>> Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Brittany Taylor from NDI Consulting and I will be one of your moderators for today's webinar on Debunking the Three Biggest Myths about Disability Benefits and Work. We are so glad you are here to join us. So, before I introduce you to today's topic and speakers, I'd like to take a moment to go over a few housekeeping tips, so you can enjoy and learn from this webinar most effectively. To access today's webinar you can manage your audio using the audio option at the top of your screen. It will look like a microphone or a telephone icon. All attendees will be muted on today's webinar. So, we encourage you to attend by choosing listen only from the audio menu. This will enable the sound to be broadcast through your computer. So, please take a moment now to be sure that your speakers are turned on or your headphones are plugged in. And if you do not have sound capabilities on your computer or you prefer to listen by phone today, please dial the toll-free number 1-800-832-0736. And the access is 8-4-5-8-4-6-2. A few notes regarding webinars accessibility. Real-time captioning is being provided during this webinar. The captions can be found in the captioning pod which appears below the slides. You can also access captioning online via the link www.captionedtext.com/client/event .aspx?CustomerID=846&EventID=3447532. For the Q&A today, we will be using the Q&A pod to submit any questions you have during the webinar. We will be sure to direct the questions accordingly during the Q&A portion. If you are listening by phone and not logged in to the webinar, you still may ask any questions by simply emailing questions to webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. And please note that this webinar is being recorded and the archive will be available within two weeks on the Choose Work website at bit.ly/2xJtYgK. If you experience any technical difficulties during the webinar, please us the Q&A box to send a message or you may email webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. And with that, I would like to again welcome you all. Again, my name is Brittany Taylor. I am with NDI Consulting. And I am one of your co-moderators for today's webinar. I am joined by Nancy Boutot who will be helping out and facilitating the questions and answer portion of today's webinar. And I am delighted to be joined by a couple of wonderful expert presenters today. So, first is Debbie Baker from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation in Florida. Debbie Baker is a certified Community Partner Work Incentive Counselor, that's a CPWIC and has worked with people with disabilities since 1995. Starting at the Center for Independent Living of Central Florida as a deaf services specialist and staff interpreter. She has worked in the field as a benefits advisor since 2001 and began working as the project manager for the center for independent living benefits planning assistance and outreach project. And in 2002, and then assumed responsibility as a Working Incentives Planning and Assistance, WIPA project manager for all of south Florida. In June of 2012, Debbie began working for Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and oversaw their Fee for Service Benefits Planning project and provided ongoing benefits advice for all of their customers. And currently Debbie facilitates the Partnership Plus Program under Ticket to Work and oversees the provisions of the Fee for Service Benefits Planning advice piece to all vocational rehabilitation customers. And I would also like to introduce you to Elizabeth Jennings from NDI Consulting. Elizabeth Jennings is also the deputy director of National Disability Institute and is a national trainer on Social Security Benefits and Asset Development Strategies for persons with disabilities including favorable tax provisions, the earned income tax credits, financial education, and protected savings opportunities. In addition, Elizabeth has extensive experience in building and expanding relationships between the disability community and asset building communities and has spearheaded as a development initiative in the state of Florida and New York and has provided technical assistance on federal disability policy, assisting individuals in job development and understanding the effect of work on individual's public benefits. Elizabeth is also the assistant director for the LEAD center, a technical assistance and training center funded by the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment policy. And finally, she is a certified Community Partner Work Incentive Counselor as well, a CPWIC, for the Virginia Commonwealth University in collaboration with the Social Security Administration. Welcome to both of you and thank you so much for being a part of today's webinar. We can not wait to learn more from you both. And today, we are going to be hearing from Debbie and Elizabeth some information on the following topics. We'll learn bit about Social Security disability benefits. Social Security's Ticket to Work program and work incentives. And then we're going to look at debunking the three biggest myths about disability benefits and work. And after that look at tying it all together, how Ticket to Work can help set goals towards work. And then share some additional resources with all of you. And throughout all of that we are going to be answering your questions on disability benefits, work, and work incentives. So, after today's webinar, our goal is that you will have learned about common myths related to Social Security disability benefits and work. Find out how the Ticket to Work program may help as you set attainable goals and work toward self-sufficiency. And discover resources available on the path to work and financial independence. So, without further ado, I'd like to turn it over to Elizabeth to get us started with this very busy agenda today. Thank you, Elizabeth, for joining us.

