[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] NFB first major priority has been introduced!

[smturner.234 at gmail.com]

Ohio Members and Friends,

 

I am happy to share

 

Announcement from Kyle Walls,

 

Dear affiliate presidents and legislative directors, 

 

We are all feeling the swell of positive energy coming out of Washington
Seminar. Once again, it was great to hear all those white canes tapping and
guide dogs on the move. Our hard work, diligent practice, and long days of
walking up and down Capitol Hill have paid off! I am thrilled to announce
that our first major priority has been introduced. The Blind Americans
Return to Work Act of 2025, sponsored by Representative Pete Sessions
(R-TX-17) and co-led by Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-7), has been introduced in the
119th Congress as H.R. 1175.

 

Here is the factsheet below

 

2025 Blind Americans Return to Work Act 

Issue-The Social Security Disability Insurance benefits program contains an
earnings cliff that hinders blind individuals from achieving the American
dream.

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
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/legislative-priorities/blind-ame
ricans-return-work-act#1> 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 2025 for a blind person is
2,700 dollars 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 incentivizes blind people to choose 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
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/legislative-priorities/blind-ame
ricans-return-work-act#2> 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
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/legislative-priorities/blind-ame
ricans-return-work-act#3> 3.  Blind Americans who are willing and able to
work are intentionally limiting themselves out of fear of losing the
entirety of their SSDI benefits and falling off the earnings cliff. For
example, according to the Social Security Administration the average SSDI
benefit check in 2024 was 1,537 dollars, which equates to 18,444 dollars
annually. Under this circumstance, a blind person would lose 18,444 dollars,
just by earning an additional 12 dollars in a calendar year. This is a
trade-off no one wants to accept.

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 2025 this amount is 1,160 dollars 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 and the difference between the trial work period
amount and the SGA threshold result in many blind Americans not receiving
the benefit the process is intended to provide.  

Solution-Blind Americans Return to Work Act will:

Eliminate the earnings cliff by instituting a ten-year demonstration program
establishing a gradual two-for-one phase-out of SSDI benefits with 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. This ten-year program will
start in 2026 and conclude in 2035, demonstrating that blind Americans can
and will achieve their highest earning potential.

Create a genuine 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 out of the SSDI system as benefits are gradually reduced. With this
model, blind Americans will never lose by working. As an added benefit,
fewer workers will be earning SSDI benefits and instead be paying into the
Social Security Trust Fund, which 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 the SSI and SSDI 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 Earnings Cliff by Adopting a Solution Used in Other
Social Security Administration Programs



 

Suzanne M. Hartfield Turner

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio, Vice President

Ohio Legislative Director

Cleveland Chapter, President

 

The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and
all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination,
and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.

 

P: (216) 990-6199

W: NFBOhio.ORG

Facebook:  <https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/>
https://www.facebook.com/ohiosblind/photos/

 

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