Beneficiary |
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The person who is receiving a benefit.
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Benefits Planner |
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| Someone who can help you understand or apply for benefit programs when you become disabled or turn 65. Their goal is to help you avoid financial complications while developing a sustainable plan for the future.
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Community Work Incentives Coordinator (CWIC) |
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The federal government pays benefits planners in communities around the country to help people think ahead about work incentives and benefits issues. CWIC'S are benefits planners who are trained by the Social Security Administration to assist beneficiaries with programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) in addition to other related programs.
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Continuing Disability Review (CDR) |
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A periodic review to determine if there has been any medical improvement in your condition and/or to determine whether you continue to be eligible for Social Security benefits for other reasons. The two types of reviews are called a medical CDR and a work CDR.
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Disability (Definition used by Social Security for Adults) |
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The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity (SGA) due to any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or last for a continuous period of at least 12 months. A person must not only be unable to do his/her previous work but cannot, considering age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of SGA which exists in the national economy. It is immaterial whether such work exists in the immediate area, or whether a specific job vacancy exists, or whether the worker would be hired if he/she applied for work. The worker’s impairment(s) must be the primary reason for his/her inability to engage in SGA.
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Duration of Ticket Services |
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Ticket program services may be used for sixty months (5 calendar years) and sometimes longer. Full use of sixty months of services under current rules is allowed once during each period of a Social Security disability.
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Earned Income (EI) |
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Salaries, wages, tips, professional fees and other amounts received as pay for physical or mental work actually performed. Funds received from any other source are not included. (Contrast unearned income.) |
Employment Network |
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An employment services agency that is approved by Social Security. Employment Networks may offer a variety of services such as job readiness services, placement services, vocational rehabilitation, training, job coaches, transportation or other supports.
Employment Network examples:
- Employers
- Employers offering or arranging for job training
- An employer collaborating with a community based organization
- Transportation providers
- Staffing and placement agencies
- Consumer groups
- California Department of Rehabilitation
- Private providers of rehabilitation services
- One Stop Career Centers
- Vocational rehabilitation Service Projects for American Indians with disabilities
- Cottage industries such as benefits planning services combined with other services
- Public or private schools providing transitional education or career development services
- Organizations working with ethnic, disability, or religious faith groups
A current list of Employment Networks can be found on the MAXIMUS site .
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Expedited Reinstatement of Benefits |
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Gross Income |
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Income before taxes and other deductions are made.
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Individual Work Plan (IWP)
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A formal agreement between a ticket holder and an Employment Network that describes how services will achieve an employment goal. The Plan includes specific steps and a time schedule that may span several years.
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MAXIMUS
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A private organization authorized by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to manage the Ticket to Work Program. As Program Manager, MAXIMUS provides outreach, recruitment, training, and payment processing to Employment Networks. |
Onset Date (Social Security) |
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The date, after reviewing an individual's medical records, that Social Security determines that a disability began. The date Social Security receives an application does not necessarily establish the onset date.
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Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) |
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Work that disqualifies an individual from Social Security disability benefits. Social Security uses earning limits to determine whether or not an individual is performing SGA.
For 2008, SGA is $940 ($1,570 for the blind).
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Temporarily Inactive Ticket |
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A Ticket that has been temporarily inactivated because a beneficiary could not make progress on his/her Individual Work Plan due to illness or disability. The clock stops on the timely progress review schedule, and beneficiaries are not penalized for the delay. |
Ticket |
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A standard form that indicates eligibility for the Ticket to Work Program.
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Ticket on Demand |
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A term for requesting a Ticket to Work by calling the Ticket Program Manager: (866) 968-7842.
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Ticket to Work Program |
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Timely Progress
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Active participation in the Individual Work Plan (IWP) during the first two years of the Ticket program. Thereafter, timely progress is referred to as "increased work activity and earnings" (Year 3, 4, and 5). As long as an individual is making timely progress on the IWP, Social Security will not initiate a medical continuing disability review.
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Unearned Income (UI) |
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Funds received from sources for which no paid work activity was performed. (Examples: Disability benefits such as SDI, SSDI, SSI, STD, and LTD; income from a trust or investment, dividends, profits, or funds received from any source other than work are all examples of unearned income.) |
Work
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Physical or mental activity that is actually performed and results in earned income. |
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