>> Thank you, Brittany, and thanks everyone for being on the line today. We have many, many people on the line. And I'm so looking forward to having this time with you and to having a chance to work again with Debbie Baker, who I got to work with when lived and worked out of the state of Florida. It's a real pleasure to have you with us Debbie. And I know how deep your content knowledge goes, so looking forward to learning from you today. So, for all of you who are on the line, we're very happy to have you here. I wanted to kick us off by sharing a little bit about the two different Social Security disability benefit programs that those of you on the line may be receiving a Social Security disability benefit under. The first is Social Security disability insurance. So, this is typically called SSDI. It is part of Title II of the Social Security Act. And people who receive this benefit receive it because they've paid into the Social Security system through their FICA taxes. So, it's an insurance program. So, as you pay into the system, you're paying towards this moment in time when you may need to take back out because you incurred a disability that meets Social Security's requirements. A couple of things to know about SSDI, one is that there's another group of people who receive SSDI. Those are folks who are receiving a childhood disability benefit. It doesn't mean that they're a child, it does mean that as a child they incurred a disability and their parent has become deceased, disabled, or retired and their parent was insured. So, because they meet the disability requirements and they're not married, under Social Security's rules they can then draw from their parent's record. So, many of you on the line today may receive SSDI or may receive a childhood disability benefit and I wanted to make sure you had just a couple of things that you knew about that benefit. One you probably already know and that is that SSDI comes with Medicare. And that Medicare benefits starts after a 24-month waiting period. So, if you're new to the SSDI program, and your Medicare hasn't started yet, that may be something that you're looking forward to, to having that good medical support. A second thing I want to make sure you know is that SSDI has no asset limit. So, as you embark on this path back to work, I want to make sure you understand that we're going to talk today about some of the myths about returning to work and we're going to get just a little bit into a couple of work incentive that you are held to any asset limit by the Social Security Administration. You may receive other benefits that has an asset limit, but SSDI does not. So, that's the SSDI program and there's a great archive that we did through the WISE Webinars a couple months ago that goes into deep detail about SSDI benefits and work incentive. So, if you're on the line and you get SSDI, that would be a great archive to go to choose work and review. The next program is the supplemental security income or SSI program. SSI is very different than SSDI. And many times in the community, the two benefits get blended together and get treated as if they're the same and they're not. Folks who get SSI have limited income and limited assets. In addition to that, they meet Social Security's definition of disability and they're receiving this disability benefit between ages 18 and 65. So, folks who get SSI get up to a maximum amount. In 2018, that maximum amount of benefit is 750 a month for an individual, $1125 a month for an eligible couple. And some of you who receive SSI live in a state where there's a state supplement. So, you may get an additional amount from your state. Important things to know about SSI, one is that SSI is connected to Medicaid. So, for many of you when you receive SSI, you automatically receive a Medicaid benefit. And then, SSI does have an asset limit. So, under SSDI, no asset limit, Social Security is not interested in knowing what your resources are. Under SSI, there's a $2000 asset limit for individuals and a $3000 asset limit for eligible couples. So, these are important things to note. So, as we go further today pay special attention when we say that the myth relates to one or the other. And for those of you on SSI, there's also a webinar archive where we talk just about SSI benefits. So, if you'd like to learn more about the benefit that you receive you can watch the archive. And many times today we're going to give you the phone number for the Ticket to Work helpline, where you can call and request additional information about your personal benefit situation and as you return to work, you can request benefits planning through that helpline as well. Before we leave, I don't want to forget to say that some of you on the line get both benefits. And that is because you get SSDI, an amount that still allows you to be eligible for counting as having limited income under the SSI program. So, for those of you who receive both, you're always going to want to be able to understand the benefit rules under each side. And, those of you who receive both SSDI and SSI, I strongly encourage you to reach out to the Ticket to Work helpline, so you can get connected to some great information to make an informed choice about your path back to work. So, now that we've covered just a very soft touch of the difference between the two programs, we want to talk about one benefit that is available under both SSDI and SSI, and that's the Ticket to Work program. Some of you on the line today may have already made a decision to work so this is going to be hugely helpful for you in understanding one of the, one resource in returning to work. And for others of you on the line, you may still be trying to make a decision and that's okay. The Social Security's Ticket to Work program is one of the options that you have. And it's going to be helpful to understand how this works. So, what is the Ticket to Work program? The Ticket to Work program is Social Security's national employment program. It's designed to support the career developments of people with disabilities who want to work. It is for individuals who receive SSDI or SSI and are ages 18 through 64. And very importantly, it's both free and it's voluntary. So, while you may receive or have in the past received information about this program, it's up to you whether or not you want to participate. If you're thinking about returning to work or you've made the decision to return to work, the Ticket to Work program provides you some of the support that you're going to need. In that it will connect you to employment network, which we're going to talk about in just a minute. It offers you the support of the Ticket to Work helpline and it even provides you a little bit of extra work incentive to make this a little bit easier for you. So, how exactly does the Ticket to Work program work? Well the first is that it gives you greater choice in who you're going to receive your return to work services from. So, it allows you to choose your employment service provider from more than 500 employment networks, which we call ENs and state vocational rehabilitation agencies, which we'll refer to as VR. When you connect with a provider, they're going to work with you to create a plan for employment that describes the services and the supports that you need to meet your work goals. And these should be directed from you. If you're not quite sure what you need, that's a great place to start with the employment network or VR agency that you choose. But you're going to want to make sure that you're driving the conversation, that you're not holding back on some of the things that you need to return to work. Because this plan is the agreement between the two of you of what they're going to do for you and the role that you're going to play in your return to work. The Ticket to Work program is there to help you reduce and when possible eliminate your need for Social Security benefit payments by replacing them with earnings from work. The goal is that over time you earn more, you save more, and you gain greater financial stability and security. So, let's take a little bit deeper dive into what is an employment network and what is a state vocational or VR agency. An EN is a private or public organization that has an agreement with the Social Security Administration to provide employment support services at no cost to you to people eligible for the Ticket program. So, these may be entities that you have in your local area. They may be an organization that's providing services nationwide, and it could be in your own neighborhood the workforce center or the American Job Center or sometimes they're called the career center. And even sometimes they're called One Stop Centers. These are called, under this program, workforce ENs and they are available to you to have services or to assign your ticket. The other is the state vocational rehabilitation agency. This is the entity in every state that holds responsibility for supporting the return to work efforts of people with disabilities. The state VR agency provides a wide variety of services to help people with disabilities to return to work, enter new lines of work, or enter the workforce for the first time. In some of your states, there's a separate VR agency that serves individuals who are blind and visually impaired. So, some of the employment services an EN or a VR provide include career planning or counseling. Job search and job placement assistance. VR agencies may provide training programs. Some may offer special programs for veterans and youth in transition. Ongoing employment support. Assistance with job accommodations. And very importantly, benefits and work incentives counseling. And because there can be a range of services that each employment network or VR provides, you're going to want to be thinking before you start calling employment networks or you visit with your state vocational rehabilitation agency, you're going to want to start think about: what is my career goal? What are some of the supports I need to achieve that goal? What am I looking for from this entity if I make my way back to work? And again, I encourage you to be open and honest with the agency that you're speaking with. You want to make sure that this is a relationship that's going to work for you. The, part of the purpose of creating the Ticket to Work program was the ensure that people had greater choice in who they turn to for services. So, you want to exercise that choice and make a decision that's going to work for you. As you use the Ticket to Work program, there's work incentives that are available to you under both SSI and SSDI. And those work incentives allow you to do several things: receive training for new skills. Improve the skills you already have. Pursue your education. Try different jobs. Start a career. And gain confidence. And Social Security provides very specific work incentives, a few of them we're going to discuss today as we debunk some of the myths of making this return to work. And we're not going to cover all of them, so again I want to encourage you as you're making your choice that you're reaching out and getting some of the additional information that you need. If you want to do that independently, you can use some of the WISE webinar archives, but calling the Ticket to Work helpline and requesting some additional information is going to be hugely beneficial to you. I'm going to stop there and offer this back to our host.

>> Thanks Elizabeth. So, this is your second moderator Nancy Boutot. Hi everyone. And yeah, we did have some questions that came in Elizabeth. So, before we continue I'd like to ask a few of them. And the first one is do all states have a Medicaid Buy-in program?

