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Originally Posted by sugarwood
I'd like to hear more about this. Are you saying these people have to stop working forever so they don't lose the meager SSD benefit? Seems like a nasty trap to get stuck in.
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There are two similar but different things here. SSDI is social security disability income. You have to have worked enough and put enough into the system to get anything back. If you are disabled through a work injury, etc. you can qualify to get money from the system calculated based on how much you put in.
SSI is supplemental security income. It is a basic payment for those who have not put enough into the system. You still have to be qualified as disabled. You get a basic payment, around $750 to $800 per month.
If you work, these payments get reduced/eliminated. The rep payees have to report this income. The employers of course have to report to the IRS. There is often a time lag. I've seen folks get temp work, earn money for a few months and then get laid off. The SS administration then stops their benefit months later so no income comes in. The SS administration has put in place a very complex set of rules to protect the disability determination status for those trying to get off of these payments long term. It is difficult to understand and impossible for most to actually manage through. $750 buys you almost nothing when you think about what it costs to pay rent, insurance, etc. I've sat with many and shown them the math of what even 20 hours/week at minimum wage gets you vs. this basic payment. It doesn't matter most of the time. They protect their status like it was their life blood when in fact it is a life sentence of poverty.
Imagine if the system just let them work, keep their status and their basic payment until they were earning say 4 times that and then reduce/eliminate it after they had a few years of solid earnings history. Self sufficiency.