Life events, such as changes in employment, marital status, or living situation, can be stressful, especially if you are not sure how the change will affect your benefits. Meeting with a Work Incentive Consultant is the easiest way to learn how these changes can affect your health care coverage and disability benefits.

Work Incentive Consultants know a great deal about health care coverage and cash assistance programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). If you tell them about your goals and your situation, they can help you make informed choices about working and benefits.

Ability360

The best place to find a certified Work Incentive Consultant is Ability360. These Work Incentive Consultants can:

• Understand the rules of specific work incentives and how they apply to you
• Decide whether the Ticket to Work Program is right for you
• Present the potential benefits and facts about employment for a person who gets Social Security disability benefits
• Analyze how work and earnings affect your SSI, SSDI, health care, and state and local benefits
• Find a good match with a state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency or an Employment Network (EN), depending upon your needs
• Find information about health coverage available to beneficiaries who have entered the workforce

Work Incentive Consultant services are free! Work Incentive Consultants understand the Social Security rules and want to help you achieve your work goals.

You can contact them online or at:

DB101 Website

The Disability Benefits 101 website (DB101) helps people with disabilities learn how earned income may impact their benefits so they can make informed choices, reduce fears, and make work a core part of their lives.

The DB101 website includes detailed descriptions of health care and disability benefits programs like SSI, SSDI, and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). Each program description includes information on how the program interacts with work and other disability benefits programs. It also includes sections on topics of interest like returning to work, building resources and wealth, and rights and responsibilities.

DB101 Benefits Planning Estimators

The DB101 website also includes Estimators to help you better understand how life changes can affect your finances, health care coverage, and disability benefits. DB101 Estimators help users:

• Learn about the connections between work and benefits
• Learn about Social Security work incentives
• Develop tailored work plans
• Set goals for employment

Benefits and Work Estimator

What will happen to your income, benefits, and health coverage if you go to work? You can use the Benefits and Work Estimator to find out how a job may affect your total income and your health care coverage.

AHCCCS Freedom to Work Estimator

Arizona's AHCCCS Freedom to Work program lets workers with disabilities keep AHCCCS coverage by paying a monthly premium. You can use the AHCCCS Freedom to Work Estimator to find out if you’d qualify for the program and what your estimated premium would be.

School and Work Estimator

Young people with disabilities can use the School and Work Estimator to find out how a job can affect their cash benefits and health care coverage – and how staying in school can help.

Many people with disabilities worry that if they go to work, they’ll lose their health care coverage and are unsure if they can support themselves without disability benefits. For most people this is not true. There are actually many Social Security rules (known as work incentives) that help people with disabilities try working without losing their benefits right away.

The Ticket to Work Program is a federal program for adults with disabilities who are 18 – 64 years old and are getting disability benefits from Social Security. The Ticket program offers people more choices on where they can get employment services and is designed to supply help that is carefully tailored to meet each person’s needs.

The goal of the program is to help users become more self-sufficient by raising their earned income. If the program works for you, you will be able to have more independence and rely less on Social Security disability benefits. Also, you will still be able to use other Social Security programs and work incentives to help you transition into work.

During the time that you are actively participating in the Ticket to Work Program, you can get the help and support you need to find the job that is right for you. The Ticket program can help you get:

• A vocational assessment
• Training
• Job placement
• Job coaching
• Other help you need to prepare for, get, or keep a job

How the Program Works

If you get Social Security disability checks and you are between 18 – 64 years old, you are eligible to participate in the Ticket to Work Program. But Social Security doesn’t mail out a paper ticket anymore; it is all electronic now. After you have confirmed that you are eligible to begin the Ticket to Work program, you can “assign” your "ticket" to a Ticket to Work services provider called an Employment Network (EN). Click here to find an employment network in your area. If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.

Once you find an EN who is willing to accept your Ticket, you and the EN will develop a written agreement called an Individual Work Plan. The plan will include details about the services the EN will offer and your responsibilities to reach your work goals.

