills and you want to take a couple of computer training courses at your local community college, a PASS plan would be the way to allow you to save money to pay for that tuition. And you -- it's going to allow you to keep that SSI level the same while you are saving. PASS is a great thing. It will allow you to buy a computer to go to those computer classes so that you can do homework. This -- the possibilities are almost limitless provided you are using this plan to achieve a work related goal. It can help you pay for services to support you for working from home. There are lots of services that you may need. The Geek Squad from Best Buy being one of them that you might need to come in to help set up your network that you may need. Business equipment. You're going to need a computer and a desk and a chair. You know, it's the little things like the desk that you don't think about. You think about the computer but you don't think about setting up an office at home. Or for other goods and services to get that goal. You know, if you're employer is going to provide you with supplies, that's great. But if they're not then you may have to get some of those things on your own, and PASS is a way to help you get some of those supplies. Now, an EN or a VR agency or a social worker or a benefits specialist can help you set up a PASS plan. It has to be written for you. It has to identify a specific work goal that you can perform. So if you want to be a telemarketer and work from home you just have to be able to do that. That's all. It has to include a specific time frame. We need to know when you're going to be doing -- working. Show us that the income that you're going to make is going to help you reach your work goal and eliminate your need for benefits. And it will be reviewed periodically to make sure that the money that you're amassing is being spent in the appropriate manner. Impairment-related work expenses are some of my favorite things. They are expenses that allow you to work because of impairment. Now we're looking at what Social Security considers substantial gainful activity. And right now that number is $1,040 in countable income each month. IRWE's or impairment-related work expenses can be used to reduce that money, and there are three questions. Does the item or service allow you to work? Is it needed because of a physical or mental impairment? And do you pay for it out of pocket? Don't worry about the cost being reasonable. Most of them are. I'm going to give you one quick example. My blood pressure medication. Does it enable me to work? Yes. Is it related to an impairment? Yes, I have high blood pressure. Do I pay for it? Not all of it but the $20 a month that I pay as a co-pay comes out of my pocket. So I can use that to reduce my countable income. Property essential for self-support. Look at Lisa's video again. Look at what she had. The desk, the computer, her fax machine, her copy machine. You know, her monitors. None of that counts as resources for SSI because you need it to work. Also notice that first bullet. Operating fund account, a business account is necessary to work. So it won't count. That's -- that's a great work incentive. It allows you to keep things that other SSI recipients who are not working wouldn't be able to keep. Unincurred business expenses. Now if that sounds strange it is. I've always thought this to very strange. Now, what's a business expense? A computer is a business expense, but it's the VR agency actually gives you a computer so that you can work from home, Social Security will let you deduct the value of that computer from your income to allow you to keep your benefits for a little bit longer. We're trying to make this move from benefits to independence as comfortable as possible. As comfortable as possible. And if you see there -- if it's -- the IRS would allow it as business expense -- Social Security is going to allow it. It's just that somebody else gave it to you, and that computer is the perfect example of that. Now Social Security is not going to deduct this when -- from your earnings when your SSI payment amount is determined. So we're looking at deducting this from gross wages or your gross income. And then we'll determine whether you're eligible for SSI or not after we've done that. Now healthcare's always been a big issue and people are concerned about their healthcare, often more often than they are about the cash that they're receiving. I'm going to tell ya right now, not to worry about it. Medicaid, if you're an SSI recipient will continue. There's a program called 1619b. As your income goes up your SSI goes down. When you reach the point where you are eligible for zero you can keep your Medicaid because you lost your SSI because of earnings. And you'll keep your Medicaid up to your state limit and some of those limits are as high as $50,000 and $60,000. It depends upon your state. Medicare. Medicare eligibility will last at least 93 months after the end of your trial work period if you're on SSDI. That's a long time. So I really want to tell you not to worry about this. Now, in 50 states if you get to the end of that 93 months for Medicare, you can buy Medicare. In 46 states if you get to the threshold where you're not eligible for free Medicaid you can buy into the program. You know? So there is almost no end to healthcare at this point. Now we have to talk about some other resources and I'm apologizing for keeping you over. But we're going to get to that Social Security website again. www.socialsecurity.gov/work. You'll be able to find employment networks, get all kinds of information about the Ticket to Work, view the success stories, read as much as you want and it'll even have this helpline number for you if you decide you want to talk to a live person about it. That Ticket to Work helpline is 866-968-7842 or for TTY users 866-833-2967. Now I want you to like us. So like us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/choosework. People are going to post questions, people are going to post success stories, people are going to post issues and you can read all of that and share in everybody else's experience. Either while you're involved with your Ticket to Work plan or before you decide to do that. And you can follow us on Twitter. If something important going to happen or you want to know when the next webinar is, that's going to discuss simply the work incentives in detail sign up for Twitter at www.twitter.com /chooseworkssa. And once again, that helpline [inaudible]. I apologize for not getting to a lot of your questions. But we had a lot of information to get to today and we want you to call to have your questions answered. 866-968-7842 or for TTY we users 866-833-2967. And that is bringing us to the end of today's session. I want to thank Lisa. I want to thank Paula. I always have to thank Jamie for sending the information and making sure things are on time, and Mike in the background, for making all of our technology work. It's been great working with you people. Anybody has any questions you have the slides. You have the contact information. Please consider what we've said and make a phone call. That's all it takes. Have a great afternoon and I wish you the best of luck in your return to work journey. Take care everyone.