>> Sure, so. That's a very savvy question. I'm glad that question was asked. In some states, there's a Medicaid buy-in program to help folks who may have worked and earned enough where they're no longer going to be eligible for their Medicaid, or for people who are under SSDI and didn't get Medicaid but would benefit from Medicaid and are going to be working at a level where they may no longer have their SSDI. And some of this is going to be tackled as we go through some of the myths, so I won't go deeper than that. But I will say that, no not every state has a Medicaid buy-in program. But more than 30 states do. And it can be hugely beneficial if you are going to work and earn at a level that's going to put you beyond what any of the options are today. And again, I think we'll learn about those in just a few minutes.

>> Great. Thanks, Elizabeth. And then just one more question from someone who says I receive SSDI benefits and I'm confused. If I lose my cash benefits because I'm working don't I also lose my Medicare too?

>> That's a great question, too. And I think I'm going to ask that we hold that question as we go to debunk some of these myths. And if we don't debunk that for you, over the next thirty minutes, let's come back to it.

>> Okay, sounds perfect. Thank you very much, Elizabeth. And with that I would like to turn it over to Debbie Baker.

>> Thank you very much. What I'm going to talk about is the three biggest myths around disability benefits and work. And hopefully we're going to debunk these for you. Lots of times people hear all kinds of things about what happens to your disability benefits when you go back to work. And you talk to your friends and you hear all sorts of things. Oh, you can't go back to work you'll lose everything. So, we're going to take a look at the three biggest ones and see if we can work through those for you. The first one we're looking at and this is addressing the question that was just asked, if I go to work I will automatically lose my Medicare or Medicaid. And this is one that a lot of people hear from friends or from family members or all kinds of people that if they do go back to work, not only do they lose the cash payments that they will also lose their Medicare or their Medicaid. This is false. As long as you're receiving a benefit payment in any amount, even if it's just the small amount, you will keep your Medicare or your Medicaid depending on which one you're getting. If your payments stop, you may keep your Medicare or Medicaid indefinitely. There are three work incentives that will provide for this, and in many states, there are buy-in programs like Elizabeth was talking about before. So, we're going to take a look at some of those. The work incentives programs that can help you keep Medicare and Medicaid are listed here. Medicaid, there's a special program for Medicaid while you're working. It's called section 1619(b). And What this is for is if a person is getting SSI and they have Medicaid along with the SSI, and because of their earnings they're SSI check is reduced until it becomes zero and they're no longer getting a cash payment from Medicaid. They can -- from SSI. They can still keep their Medicaid under 1619(b). And there are some rules for that, and we'll look at that in a minute. But this can help people to be confident that they will still have healthcare even if they go back to work. The other thing is a Medicaid buy-in program, which allows you to purchase Medicaid if you are not, if you are earning too much to be able to keep the Medicaid. These are not available in all states, but they are available in many states. With Medicare, there is an extended period of Medicare coverage that allows you to keep your Medicare even when you are earning so much that you no longer are getting your cash SSDI payments. And there's also Medicare for people with disabilities who work. We'll take a look at some of these. What is Medicaid While Working or 1619(b)? For SSI recipients, you can qualify for continued Medicaid coverage when your benefit payments stops if you have been eligible for an SSI cash payment for at least one month. You continue to meet Social Security's definition of disability. You still have to be disabled. It can't be that Social Security has determined that you have medically improved and are no longer disabled. You have to meet all of the non-disability SSI requirements. This means things like your asset limits that Elizabeth talked about the $2000 asset limit for an individual and $3000 for a couple. You have to still meet those requirements. You have to need your Medicaid benefits to continue to work. And you have to have gross earnings that are below your state's threshold of eligibility. And every year a new threshold of eligibility is determined. And as long as you are below that amount, your earnings are below that amount, you would still be able to keep your SSI Medicaid. In some cases, you can over that threshold and still keep your Medicaid especially if you have very high medical expenses that are being paid for by Medicaid, and you need that in order to work. What's a Medicaid buy-in program? Most states will allow you to purchase Medicaid under a buy-in program. You have to still be disabled under Social Security and you have to be eligible, you would be eligible for SSI payments if it wasn't for your earnings. It's because your earnings are too high that you're not eligible for the Medicaid and in many states, they allow you to purchase Medicaid. SSDI beneficiaries can also be eligible for this. Your state decides if you're disabled. And they don't look at your work when they make that decision. What's extended period of Medicare coverage? Medicare goes along with SSDI and so most SSDI beneficiaries with disabilities who work continue to receive at least 93 consecutive months of the hospitalization insurance also called Medicare Part A. Your supplemental medical insurance, which is Medicare Part B, if you've enrolled in Part B. And prescription drug coverage also called Part D, if you have enrolled in a Part D program. This is called the Continuation of Medicare Coverage or the Extended Period of Medicare Coverage, and it is at least 93 consecutive months. And for many people it goes much longer than that. And the eligibility continues indefinitely. The 93 months start the month after the last month of your trial work period. To qualify you must already have Medicare. It can't be that you're still in the waiting period. And you have to be working at the substantial gainful activity level. And that does change every year. And you can't be medically improved. You cannot have improved to where Social Security says that now you're no longer disabled. Although the benefit payments, your cash payments might stop because you're working, the Medicare would continue. Even though you're not getting the cash payments anymore because of your work, you still can be eligible to keep the Medicare for 93 months. And 93 months is 7 years and 9 months. So, you have a very long period of time where you would still have this extended period of Medicare coverage. And then, even after that, after that 7 years and 9 months you can purchase Medicare if you're still disabled at the end of that 93-month period. And so, you can buy the Medicare coverage and the rules for that are you can't be 65 years old. Because people who are 65 are eligible for Medicare based on their age. And you have to have a disabling impairment, you can't have had medical improvement and no longer be disabled. And your Medicare had to stop because you were working. Also, you may be eligible for a program that helps pay your Medicare Part A monthly premium. To be eligible for this one, you have to continue to have a disabling impairment, just like the others. You have to sign up for the hospital insurance which is the Part A. And you have to have limited income and limited resources, but not already be eligible for Medicaid. What is Medicare for people with disabilities who work? Again, for more information on enrollment periods or to make an appointment to enroll, you can call the Social Security office at their toll-free number which is 800-772-1213 or if you're using a TTY, you can call 800-325-0778 to find a local office. For help with paying for your premiums for Medicare, you can call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE, M-E-D-I-C-A-R-E or 877-486-2048 if you're using a TTY. You ask to speak to a representative. You need to have your Medicare number available so that you can let them know that number. And be prepared to tell the representative which state you live in. You can write down this toll-free number for additional information. If I use my, this is the second myth that we're going to take a look at. If I use my Ticket to go to work, Social Security will conduct a medical review of my case, and I will lose my benefits. And a lot of people are concerned that going back to work will trigger Social Security to look at them to see if maybe they have gotten better. And they should no longer get Social Security benefits. Well, that one is also false. Social Security doesn't conduct a medical review if you're participating in the Ticket to Work program, which means that you have used, you're using your Ticket at either an employment network, an EN, or your state vocational rehabilitation agency. Now, it has to be that you have started using that ticket before you get the letter from Social Security telling you that you're going to have a medical review. If you wait until after you've got that letter and try to use your ticket then, it's too late. They've already scheduled it. And, you have to be making timely progress towards following your individual work plan, which is the plan that you set up for you going back to work and achieving your employment goals. What is a timely progress review? Social Security completes a timely progress review to measure your success in achieving your work goals. And they do have things set up as the ways that they measure these. So, you and your employment team are going to create an individual work plan that describes your work, or education, and/or training goals. And about every 12 months, Social Security reviews to see if you're making progress toward your work goals. By making timely progress, you'll be one step closer to achieving a more financially independent life. An example of timely progress requirements is at the first 12 months review, they're looking to see if you have worked for 3 out of the 12 months with trial work period level earnings. Or, you went to school and you competed 60% of a full-time course load for one year toward a degree or certification, or towards a technical, trade, or vocational program. So, 60% of a full-time case load. And witch each 12-month review period, the work requirements or education program requirements will increase. And the next 12-month period, it will be more than 3 out of the 12 months. What happens if you don't meet those timely progress review requirements? And I get a lot of people asking about this and saying, well I got a letter from Social Security that says that I didn't meet the timely progress requirements and therefore I think that Social Security is going to cut off my benefits. Well, that's not the case. If you don't meet the timely progress requirements, you can continue to participate in Ticket to Work, you can still work with the ENs or with VR and your benefits payments, your Medicare and your Medicaid will not be affected. IT does not mean that your benefits will be cut off. You will continue to receive your benefits. Nothing happens because you're not making timely progress. The only thing that will happen is that you will no longer be excused from the scheduled medical continuing disability review when Social Security decides you are due. And Social Security conducts disability reviews for everyone at certain specific periods of time so that they can see if you are still disabled and still need to receive disability benefits. But while you are participating in the Ticket to Work program, and you're making timely progress towards those goals, Social Security suspends those medical reviews and they don't do them while you're doing that. That's the only thing that would happen if you are not making timely progress is you would go back on your regular schedule for having those medical reviews. And the third myth that we're going to look at today: If my Social Security payments stop because I have to go to work, and then I have to stop working because of my disability, I will have to reapply for benefits all over again. And many people are really concerned about this because if you think back to applying the first time, it might have taken a long time, you might have had to go for appeals, things like that. And so, people are not very happy about the thought of having to reapply. Well, let's look at this one. And again, this one is false. You will not need to reapply if your benefits ended within the last five years because of your work and your earnings. And you meet a few other Social Security requirements. This is a work incentive called that Social Security calls expedited reinstatement or EXR. What is expedited reinstatement? It's a work incentive and this one applies to both SSDI and SSI, and it's a way to get your benefits back again if you worked and you had transitioned off of getting benefits. And then within 5 years your disability keeps you from being able to work or to work at the level that you were before. You can request your benefits to start again without having to do a new application. While Social Security looks at your request for reinstating the benefits, you are eligible to receive temporary benefits for up to six months unless they determine that you are no longer disabled. And, you are eligible for Medicare or Medicaid during this period while Social Security's reviewing your case. So, you get up to six months of temporary benefits while they're taking a look to see if you are still disabled and still need to get the benefits. Okay, I'd like to turn it back over to the moderator now.