In addition to the private ENs listed, you may choose instead to get employment services from the Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration (AZRSA), which is a state agency considered an Employment Network by the Ticket to Work Program.

Important facts about the Ticket to Work Program:

• It is voluntary. It is fine if you choose not to do it.
• It is free. The services you get through this program are all paid for by the government.
• It is safe. The program is set up so that you can learn about employment options or try working.

One great aspect of the Ticket to Work program is that while you are in it, Social Security will not make you do medical Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs). As long as you progress through your job search in a timely manner and continue working, you won’t lose your eligibility for SSI or SSDI for medical reasons.

To learn more about the Ticket to Work Program, click here.

Social Security wants you to go back to work if you are able to. In addition to the Ticket to Work Program, there are many other programs and special features in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) law that can help. Any program or feature that makes it easier to go to work is called a work incentive.

Most people on SSI who go to work end up better off financially. Even though their SSI benefits may go down, their total income from SSI and wages will almost always be higher.

When you earn income, only part of the money you earn will be counted when SSI adjusts your monthly cash benefits. The SSI program does not count the first $65 you earn each month, and they only count about one-half of the rest. This means that a little less than half of your earnings will be counted when Social Security figures out your SSI benefits.

Even if you earn enough money for your SSI benefits amount to go down to zero, you’re not “out” of the SSI program. Most people can keep their health coverage through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) under an SSI provision called 1619(b), even after their SSI cash benefits go to zero. And you can have your SSI benefits restarted if your earnings suddenly drop for any reason.

Work Expenses

Social Security knows that you may have extra expenses when you go to work. Some of your work expenses can be counted as Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs). If you are blind, there are additional expenses called Blind Work Expenses (BWEs). IRWEs and BWEs are used in figuring out your countable earned income. Both can help keep your SSI cash benefits higher when you are working.

When you report your income, you need to tell Social Security about any work related expenses, so they can decide if the expense is an IRWE or a BWE. If Social Security decides your expense is an IRWE or a BWE, you will need to send them copies of your receipts showing the amount of the expense.

To learn more about IRWEs and BWEs, click here.

Other Support if You Work

Going to School and Getting a Job at the Same Time: The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE)

If you are a student under 22 years of age who works, SSI makes it easy to keep more of the money you earn. The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) allows students to earn up to $2,350 per month, up to a maximum of $9,460 per year, without having those wages count as part of your countable income. This causes your SSI benefits to stay higher than it otherwise would.

To learn more about the SEIE, click here or visit the Social Security Administration’s website.

Saving for an Employment Goal: Plans to Achieve Self-Support (PASS)

Social Security’s Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) program is for people with disabilities who want to save money for a work-related goal that will help them achieve self-sufficiency. You must apply and become eligible for, or already be getting, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits to qualify for the PASS program.

If you're on SSI, your monthly SSI benefits go down whenever you get income from other sources (like a job or Social Security Disability Insurance). This can make it difficult to save for things like job training or school.

SSI also has strict resource limits ($2,000 for a person, $3,000 for a couple). To keep getting benefits, these limits need to be followed even when you go back to work.

If you are in this situation, PASS could be a good option for you, because a PASS can let you earn more without having your benefits go down and let you save more money than the resources limit usually allows. With a PASS, you can save money to:

• Start a new job, raise your income in your current job, or start a business of your own
• Pay for health care or work-related expenses (transportation, for example)
• Buy a computer or other equipment that will help you succeed in your career

By setting up a PASS, you can keep your full SSI benefits to pay for basic living expenses, like food and rent, while you set aside money from other sources to achieve your work-related goals.

To learn more about PASS, read DB101's PASS article or contact a PASS Cadre.

