As federal lawmakers face increasing pressure to preserve retirement benefits and address the solvency of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Ticket to Work program, which has been in place for over two decades, is facing scrutiny. While it was designed to help disabled individuals return to work, experts argue that the program has not met expectations.
Ticket to Work: A 23-Year-Old Initiative
The Ticket to Work program, launched in 2002, aims to assist individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits who are able to work. It offers job training, employment services, and allows recipients to keep their disability benefits for up to 12 months while working. The goal was to help people transition back into the workforce without losing their safety net.
Limited Impact and Low Participation
Despite its intention, the program has seen limited success. Economist David Stapleton, a former disability policy expert, commented that the program’s impact has been minimal compared to initial expectations. “If there was an impact, it was very tiny compared to what expectations were,” he said, adding that only 0.8% of beneficiaries actually give up their benefits to return to work. In contrast, 18.2% of disability recipients expressed an interest in returning to work within the next five years.
Challenges and Underutilization
The Ticket to Work program’s limited success is partly due to a lack of awareness among recipients. Jim Allsup, who has worked with Social Security Disability recipients for decades, highlighted that nearly 70% of SSDI recipients either don’t know about the program or don’t fully understand it. “We can’t help the Tarnishas of the world unless they know about the damn program,” he said, referencing the difficulties of reaching potential participants.
Tarnisha Averette’s Success Story
Despite these challenges, there are success stories. Tarnisha Averette, who struggled with Lupus, was able to return to work with the help of Allsup’s services. She now works at Amazon while continuing to receive her disability benefits, making $20 an hour. “If it wasn’t for this program, I don’t know what I would have done,” Averette said. Her story highlights the program’s potential to help people rebuild their financial stability, but it remains an exception rather than the rule.
Financial Savings and Potential Impact
Allsup estimated that every person who successfully transitions off disability benefits saves the Social Security Disability Insurance trust fund an average of $309,000 over their lifetime. If the 20% of beneficiaries who want to work within five years were able to return to the workforce, it could save the SSDI trust fund more than $400 billion.
SSA’s Outreach Efforts
The SSA claims to conduct outreach to those on disability benefits, including offering free counseling and seminars about the Ticket to Work program. However, as experts like Stapleton and Allsup point out, many recipients are not aware of these opportunities, suggesting that more targeted outreach is needed.
Exploring Other Solutions: The RETAIN Program
To improve the situation, Stapleton advocates for early intervention programs like RETAIN (Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network), which aims to help individuals stay in the workforce before they need to go on disability. The program, currently piloting in five states, seeks to help those who leave work for medical reasons avoid disability benefits altogether.
While the Ticket to Work program has helped some individuals return to the workforce, its overall impact has been limited, with many recipients still unaware or unable to navigate the process. With continued concerns over Social Security’s solvency and the effectiveness of disability benefits programs, experts are calling for more proactive efforts to support people with disabilities in returning to work. The upcoming results from the RETAIN program could provide new insights into how to better serve this population and reduce reliance on disability benefits.
