Working While Receiving Benefits

What You Need to Know Before You Start

Employment is a goal for many individuals with disabilities — and the fear of losing benefits is one of the most significant barriers preventing people from pursuing it. That fear is often based on incomplete information.

This webinar addresses the most common questions and misconceptions about working while receiving SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and waiver services:

How earned income affects SSI payment amounts — and what exclusions apply
The SSI earned income exclusion, and student earned income exclusion
SSDI Trial Work Period, Extended Period of Eligibility, and Expedited Reinstatement
Ticket to Work — what it is, who it applies to, and how it provides employment protections
How employment affects Medicaid eligibility and waiver enrollment
Pennsylvania’s Medicaid for Workers with Disabilities (MAWD) program
Medicaid Buy In Programs (available in 48 States)
Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) — an underutilized SSI work incentive
What to do — and what not to do — before accepting a job offer

Ideal for: Individuals with disabilities considering employment, families supporting a working family member with a disability, employment support providers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, and supported employment specialists.

The Ticket to Work program, established under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, is among the most underutilized SSA programs. Participation is free and voluntary, and it provides significant employment protections for SSI and SSDI recipients — yet awareness of the program remains limited even among disability professionals.