Saving for the Future: ABLE Accounts

If your disability began before you turned 26, you can open an ABLE account where over time you can save up to $100,000 in resources and not have them counted by SSI. ABLE accounts mean that if you have a job (or even if you don't), you can save some money without losing your benefits. Additionally, the money in an ABLE account gets tax advantages similar to the way retirement accounts work.

However, ABLE accounts have restrictions:

• They can only be opened through specific programs or institutions.
• You can only open one ABLE account.
  • Arizona's ABLE account program is AZ ABLE, which is only open to Arizona residents.
  • You can choose to open an account in another state’s ABLE program.
• You and the other people making contributions on your behalf have a limit on how much you can deposit each year. Combined, you cannot deposit more than $19,000 in 2025.
• You can only use money in an ABLE account for specific things, such as:
  • Education
  • Housing
  • Transportation
  • Help getting and keeping work
  • Health care
  • Assistive technology, and
  • Other approved expenses.
• A person can only have one ABLE account.

Learn more about ABLE accounts.

Safety Nets

Health Care

If your monthly SSI cash benefits end because your wages are too high, section 1619(b) of the Social Security Act allows you to earn up to $56,455 and keep your Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) coverage.

Your resources must remain below SSI’s resource limit, which is $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. If your resources are higher than SSI’s resource limit, you will probably still qualify for health coverage through AHCCCS Freedom to Work. Click here to learn more about AHCCCS Freedom to Work.

If you are eligible for 1619(b) and you stop working or your earnings drop to a point where you qualify for an SSI cash payment again, you will be able to get your SSI benefits restarted quickly without having to file a new application or wait for a medical review.

Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)

If you need to stop working and your earnings have made you ineligible for 1619(b) status, you may want to use Expedited Reinstatement (EXR) to get your SSI benefits started again. Expedited Reinstatement is available to SSDI or SSI beneficiaries who:

• Stopped getting benefits because of earnings from work
• Are unable to work or perform Substantial Gainful Activity
• Are disabled because of an impairment(s) that is the same as or related to the impairment(s) that allowed them to get benefits earlier, and
• Request benefits be restarted within 5 years of the month their benefits ended.

When you request Expedited Reinstatement, you can get up to 6 months of temporary SSI benefits while Social Security looks at your medical records.

To learn more about SSI and work click here. If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has rules and incentives that can help you get a job without having to worry that you’ll lose the benefits you need.

For most people who get SSDI, these work incentives function like a 3-stage process that begins when you get a job:

1. The Trial Work Period (TWP) lets you work and get benefits at the same time, no matter how much you make.
2. When the Trial Work Period ends, the 3-year Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) lets you work and get benefits for every month that you earn less than Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) ($1,620 in 2025, $2,700 if you’re blind).
3. For the first 5 years after your EPE ends, Expedited Reinstatement means that if your income drops below the SGA level, you have the option of quickly getting back on SSDI without having to completely reapply.

These 3 incentives mean that you can get a job and see how it goes. If it goes well, you’ll be in a better financial situation than before. If it doesn’t go well, you will be able to get SSDI benefits and be in the same situation as you were before you tried out working.

Trial Work Period

First, Social Security gives every SSDI beneficiary a 9-month Trial Work Period to test the waters and decide if they’re able to re-enter (or more fully enter) the workforce. During your Trial Work Period, you can work and earn any level of income and continue to get your full SSDI benefits.

Extended Period of Eligibility

Once you’ve used up all 9 Trial Work months within the 5-year window, your Trial Work Period is over and your 3-year Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) begins.

During your EPE, you will continue to get SSDI benefits as long as your countable earnings are not above the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level ($1,620 per month in 2025, $2,700 if you’re blind).

The first time Social Security decides you have had a pattern of countable earnings over SGA, you will get a 3-month Grace Period. During that time, you will continue getting SSDI cash benefits regardless of your wages. After your Grace Period ends, your SSDI benefits will be zero in any month your countable earnings are above the SGA limit.

If you’re not working above the SGA limit in the 36th month, you will continue to get SSDI cash benefits until you do work above the SGA level or Social Security decides that you have medically improved.

