Accessibility
Ticket-to-Work

Do you have a ticket to work?

Did you know that you can return to work after you’ve been approved for Social Security disability? We are here to assist you with your career search, planning and returning to work.

Are you ready to increase your income? Explore your work options? Keep your Medicare/Medicaid while you work? Gain greater personal fulfillment through work?

If you are between the ages of 18-64 and currently receive SSDI and/or SSI cash benefits, you have a Ticket to Work. Social Security’s Ticket to Work program and other work incentives can help you find meaningful work.
CareerSource Tampa Bay is a Social Security Administration approved Employment Network. CareerSource Tampa Bay and the Ticket to Work program will make it easier for people with disabilities to return to work. We are here to assist you with your career search and planning.

CareerSource Tampa Bay has a direct impact on the workforce, business, education and economic development communities in Hillsborough County. Through various programs CareerSource Tampa Bay has assisted an average of 40,000 customers annually including 1,500 persons with disabilities.

CareerSource Tampa Bay offers the following services to beneficiaries of a Ticket to Work:

• Initial meeting, assessment, goal setting, job search assistance and long-term planning with the Disability Program Navigator
• Employability Skills Training to include basic computer skills, resume development, professional interviewing skills, targeting your employment transition and other offerings
• Access to labor market and salary information and workforce training
• Access to job fairs and other hiring events
• Access to understanding benefits, workplace accommodations and community resources
• These services are at NO COST to you!

Debunking the Three Biggest Myths about Disability & Work

There are several common myths about how working will affect disability benefits and health care coverage.  Here are the three most common and why they are wrong.

If I try to go to work, I will automatically lose my Medicare or Medicaid?

This is a myth. First, as long as you keep receiving a benefit check of any amount, you will keep your health insurance. If you earn enough that your Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) checks stop, Medicare can continue for up to 93 months. If you currently receive Medicaid, you should be eligible to continue to receive Medicaid even after you stop receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits due to work. To be eligible you need to meet certain requirements, which include earnings below a threshold amount set by your state. Even if your earnings exceed the state threshold, you may still be eligible and should talk to your state Medicaid office. For more information about Keeping Your Medical Benefits after cash benefits stop, visit www.ssa.gov/redbook and  www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/1619b.htm.

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?

This is also a myth. Social Security ordinarily reviews your medical condition from time to time to see whether you are still disabled, using a process called the medical Continuing Disability Review, or medical CDR. If you participate in the Ticket program with either an Employment Network or your State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, and make “timely progress” following your individual work plan, Social Security will not conduct a review of your medical condition. If a medical CDR has already been scheduled for you before you assigned your ticket, Social Security will continue with the medical CDR.

If my checks stop because I go to work and then I have to stop working because of my disability, I will have to reapply for benefits all over again. It took me forever to be approved for benefits and I cannot afford to wait that long again?

As a result, I should not try to work. Again, it’s a myth. You will not need to reapply if your benefits ended within the past five years due to your earnings and you meet a few other requirements, including that you still have the original medical condition or one related to it that prevents you from working. This is a work incentive called Expedited Reinstatement. You may even be able to receive up to six months of temporary cash benefits in addition to Medicare or Medicaid coverage while SSA conducts a medical review to determine if your benefits can be reinstated.  For more information about Expedited Reinstatement, visit www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/wi/exr.htm.

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