Returning To Employment With Ticket To Work Incentives

Considering a return to work while receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can cause concern over financial stability. You may worry that earning an income will immediately terminate your benefits, leaving you in financial difficulty if your health worsens or job attempts don't succeed. This fear can hold you back from exploring a journey that could lead to more independence and stability.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has created the Ticket To Work (TTW) Program with work incentives that help you test your ability to work while maintaining important benefits during your transition. These work incentives offer a path for you to avoid immediate benefit loss. Combined with the experienced help of an SSA-authorized Employment Network (EN) such as Allsup Employment Services, your path to a more independent, self-sufficient future is much clearer.

In this series of articles, “Returning To Employment With Ticket To Work Incentives,” we cover the five key points that help create a gradual, protected road to employment:

• Trial Work Period (TWP)
• Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)
• Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)
• Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWEs)
• Medicare Continuation

Before we delve into the specifics of each work incentive, it’s important to start with some foundational knowledge about SSDI and the Ticket To Work Program.

Understanding Your SSDI Benefits

Before exploring specific work incentives, it's important to understand how your current SSDI benefits operate. SSDI provides monthly payments based on your work history and previous earnings. These benefits continue as long as your medical condition meets the SSA's definition of disability and you don't engage in what's referred to as substantial gainful activity.

Substantial gainful activity (SGA) directly impacts your benefits. It represents a threshold of earnings that SSA considers substantial enough to demonstrate you're no longer disabled according to their definition. For 2025, the SGA amount is $1,620 per month for non-blind individuals ($2,590 for blind individuals). Earning above this amount after your TWP could affect your benefits.

Many beneficiaries mistakenly believe that any work will immediately terminate their benefits. In reality, SSA has created a pathway to test employment with a safety net, in the form of work incentives.

The Ticket To Work Program

The Ticket To Work program is a voluntary employment support program for SSDI and SSI recipients. It provides free employment services like career counseling, job placement, training, and benefits counseling through Employment Networks (ENs) or State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies.

• The program helps beneficiaries use these work incentives effectively while finding and keeping a job.
• Participation in TTW protects SSDI benefits while working and actively making progress toward financial independence.
• TTW participants may delay medical Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs) while engaging in the program.

Learn more about each work incentive in our series, “Returning To Employment With Ticket To Work Incentives:”

• Trial Work Period (TWP)
• Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)
• Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)
• Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWEs)
• Medicare Continuation

Returning To Work With Allsup Employment Services

Allsup Employment Services (AES) is an SSA-authorized EN for the Ticket To Work Program. We have over 10 years of experience helping thousands return to work successfully. We can help guide you through the SSDI work incentives on your return-to-work journey.

The Ticket To Work Program helps you protect your SSA disability benefits, and working with AES you can:

• Earn More. Make as much income as you choose during the Trial Work Period and protect your full SSDI benefits.
• Stress Less. Avoid medical disability reviews and the worry that comes with them.
• Keep Medicare. While working, you can keep Medicare for over seven years.
• Avoid Risk. If you stop working anytime within five years, your SSDI benefits can resume through a reinstatement process.
• Pay Nothing. As a Social Security-authorized Employment Network, our services are provided at no cost.

Choosing AES means working with an EN who’s focused on your goals and will work with you every step of the way.

Get started with no cost and no obligation.

You can reach Allsup Employment Services today by calling 866-540-5105 or requesting a call.