[NFBMO] Blind Americans Return To Work Act

[millerdennis893 at gmail.com]

Blind Americans Return to Work Act 

Issue-Current Social Security law contains a policy that has the unintended
consequence of discouraging blind Americans from maximizing their earnings
potential.  

 

The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program has a built in
"earnings cliff". Title II of the Social Security Act provides that
disability benefits paid to blind beneficiaries are eliminated if the
beneficiary exceeds a monthly earnings limit.[1] This earnings limit, often
called the "earnings cliff," is in effect a penalty imposed on blind
Americans when they work. For example, the earnings limit in 2023 for a
blind person is $2,460 per month. If a blind individual earns more than that
threshold, even by just one dollar, they are engaged in substantial gainful
activity (SGA). Under the current law, any individual engaged in SGA is not
entitled to any SSDI benefits. This means that if a blind person earns just
one dollar over the earnings limit, all benefits are lost. 

 

The earnings cliff has the unintended consequence of creating an incentive
for blind people to remain unemployed or underemployed, despite their desire
to work. In a 2018 survey, National Industries for the Blind (NIB) found
that 21 percent of respondents from thirty-four of their non-profit
associations had turned down a raise or promotion to retain their SSDI
benefits.[2] The survey also found that 37 percent of respondents had turned
down additional hours or even asked to reduce their hours in order to retain
their SSDI benefits.[3] Blind Americans who are willing and capable to work
are intentionally limiting themselves in order to keep from suddenly losing
all of their SSDI benefits. 

 

The current work incentive in the form of the trial work period is
needlessly complicated and counterintuitive. Under the current SSDI program,
if a blind worker wants to try and earn more money they will likely trigger
a nine-month trial work period. These nine months do not have to be
consecutive, but instead are any nine months during a rolling sixty month
period in which the worker earned more than a certain amount (for 2023 this
amount is $1,050 per month). When all of those nine months are exhausted,
the worker is once again subject to the earnings cliff if they cross the SGA
threshold. This is supposed to act as an incentive for blind recipients to
determine if they are ready to work, but the complexity of the rules makes
it easier to just ignore the process altogether. Additionally, 80 percent of
respondents to NIB's 2018 survey said they did not have access to coaching
or guidance on federal benefits.[4]




 

Solution-Blind Americans Return to Work Act will:

 

Eliminate the earnings cliff by instituting a two-for-one phase-out of
earnings over the SGA limit. For every two dollars a blind worker earns
above the SGA threshold, their benefits amount will be reduced by one
dollar. 

 

Create a true work incentive for SSDI recipients. With a phase-out model,
blind workers will always be better off striving to earn as much as
possible, which will facilitate the transition of those workers from the
SSDI system as benefits are gradually reduced. With this model, blind
Americans will never lose by working. As an added benefit, fewer workers
earning SSDI benefits and instead paying into the Social Security Trust Fund
means a more balanced Trust Fund in time.   

 

Simplify the SSDI system by eliminating the trial work period and grace
period, making the rules more compatible with the Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) program. Under the proposed system, the SSDI program will
become less complicated. With both programs using similar rules, there will
be less confusion, and the incentive for blind people to return to work will
be consistent and clear.

 

 

GOAL-ELIMINATE THE SSDI EARNINGS CLIFF AND CREATE A TRUE WORK INCENTIVE FOR
BLIND AMERICANS.

 

 

Sponsor the Blind Americans Return to Work Act.

 

 

For more information, contact:

Justin Young, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the
Blind

Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2210, Email: jyoung at nfb.org
<mailto:jyoung at nfb.org>  or visit www.nfb.org <http://www.nfb.org> 

 

 


  _____  

[1] 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423.

[2] Commitment to Serve, A presentation given at the 2018 NIB/NAEPB Training
Conference and Expo.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbmo_nfbnet.org/attachments/20230109/7b20d030/attachment.html>