How About a PASS???

A Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) is a work incentive which allows you, as a person with a disability, to set aside income and/or resources for a specified period of time in order to pay for items or services you need to achieve a work goal. With a PASS approved by the Social Security Administration (SSA), you may use the income and/or resources set aside to pay for education, support services, job-related items, equipment needed to start a business, or just about anything else needed to achieve a vocational goal.

When the income or resource is set aside for use in a PASS, it is not counted for the purpose of determining financial eligibility for, or the amount of, an SSI payment to you. A PASS is self-financed, and you therefore use your own money to pursue the plan. The SSA does not give you extra money up front to purchase the items and services you need to achieve your vocational goal. However, by setting your funds aside as part of a PASS, you can become eligible for SSI or receive a higher amount of SSI, and that SSI payment can replace some or all of the money you set aside in the PASS. Also, once you are an SSI recipient, you are eligible for Medicaid.

Example:
Janet has income that consists solely of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in the amount of $700 per month, which is too high for her to be financially eligible for SSI. She wants to become a computer programmer. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) will pay for part of the costs for Janet to complete a computer programmer course. Janet sets aside $680 per month of her SSDI benefit to use in a PASS to pay for a laptop computer, books, supplies, and other items for which VR will not cover. These funds set aside in the PASS make Janet eligible for an SSI payment of $637 per month, which is the maximum SSI benefit rate for an individual. With that SSI payment and the $20 per month unassigned portion of her SSDI benefit, Janet has $657 per month with which to pay her living expenses. Although that amount is $43 per month less than the $700 she had for personal use before she developed her PASS, she is now able to pay for the items and services she needs to reach her goal.



Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Need Help Filing for the Economic Stimulus Payment?

Super Saturday — March 29

Several IRS offices in North Dakota will be open on Super Saturday to prepare the simple Form 1040A for people who are filing a return solely to receive their stimulus payment. Operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., although some may be open longer. IRS employees will help prepare the Form 1040A returns for low-income workers, retirees, disabled veterans and others.
IR-2008-50, IRS Sets March 29 as “Super Saturday” to Help Retirees, Veterans, Low-Income Workers Receive Economic Stimulus Payments
Super Saturday Locations for March 29
Super Saturday in North Dakota


Locations


Belcourt - BIA 7, House 85(Legal Services of ND Belcourt)58316
Legal Servicesof ND-BelcourtPathways to Progress
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Bismarck - 2911 N. 14th Street58503
IRS
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Fargo - (Federal Bldg)657 Second Avenue N58102
IRS
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Grand Forks - (Federal Bldg Courthouse)102 N. Fourth Street58203
IRS
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Minot - 305 17th Avenue SW58701
IRS
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

More on the Economic Stimulus Package - Tax Prep

Individuals who need to file a return this year to receive a stimulus payment may be able to take advantage of thousands of free tax preparation sites nationwide for low-income and older taxpayers.
Free File: Economic Stimulus Paymentprovides free tax preparation software and electronic filing for people who are submitting a return solely to receive their economic stimulus payment
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program provides help to low- and moderate-income taxpayers. Call 1-800-906-9887 to locate the nearest VITA site.

Remember that you must file tax returns even if you don't have taxable income in order for the payment to be released to you.

Social Security benefits, Veteran's benefits, and Railroad Retirement benefits all are qualifying income for the payments. If a person has more than $3,000.00 in any of these benefits, that individual will be due a rebate payment at least of $300.00.

Remember that SSI is not qualifying income. These payments will also not affect income-sensitive programs such as SSI.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Successful Summit - Mountains of Work

The Summit was great!

Being a CWIC in ND - and the only WIPA award - things tend to get a little lonely. The best part of the Summit was the ability to bounce ideas off other WIPA's. It acted as a measure of where I and our project is. It also worked great for throwing marketing and outreach ideas around which can be a challenge given ND's rural-ness.

The big thing at the summit was the announcement of the new Ticket to Work rules which should greatly increase people's use of the Ticket Program.

Another thing that was really nice about the Summit was meeting all these people I have communications with over email and teleconferences - but have never met in person. It was really neat putting faces to names. I had no idea I worked with so many people!