>> Thank you very much, Debbie. This is Nancy, thank you for that great information. We've had some wonderful questions come in. And the first is, what you just talked about expedited reinstatement, someone asks: Will my Medicare/Medicaid also continue?

>> Yes, the Medicare and the Medicaid will continue too.

>> Great. And, the next question is, again with expedited reinstatement, if I file for expedited reinstatement will my cash benefits start immediately?

>> It starts the month after the month that you file for it, that you request it. And like I said you get six months of temporary payments while they're reviewing it.

>> Okay, wonderful. Thank you. And then going back to one of the questions that one of our participants asked earlier, this person receives SSDI benefits, and if the question is that if I lose my cash benefit because I'm working, don't do I also lose my Medicare too?

>> No, if you lose the cash benefits because of working, you can use the, [clears throat] excuse me, the extended period of Medicare coverage would allow you to keep the cash benefits for at least 93 months after the end of the trial work period.

>> Okay, great, thank you. And then another question is: if my employer offers healthcare insurance at work do I still need to keep paying for my premiums for Medicare?

>> Well, that's something that you would probably need to talk to somebody about, because yes you can keep the Medicare while you are using employment's health insurance. However, if you cancel the Medicare and then decide later on that you want it again, you may have to pay a higher premium because you didn't take it when you were first eligible. So, I would advise you to call the helpline and get more information about that.

>> Great, thank you, Debbie. And then one more question, a person says, you talked about 1619(b), my case manager said I have to have at least $1 in SSI in order to keep my Medicaid is that true? If you are working and because of your earnings from work you no longer are getting a cash benefit from SSI, that's when you would be able to use 1619(b). You do not have to keep the $1 in SSI in order to keep the Medicaid. But, this only applies to earnings from work if you're talking about unearned income, say somebody is giving you money every month or something like that, then 1619(b) does not apply. It only applies when you are getting earnings from work.

>> Great. That's great information. And then, a question about medical reviews. Are all reviews deferred when my ticket is assigned?

>> If your ticket is in use with either an employment network or a state VR agency and you are making the timely progress, then the medical reviews are deferred. This does not mean that work reviews will not take place. They do take a look to see if you're earnings are over certain limits and things like that, but your medical reviews would be suspended.