If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.

Expedited Reinstatement

Expedited Reinstatement is the 3^rd major incentive that Social Security has created to encourage people to return to work. It is designed to help former SSDI beneficiaries who have gone back to work and lost their benefits because they used up their Trial Work Period and Extended Period of Eligibility. It allows these people to get up to 6 months of temporary SSDI cash benefits if their income drops below the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level.

During those 6 months, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will do a medical review to decide whether or not the beneficiary still meets SSA disability requirements. If Social Security decides the beneficiary is still disabled, they’ll be placed back on benefits without having to reapply for SSDI. If the beneficiary is not found to be disabled, their SSDI benefits will stop.

To be eligible for Expedited Reinstatement, you must request that your benefits be restarted within 5 years of when you benefits ended.

In some cases, it may be beneficial for you to reapply for SSDI benefits rather than using the Expedited Reinstatement work incentive. This will depend upon how long you worked, how much you earned, and what your disability is.

If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.

One common misperception is that if you go back to work or raise your income in some other way, you’ll lose access to health care coverage. There are several ways to go back to work, raise your income, and still have health care coverage.

Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage

Many employers offer private health coverage plans to their employees. This may be an option for you. Ask your company’s human resources office for details. To learn more, read DB101's article on Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage.

If You Get SSI and Get a Job

If you’ve been on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and AHCCCS and you work your way off SSI, you may become eligible for SSI's 1619(b) rule.

Rule 1619(b) means that if your monthly SSI cash benefits ends because your wages are too high, you can still get your Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) health coverage as long as you don’t earn more than $56,455 per year.

In order to get AHCCCS coverage through 1619(b), your resources must also stay below SSI’s resource limit, which is $2,000 for a person or $3,000 for a couple.

AHCCCS Freedom to Work

If you don’t qualify for 1619(b), AHCCCS Freedom to Work allows you to earn a lot more money while keeping access to AHCCCS coverage.

To qualify for AHCCCS Freedom to Work, you must meet all of the following eligibility criteria:

• Be age 16 – 65
• Be an Arizona resident
• Be a United States citizen or a qualified immigrant
• Be working and paying taxes
• Have a Social Security number or apply for one
  • To apply for a Social Security number, visit the U.S. Social Security Administration
  • Make a copy of the form submitted as confirmation that you have applied for a Social Security number
• Apply for potential income that may be available, such as unemployment, pension, and Social Security Disability benefits
• Get Social Security disability benefits or be considered blind or disabled by the Disability Determination Services Administration (DDSA)
• Not be eligible for any other AHCCCS program
• Have $6,606 in monthly income or less per month. Whether your income is low enough will depend on your situation and what types of income you have.

People in the program pay a monthly premium for their coverage. The premium is based on their income. The maximum monthly premium is $35. To see if you might qualify for AHCCCS Freedom to Work and what your estimated premium would be, use the DB101 AHCCCS Freedom to Work Estimator .

To learn more about Freedom to Work, call 1-855-432-7587 or 1-602-417-5010. You can also read DB101’s AHCCCS Freedom to Work article.

Individual Coverage Through HealthCare.gov

If your income is too high to qualify for AHCCCS, you should be able to buy individual health coverage through HealthCare.gov and the government may help you pay for your plan through tax subsidies. If your family's income is at or below 250% of FPG, the government will also help you get a plan that has lower copayments and other expenses. Note: There is no income limit for getting subsidies that help pay individual coverage premiums. (Before 2021, the limit was 400% of FPG.) To get subsidies, you still must meet other eligibility rules and the premium amount you pay depends on your income and your plan.

To learn more, read DB101's article on Buying Health Coverage on HealthCare.gov.

If you go back to work or if your income changes for any other reason, be sure to report your change in earnings to Social Security, your DES/Family Assistance Administration office, and any other agency that gives you disability benefits.