Being gone for the better part of a week however really backed things up work-wise. The rest of March is booked for me and I hope to be through the catch-up by April 1.

Remember to throw me an email with any questions you may have regarding SSI/SSDI and I'll do my best to get it answered promptly - regardless of my work load!


Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

I'm Off - to the Partner's Summit

It's now 8:15 am and I'm getting a few loose ends tied up before catching a plane to the Ticket to Work Partners' Summit in Louisville, KY. I will be joining over 400 SSA partners' from across the nation who are engaged in work with Social Security disability beneficiaries through the Ticket to Work Program.

This Summit is to act as the launching pad for the new Ticket to Work regulations and the new "face" of Ticket to Work.

I'm excited to be participating in this event and eager to attend as many break out sessions as possible during my 3 day stay. I intend to blog every evening about the day's events and knowledge I gained through the various sessions.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

SSA Looks at When Income is Earned for SSDI

Of course SSA looks at gross monthly income when determining SGA for a person receiving SSDI. But did you know that SSA, for SSDI beneficiaries, looks at "when" that income was earned - not when that income was received?

This could prove to be very important when certain hours of a pay-period are carried over to the next month...there are irregular payment periods...or some other payment anomoly occurs.

Example:

If John earns $440 every two weeks, he would have a monthly gross wage of $953.48 - not $880. This is calculated by taking his bi-weekly pay and multiplying it by 2.167. If no other disregards are assessed other than the general...John would be performing SGA.

Because of the proximity to SGA in which John is working in the example above (just $3.48 above SGA) I would immediately look to see if any work incentives such as IRWE's or a Subsidy applies.

Often though when discussing bi-weekly pay it is on an hourly basis. This means that the first pay period and the second pay period differ.

Take holiday pay for example. Someone working retail over X-mas may put in a lot more hours towards the end of December than he/she would in some other month. If some of that extra time is paid out in Jan., then it would seem that the first check in Jan. would be abnormally large. But remember that SGA is determined by when the wage was "earned" - not paid out for SSDI.

In cases like that one needs to break down hourly each months wages to find an accurate monthly countable income.

That being said...if gross earnings total $800 or something that is not aproaching SGA - there is no need to do any calculations because it will not affect the SSDI benefit.




Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

House Bill Mandates Mental Health Coverage

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/06/BUHJVE7JV.DTL&type=health
Let our Senators know how you feel about this progressive and long overdue house bill.
Kent Conrad
Byron Dorgan

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

WWD Income Limits

Workers with Disabilities Coverage

My colleague Mark Mehlhoff wrote a nice synopses regarding calculating income when applying for the WWD. What follows is a condensed version. Please email either Mark or I for the full document complete with examples, alternate thresholds and POMS references.

Terry Peterson

Income Limit for Workers with Disabilities Coverage

Workers with Disabilities (WWD) coverage is a work incentive available in North Dakota for individuals with disabilities. It allows eligible individuals with disabilities who are gainfully employed to “buy into” Medicaid health care coverage by paying a monthly premium.

To be financially eligible for WWD, the income of an individual and of his/her family must be less than 225 percent of the federal poverty level. This converts to a current income level of $1,914 per month for a unit of one person. The income level will be $1,950 per month for a one-person unit effective April 1, 2008.

Certain disregards and deductions are subtracted from gross income to arrive at net income for WWD purposes. The income deductions that are allowed in determining eligibility for WWD include the following:

A deduction of $20 per month subtracted from any income, but first from unearned income.
Deductions of $65, plus one-half of the remaining monthly earned income, both subtracted from gross earned income.

Example

Earl is a single person, and he resides alone in his house. He receives Social Security Disability Insurance benefits in the amount of $1,100 per month. Earl is currently employed and earns $935 per month. His gross income is therefore $2,035 per month. After applying the income deductions, his net income is just $1,515 per month, and he is therefore eligible for WWD.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Workers With Disabilities Coverage....KNOW IT!!

Workers With Disabilities (WWD) coverage (also referred to as the Medicaid Buy-In) could be the most powerful work incentive for people with disabilities in the state.

This work incentive - for individuals - could mean access to hundreds of dollars per month and Medicaid coverage.