>> Great. Thank you so much Debbie. All right. We do have a few more questions, but what I'd like to do now is just pass it back over to Elizabeth to continue.

>> Great, thanks so much Nancy. And thanks so much, Debbie. I have to say, I'm having a great time answering the questions in the chat box that are coming through. It's a very smart sophisticating group of people on the line today who seem to have been thinking about this quite a lot given the depth and the complexity of some of the questions that are coming through. So, good job everyone you've definitely been doing your homework. I just wanted to capitalize on two things that Debbie said just to make sure folks really heard them. Because in all the time that I've been able to work in the field helping to people to better understand these benefits. There's a couple things that have often come up as being misunderstood and Debbie shared them with us. But I just want to make sure that people really heard them. I want to reinforce them for a moment. One is that I have many times encountered people who get SSI who are told that they should work part-time, or they should try to stay below the substantial gainful activity level, the SGA amount. And I just want to remind all the folks on SSI out there that Debbie noted that you have this 1619(b) amount, and if you take time after the webinar to just Google SSI 1619(b) or to call the Ticket to Work helpline, and ask them hey what's the 1619(b) all about, then you can see the earnings limit that is identified for you, that's really your ceiling. That's kind of the limit of what you can earn. Part-time is not really factual, SGA, does not apply to you after application. The ceiling that you're looking for as most people ask what's the most I can earn. If you're on SSI and you understand you're likely to have your cash benefit decrease or go to 0 but you want to hold on to the Medicaid 1619(b) is the limit that you're looking at. So, that's a really important number to have in your mind. It's going to change in 2018 as all these numbers do, but I just want to make sure that you're thinking about. The other is that for those of you who receive Medicare, there's this 8.5-year time that you're going to be able to carry your Medicare and the goal is that you're going to transition to work that provides healthcare. So, sometimes when we already have things like healthcare covered, we may not be paying as much attention to that when we're looking for jobs. Or sometimes there's a lot of benefits confusion when you're onboarding onto a new job. So, I just want to encourage you to be thinking about that. You know, you have this time where you do have some income coming in, and you have Medicare and it's a great time to be thinking about not just a survivor's job. Not just I really want to make sure I get a job right now. But what could be your next career? What's some long-term thinking about a body of work that will insure that you're going to receive the healthcare coverage that you're looking for? SO, that's another thing to be thinking about, and again in the archives for these WISE webinars, there's been all kinds of archives, including things around companies that are looking to hire people with disabilities under section 503. So, you do have some options, the Ticket to Work program helps you think through those options. And it really supports you in tying this all together. And that's what we're going to talk about for the next few minutes. So, you have this drive and this desire to return to work. You have these benefits that can feel a little bit complicated, and you're ready to start the journey. So, we want to make sure we revisit again, Ticket to Work and how Ticket to Work can help. So, only you can decide if work is going to be the right choice for you. And some of you in the chat box are asking really great, great questions that notes that your thinking deeply about this. And while you've probably decided that work is the right decision for you, you need to understand how work is going to impact both your cash benefit and really importantly your healthcare benefit. So, that's one side of the fence. But the other side of the fence is what supports do you need in finding and keeping a job. And I'm sure that many of you who called in today worked in the past, you have a whole body of skills and knowledge that you plan to draw from as you go out into the work world again. But, you likely also have some challenges that you experienced in the workplace or that your concerns are going to experience in the workplace. And so that's what you want to be thinking about now, which isn't always very comfortable. But you want to be documenting those, so you can have a robust conversation as you discuss with an employment network or with a VR agency the kind of supports you'll need to find and keep a job. For those of you who haven't yet decided, we want to just take a moment to talk through why you might want to choose work. So, although there's some thinking that you need to do around what is the impact on my benefits, and what kind of supports and services do I need to return to work, some of the benefits are going to be increased income. We know that nobody is kind of you know it's limited what you receive from the Social Security, in your Social Security benefit. SO increased income is very important I'm sure to everyone who called in today. But it also can give you a new routine in your life. One that is focused around being productive and being engaged in the world. It's a place to meet new people and to diversify your social network. It's a chance to learn new skills. I know that I'm 18 years in the same field, and I still learn new things all the time. And it's an opportunity to have another chance to be thinking about the financial future that you want for yourself and how you can have not only earnings to support that but access to new experiences, access to new information, and just a whole host of new opportunities. One of the people in the chat box noted that since they stopped working they just don't feel as great about themselves. They have some feelings of being devalued and that's a really important thing to reflect on also that we are a very focused on work in our society. SO, if you're not sure if you're ready to go to work, I want to encourage you to look at other ways that you can increase kind of test your skills while increasing the meaning of your daily life by looking at volunteer opportunities, where it's within your family or outside of your family, within your community sometimes it might come along with a small stipend. But look at ways that you can find opportunities to start testing your skills. Maybe you'll go do some continuing education, or just participate in some lifelong learning opportunities. If you're not sure about your stamina, you're not sure about what you're going to experience as you head back into the work world, these are ways that you can start to test that, and see what's going to be the limits for yourself. And then we want to make sure that you're again, paying attention to and keeping in mind the different Social Security supports that are available to you. So, some of the supports we mentioned today have some requirements, but if you meet those requirements, you're going to be eligible for the continuation of your Medicare and Medicaid which we know is very important. The option in many states to purchase Medicaid or the option everybody has to purchase their Medicare. There's state assistance for Medicare premiums. So, one of the questions I answered in the chat box is what happens to my Part B payment, do I have to pay that when I no longer receive Medicare. And I had to say it depends. It depends a lot on what your income is, it depends on what state assistance programs are available in your state. So, a lot of these questions we have to say it depends which is why we'll often encourage you again to call the Ticket to Work helpline. And then as was noted, there's work incentives that can help you to extend the time that you're going to have access to your cash benefit and your healthcare benefit. And very importantly, by assigning your tickets, and as Debbie mentioned, meeting the timely requirements, you're going to be able to delay the continuing, you're going to suspend actually your continuing disability medical review. Which for those of you on the line that have kind of cyclical disabilities this can be very important to you as those medical reviews can create some level of stress. So, as you reflect on today's webinar, and you start to gather some of the information we talked about, maybe you go visit some of the archives. You may that call to the Ticket to Work helpline, these are going to be important in gathering information and resources to help you plan your journey towards employment. And we hope you will keep in mind your financial independence. Sometimes we're very eager to get a job and that's fine, but that job may not meet the financial needs that we have, or the financial life that we're envisioning for ourselves. So, you don't have to stop at the first job, you can keep thinking about how you can parlay that job into more responsibility, more pay, or you might be thinking about that job just as a time to test your ability as you think more deeply about a career. And remember that the Ticket to Work program is one of your options. It's a great option for giving the myriad of supports that you need, including access to better understanding your benefits and your work incentives. And also access to multiple employment networks and VR agencies so that you can make informed choices about this return to work. And I'll just thank you.