Report these changes in your income immediately. If you don’t, you’re putting yourself at risk of an overpayment. If you get an overpayment, you will likely be held responsible for repaying those benefits to Social Security and any other agencies that overpaid you. If you have any questions about this, talk to a Work Incentive Consultant.

How to Report to Social Security

If you get Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you need to report your income to the Social Security Administration (SSA). If you get benefits from both of these programs, you need to make sure to report your earnings to both of your claims representatives at Social Security, not just one of them.

When reporting changes in your income to Social Security, make sure you report any change related to earned income or unearned income, and any Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs) or wage subsidies that you get. Your Social Security claims representative will tell you what you need to report and what information you need to send to them.¿

Reporting for SSDI

For SSDI, to report changes, contact your local Social Security office and ask how and when you should report your earnings. You may be able to report:

• By phone, mail, or in person at your local Social Security office, or
• With the my Social Security online reporting tool.

Reporting for SSI

For SSI, you can report changes:

• In person or by phone with your local Social Security office.
• By mail to your local Social Security office. Write “Attention: SSI” on the envelope to make sure it goes to the right place.
• You can also check with Social Security if you can report earnings during the first 6 days of the month with:
  • The SSI Telephone Wage Reporting System at 1-866-772-0953
  • The SSI Mobile Wage Reporting Application available in the Google Play or Apple App stores, or
  • The my Social Security online wage reporting tool.

Note: You cannot use the SSITWR, the app, or my Social Security if you:

• Have Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs)
• Meet the definition of statutory blindness
• Have a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS)
• Have deemed income, or
• Have more than one employer in a month

How to Report to Your DES/Family Assistance Administration office

If you get health coverage through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Nutrition Assistance, TANF Cash Assistance, or any other benefits supplied by Arizona’s Department of Economic Security (DES), you need to report changes in your income to your local DES/Family Assistance Administration office by mail or in person.

If you get health coverage through AHCCCS Freedom to Work, you need to report to the AHCCCS Freedom to Work office at 1-855-432-7587 or 1-602-417-5010.

If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.

Earlier in this article we explained how Plans to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) are a special savings program for people on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and how an ABLE account lets you save up to $100,000 in resources and not have them counted by SSI. However, there is another great savings program that is for anybody with a low income, even if you don’t get SSI benefits.

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

Individual Development Accounts, also known as IDAs, are special savings accounts. You choose a goal to save for and use the IDA account to save money towards meeting that goal. IDA goals are often things like buying a first home, paying for education or training costs, or funding a small business.

The money you put into the account will be matched by other sources. The match may be anywhere from one to 4 times the amount of the deposit you make. For example, if you’re enrolled in an IDA program with a 2:1 match and you deposit $50 into your account, the program will add an additional $100 towards your savings goal.

Note: There aren't as many IDA programs as there used to be. Some are still active, but it can take a bit of effort to find one that is accepting applications.

Generally, to qualify for an IDA:

• Your annual income must be within 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines ($31,300), and
• You must have some form of earned income.

Once you’re enrolled in the program, you will also need to take financial education classes.

If you are interested in starting an IDA, find an IDA program in your area. There are good IDA program directories at the Prosperity Now and the Assets for Independence Resource Center.

You can also click here to learn more. If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is designed to help people who are working and have low incomes by lowering the amount of federal income tax they owe. Even if you don’t earn enough money to owe federal income taxes, you may be eligible for an EITC.

To get the EITC, you must claim it when you file your annual federal tax return. For tax year 2025 (filing by April 2026), the EITC ranges from $2 to $8,046, depending on your adjusted gross income and the number of qualifying children in your family.

To qualify, you must have income from employment, self-employment, or employer-paid disability benefits that you got before retirement. There is no limit to the number of times you can claim an EITC; you can claim the tax credit every year that you are eligible.

If you have a work goal or are currently working, a Work Incentive Consultant can answer your questions.