For professionals that work with individuals with disabilities that may qualify for this program - not being familiar with it and its impact is a significant and detrimental oversight both professionally and ethically.

In short, WWD allows workers with disabilities who currently pay a Recipient Liability, an option of buying into the Medicaid system at a fraction of the cost.

Here is some more detailed info: WWD

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

SSI: "I Can Make What!?!?"

As a CWIC, I answer daily the question: "I'm on SSI...so how much can I make." Individuals are often pleasantly surprised when I tell them that the upper threshold in ND is $37,917.

Most people don’t know this number, or its significance. This is the threshold amount for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for 2008. What does this mean? It means that someone with a disability who is receiving SSI can have an annual countable income of $37,917 – and remain eligible for SSI and, by default, Medicaid via 1619(b).

Much concern over earning limitations and work “dis-incentives” for Social Security beneficiaries has caused great fear to all involved. When people focus on these lower limits and not the upper thresholds, it tends to result in a depressing realization that work opportunities will be limited for the rest of their lives.

Lets face it. In ND, $37,917 per year is far from “scraping by”. What may create concern however when earning capacity reaches this level for a beneficiary is the chance of exceeding the SSI asset limit of $2000 (single).

Knowing current SSI asset exclusions such as a home, can not only allow beneficiaries to continue earning a living wage but also to invest that excess income. Retaining SSI eligibility and Medicaid while building equity at the same time can greatly increase one’s capacity to become self sufficient and independent of SSA benefits.

Further in-depth analysis of the advantages of home ownership and how SSA benefits can play a role in achieving those goals will be a topic for a future article.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

The Often Overlooked HUD Work Incentive - Be Sure to Request It!

HUD Work Incentive: Earned Income Disregard (EID)

If you are involved with one of the following HUD programs; HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, Supportive Housing Program, Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), or Public Housing - you may qualify for a powerful work incentive that could save you hundreds of dollars per month.

If you are a person with a disability and are benefiting from one of the aforementioned HUD programs...you may qualify for EARNED INCOME DISALLOWANCE when you become employed.

Under this HUD work incentive, 100% of increased employment income will not be counted when determining rent for a period of 12 months following employment. During the second year of employment, only 50% of employment earnings will be used for calculating rent.

An alternative to the EID as a result of employment is INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS for those who pay income-based rent in public housing. Under this program, the increase in employment income does not have to be from an individual with a disability in the household, it can be from any household member. The housing authority must deposit in a savings account the total amount that would have been included in tenant rent payable as a result of increased income that is disallowed under EID for families. The tenant may only withdraw monies deposited in the account for; purchasing a home, paying education costs of family members, moving out of public or assisted housing, or paying any other expenses authorized by the housing authority that promote economic self-sufficiency.

Ask your local housing authority if you qualify.

If your HUD counselor is unfamiliar with this work incentive, the rules about this can be found in Title 24, Volume 1 of the Code of Federal Regulation http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title=200624 . Search “earned income disregard”, hit 24CFR5- Subpart F, find 5.617 (waivers - EID). Also, hit 24CFR960- Subpart C, find 960.255 (public housing EID/savings account).

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com

Universal LifeStiles: Tom Pomeranz

Working in this field allows you many educational opportunities through various conferences, trainings, work shops, newsletters, committees...the list goes on. Someone I feel who's ideas and general approach to "how" services should be provided and the attitude, knowledge and ethical vestment to which providers of services should adhere - is Tom Pomeranz.

I attended one of Tom's trainings over 2 years ago and use daily the skills I obtained through it.

If you provide direct services to people with disabilities, I highly recommend Tom's MAXIMS as a "must read". I've provided a helpful link in the "Useful Links" section of this blog to Tom's MAXIMS.

Although to get the most from the MAXIMS, one should really attend a training. I feel it remains beneficial for people to review them regardless. Some are so simple and so effective, further explanation shouldn't be needed.

There is much more to be learned from Tom's "Universal Enhancement" and other resources found on his site and in his training - details of which Tom will gladly answer.

I hope you find the information you find at Tom's site as useful as I have.

Any questions may be directed to: rsi5@srt.com