>> Thank you very much. Oh.

>> Yeah, I was just going to say, I'll just share with you that, I'm excited for Nancy to share more with us and get questions going. And on the screen, we have for you more information that Nancy's going to share.

>> Absolutely. And, we do have several questions coming in right. So, I am going to ask you those, and I really think some of these both Debbie and Elizabeth can answer, but I'll let you two experts kind of decide. And the first question is, are there some employment networks who serve people virtually?

>> So, was that one for me, Nancy? Yes, there are employment networks that serve people virtually. There's actually several of them. And, some people may feel a little bit unsure about how that would work. But I want to encourage you, so many things are done virtually today even today's events providing you information virtually. So, depending on the kind of supports that you're looking for, having a virtual EN might be a really great option for you. The best way to tell if an EN's going to be right for is to call them or contact them. And be open and honest with about what you're looking for from an employment network so that they can be honest with about what they're able to provide. And, what they hope your commitment is going to be to the process.

>> Great, thanks Elizabeth. And then, kind of on top of that is, so could you talk a little bit more about the ticket and how my, how I might assign my ticket?

>> Sure, so if you've decided that you want to learn more, or you've already been thinking about this and you've kind of decided it's time, I'm going to go ahead and start working with this program. The first thing you're going to do is call the Ticket to Work helpline. The number is 1-866-968-7842 and if you are looking to call through TTY it's 1-866-833-2967. When you call the Ticket to Work helpline, you're going to let them that you're interested in assigning your ticket to an employment network and they're going to provide you with a list of employment networks that serve your area. So, once you choose through calling and discussing with what will likely be several employment networks, once you choose one you're going to let them know that you want to assign your ticket to them. And they're going to work with you to create an employment plan. And as I briefly mentioned earlier, the employment plan is your opportunity to be very clear with the employment network the kind of services that you're looking for, what you need as far as not only securing a new job, but also maintaining that job. So, just don't just think about what you need by way of connecting to employment opportunities, getting through the employment process. But you will want to talk to them about what are my options around disclosure, at what point might I need to reveal that I have a disability. What are the benefits to me, and then if you think you're going to need things on the job, like if you think you'll need an accommodation or if you've had jobs before and you notice a pattern where maybe you do really well but in that 90-day period they often let you go in that first 90 days, you might want to let the employment network know that. And let them know I think I need support in that first 90 days. Maybe there's something about those first 90 days that happens that you want to make sure you get past that. And, then you want to let them know what you need moving forward. Ticket to Work is more like a five-year view of what your work world might look like. So, thinking long-term about the kind of support that you'd like from an employment network is going to be most beneficial to you. A lot of time employment services are thinking short-term, let's get you connected to opportunities, let's get you through the interviews, and get you on the job. Ticket to Work takes a long-term view. So, you can start to think more broadly about I don't just want to get a job, but I want to get a job that I'm going to be do well at, and that I may be able to see potential growth in. And how can I use supports through that entire period of time. And then, once you agree on the work plan, you signing that work plan is you assigning your ticket. Sorry, that may have been a very long way to explain that, Nancy.

>> That's okay, thank you very much Elizabeth. And, I think the next question goes to Debbie. And the question is, years ago I received a ticket in the mail, does that mean that I am in the ticket program and that SSA will no longer conduct medical reviews?

>> No, anyone can participate in Ticket to Work if they are between the ages of 18 and 64. And they are getting cash benefits either SSDI or SSI. They're eligible for the ticket program. But to have the medical reviews no longer conducted, you do have to have your ticket assigned to either an employment network or to a state vocational rehabilitation agency. And that's the process that Elizabeth was just talking about where you contact either the employment network or you contact your local vocational rehabilitation office and you talk to them about the services you need. You select the one that you want to work with, and you come in and they develop a plan with you. And then you would sign that plan, and the ticket would be assigned to either the employment network or the state VR agency. And that's when Social Security would no longer conduct the medical reviews when you have assigned the ticket.

>> Great, thanks. Debbie that lead to another question, which is it seems like both an employment network can help me and vocational rehabilitation can help me, how do I know which one to contact?

>> When you contact the different employment networks, talk to them about the types of services that you need. And whether they would be able to provide those. Not all employment networks provide the same services. And a lot of times you need to contact a couple of them and talk to them about what specifically you would need to have in order to be able to go back to work. And that applies with vocational rehabilitation too. You would talk to them about the type of services that you would need, and they would help you to develop a plan. And, again not all of the employment networks may provide the same services. When for example some of the ones that provide services remotely or virtually would not be able to come out and do any type of on sight job coaching with you. And so, if that would be something that you would need, then you might need to look for some other employment network for a state VR agency, because that particular one was providing services virtually would not be able to provide the service that you need.

>> Okay, great, thank you. And something that was mentioned before, but there's a little confusion about. What does substantial gainful activity mean?

>> Social Security's definition of disability is that you're not able to perform what they call substantial gainful activity. And that means working at a substantial level over a certain period of time. Social Security in order to be able to figure that out, they set up a number as a guideline. And so, the number that they would have is an amount of earnings that they can consider to be substantial. And for this year, it was $1170 a month and for next year it will be $1180 a month. That is not the be all and end all. It's not set in stone. This is the amount if you make that amount you're done, anything like that. They're a number of work incentives that reduce the amount that Social Security counts when they look at your income. And so sometimes you can make a lot more than that and still be able to keep benefits. But that's the guideline that they use when they look at it to see whether you're working at a substantial level or not. And so, that's what Social Security uses to determine whether you should still continue to get disability benefits. For people with SSI, substantial gainful activity only applies during initial eligibility determination. It does not apply for working when you're getting earnings. They don't look to see if you're working it over substantial gainful activity amounts. You're checks are adjusted based on earnings.

>> Great, thank you. And someone else asked, it sounds like employment networks and the Ticket to Work offer a lot of services. Is there a cost to participate in these programs?

>> No. Ticket to Work is the services do not, are not something that you would have to pay if you're using your ticket the services would be free of charge for you.

>> Wonderful, that's good hear. Thank you.

>> Elizabeth, if I could add one more thing to that. I think if you're heading out to return to work and you're looking at return to work services and someone advises you that they'll be a charge for it, that you should be really wary of that entity. And, you can as ticket holders you can call the Ticket to Work helpline and see if that group is an employment network. But you can also call them and seek out the number for the PABS, Protecting and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security. And you can inform the PABS that you were you know, you were asked to pay for services and just let them know. They watch for systemic issues in the state, so if that's something that's happening that shouldn't happen they're a good entity to pay attention for that.

>> Thanks, Elizabeth. So, a follow up question, Debbie. We were talking about substantial gainful activity and somebody wants to know if that is gross or net.

>> That's gross. It's before any of your taxes or any other deductions are taken out.

>> Okay. Good to know. And, Debbie, somebody also said that you mentioned that you were a CPWIC. Can you tell us what that means?

>> Yes, when you are going to work with a project like WIPA or, which is Work Incentive Planning and Assistance, or being able to work with someplace like an employment network or VR and provide benefits counseling to people or benefits advice, you can become certified through Virginia Commonwealth University to provide those services to people. And they do a training and then you have to a pass a certification assessment and some other reviews that are done from time to time to make sure that you know what you're talking about. And if you work for a Social Security funded WIPA project, Work Incentive Planning and Assistance, then you get a certificate that says you are a Community Work Incentives Coordinator. But if you work for someplace else like an employment network or vocational rehabilitation like I do, then you're a community partner work incentives coordinator. And so, it's a CPWIC.

>> Well, great, then you're probably the perfect person to answer the next question that just came in, which is - is going to a work or job-related school, does that count as work? And can classes that help me with work be reimbursed somehow?

>> Some ENs may be able to help you with going to training classes and things like that. Sometimes state VR agencies can provide that too. It just depends on what's needed for you to be able to find a job in your area. If, for example, you were working before in one field and now due to your disability you are not able to work in that field anymore, and in order to find employment you would need some kind of training, a lot of times an employment network or the state VR agency may be able to help out with that training. You would need to talk with each individual EN if that's something you're looking for ask them about it when you first talk to them. And make sure that's something that they would be able to provide.

>> Thank you, Debbie. And, we've got lots of questions coming in. Another one is, what happens if I start working, using my ticket but it's not a good job fit? Is there any penalty if the job doesn't work out?

>> No. There's no penalty. The Ticket to Work is completely voluntary and you don't have to do anything with that ticket when you get it. If you decide that working is not for you, that's fine. IF you do go to work and it doesn't work out, that's fine too. The only thing is if you are not using your ticket anymore, and Social Security would then reestablish your medical reviews. But that's the only thing.

>> Okay. And then somebody has a really great question. Where do I go to get my ticket?

>> Well, anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 64 is ticket eligible. You don't have to actually have a paper ticket in your hand that you take anywhere. You would just be able to go in and say, you know, I have a ticket to work and I would like to use the Ticket to Work here. They use your Social Security number to find out whether you have a ticket and whether your ticket is assignable or not. But you don't have to have something on paper in your hand.

>> Okay, that's good to know.

>> [inaudible] They go back and forth for awhile, they were sending out paper tickets and then they stopped. And then they did it again, and then they stopped again. But, you never actually had to really have a paper ticket in your hand to be able to use the Ticket to Work.

>> Well, that's really good to know. So, if somebody doesn't have a ticket, if somebody doesn't have that piece of paper in hand, that does not mean that they do not qualify or are not eligible for the ticket, they should just call the Ticket helpline or their Social Security office. Great. Great. And then, we're winding here. We've got a few more questions before I turn it back over to Brittany. One of them is how do I change my employment network?

>> That's, I'm sorry go ahead.

>> Oh no, go ahead, Debbie.

>> Well I answered the last couple if you want to answer one now.

>> Sure, sure. So, I think that's a great question. And I have to tell you guys that we get this question in the chat box almost every month. Because sometimes people choose an employment network and then as they're going through the process of returning to work they realize there's other things that they need or the relationship isn't quite what they expected it to be. And they do desire to have a change. And sometimes this cannot be at the fault at either party. Sometimes as you head down a path your needs change. And so, it's perfectly fine to change your EN. The whole goal of the Ticket to Work program is that you have choice in your getting your return to work services from. So, it's no problem I you want to change your EN. You can start off, I would encourage you start off by talking to your EN to see if they can meet the new needs or the new desires that you have in your relationship. But if they can't meet those needs, then you would want to call the Ticket to Work helpline, and let them know that you're interested in unassigning your ticket. I would greatly encourage you to know which EN you plan to assign your ticket to as there is a time limit in how long you can have your ticket unassigned if you want to continue to hold on to the benefit of having your medical continuing disability review suspended. If you like that benefit and you want to keep it, you need to make sure your ticket isn't unassigned for more than 90 days. So, you'd want to be, have thought through who's the next EN I'm going to assign my ticket to. And then you would let the EN know that you're unassigning your ticket and you would assign your ticket with the new EN of your choice. But you're always welcome to do that. You're also always welcome to advise the Ticket to Work helpline if you've felt that an EN wasn't able to provide what they promised they would provide. Either way, that Ticket to Work helpline is there to do just what it says, help you as you go through this process. So, if questions come up along the way and you can't find the answer in a webinar, in the webinar of the month. Or you want a fast answer, I think it's always a great option to call the helpline and let them support you in that way. And Nancy you might be on mute talking to us.

>> That's exactly what I was doing. Thank you very much for.

>> You're welcome.

>> For letting me know. So, we do have a few more questions, but I also want to make sure that Brittany is able to go through some of the last slides. So, why don't Brittany for now I'll turn it back over to you.

>> Great, thank you so much Nancy. And thank you to Elizabeth and Debbie again for such wonderful information. There have been so many questions coming in and as Elizabeth said in the beginning, people seem very, very engaged and knowledgeable of the process. So, this has been an incredibly interesting webinar to be part of and we're glad you guys are all here sharing your questions with us. We mentioned a few times that Ticket to Work helpline number and I'd like to share it just one more time in case you haven't gotten the opportunity to jot that number down. To call the Ticket to Work line, you can call 1-866-968-7842 or dial 1-866-833-2967 for teletype. Or you can visit in online at www.ssa.gov/work. And I would like to take this opportunity, we've gone through a tremendous number of questions. But I would like to take a few moments to just go through some additional resources, so you can continue learning. As you move through your work experience and process. The Choose Work website is a great site to visit. You can learn and discover how the Ticket program may help you on your path to work. You can find service providers who offer the support that you're looking for. You can learn about other employment topics. There's a wonderful blog and great fact sheets. And you can visit that website at chooseowrk.ssa.gov. Another really great tool is the Find Help tool. And you can visit choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp to search for the right service provider for you. And you can narrow it down by ZIP code, by services offered, by disability type. I know that question came in the chat box a couple of times. You can search by languages spoken, provider type. It's a really wonderful tool to help you find the right service provider and meet your need. And if you want to get inspired and read about some of the other beneficiaries who have successfully used the Ticket program and build a better future and achieve financial independence for themselves, you can visit choosework.ssa.gov/success-stories. There's also a great frequently asked questions page available to help you find answers at choosework.ssa.gov/about/faqs. And a couple of times Elizabeth mentioned some of our past webinars that we've offered on a number of topics including one specifically on SSI and one specifically on SSDI. And if you wanted to visit the WISE webinar archive you can view those past webinars at bit.ly/WISEarchives. That's all one word. And if you want to learn more about monthly wise webinars, you are also able to subscribe to find out each month what the topic is going to be and to be the first to register at bit.ly/WISEsubscribe. And if you want to learn more about the Ticket to Work program and employment topics, you can also subscribe to that Choose Work blog that I mentioned before, and you'll be able to get some weekly updates sent directly to your email inbox, which is a really convenient way to receive them at bit.ly/subscribeCW. And, we do have a few more minutes left for questions. So, I know that several of you have continued to share your excellent questions in our chat box and I'm going to turn it over to Nancy to start going through just some of the final questions that have come in that we can answer for you today.

>> Great, thanks Brittany. I am glad we've got the time because we've got a few additional questions that came in. And, one of the first questions, a great one, can I, and Debbie I think this is probably for you. Can I participate in the Ticket to Work if I am self-employed?

>> Yes. People can use the Ticket to Work in order to become self-employed too. A lot of employment networks would be able to provide services to help you to start a business and the state vocational rehabilitation agencies can help with that too. So, you can use your ticket for that too.

>> Great. And I know you talked about this before, but we've got somebody who has a question asking if you could tell, talk about the different between vocational rehabilitation and an employment network.

>> Okay, employment networks can be either private agencies, they can be schools, they can be a lot of different entities. They can sign up to become an employment network and provide employment services to people with disabilities to help them to become employed successfully. The state vocational rehabilitation agencies are, they're a state agency here in FL it's Department of Education. And this set up specifically to help people with disabilities to get the services that they need to be able to either go back to work or to begin a career first time.

>> Okay, wonderful, thank you. And the next question is when I begin working, do I need to report my work to the local SSA office?

>> Yes. A lot of times people will be confused about whether or not they need to tell Social Security that they're working. And I've asked a lot of people so, who reports your work to Social Security and I hear all kinds of things. My boss does it. Your boss does not. My VR counselor will report my earnings to Social Security. No, they don't. It is always the individual's responsibility to report the work to Social Security. It's better if you a lot of times there are helplines that you can call. You can call the Ticket to Work helpline, but Social Security has set up a way to report by phone if you're getting SSI, and they also recently set up a way to report online for SSDI beneficiaries. And hopefully, they're going to have that available for SSI soon too. In some cases, reporting to the local office it might be better to either mail in your paystubs. If you are getting SSI and you're trying to use any work incentives, the phone number that you can call to report work you can't use that to use work incentives. So, you would need to find a different way, but it's always the responsibility of the individual to let Social Security know that they're working and how much they're earning. And that way Social Security can keep track of whether your benefits need to be adjusted or not. That can help a lot with getting overpaid by Social Security and having to pay them back because they paid you too much.

>> Wonderful. Thank you very much Debbie. I think that's a question that comes up time and time again. So.

>> Yes.

>> Very important to know the how to report wages and the importance of reporting wages. So, thank you for that. And, before I turn it back over to Brittany, I wanted to say a couple things. One, I know we did have somebody ask about self-employment, so I just wanted to let everyone on the line know that all of our webinars are archived. The Ticket to Work website and Brittany is going to be giving all of you that information shortly. And also, just wanted to say another thank you to Debbie and to Elizabeth. And with that, Brittany, I will turn it back to you to close us out.

>> Wonderful, thank you so much Nancy. And we do have some great final resources and information for you to share. Again, I'd like to remind everyone of that Ticket to Work helpline number at 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967. You can also visit it at choosework.ssa.gov. There are lots of ways to connect with the Choose Work information. You can like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/choosework. You can follow us on Twitter on www.twitter.com/chooseworkssa. You can also watch Ticket to Work videos on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/choosework. And follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/ticket-to-work. And, since Nancy mentioned it, I do want to take a moment to remind everyone of where you can find those WISE webinar archives. It's not on the screen, but that link is available at bit.ly/WISEarchives and you can also find that at choosework.ssa.gov. But that's the direct one. We would be delighted if you would join us for our next webinar on Wednesday, January 24, 2018 in the new year from 3 to 4:30 PM Eastern time. And you can register online for that webinar at choosework.ssa.gov/wise. Or you can call the helpline and join and register at 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967. I would like to thank again, our presenters Elizabeth Jennings and Debbie Baker for such wonderful information that you shared today. I want to thank Nancy for helping to collect all of the great questions we had come in. And last but certainly not least, I want to take a moment to thank all of you. Your questions today were just incredibly educated. They were very, very excellent questions and we appreciated answering every single one of them. And appreciated all of you joining on the line today, and sharing your time with us. We'd like you to tell us what you think. So, please remember to take our webinar survey and a link will pop up after the webinar or you can visit choosework.net/surveys/wise. So, with that, thank you everyone again. And we look forward to having you all join us again in the new year. Thank you.