Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program: Overview and Current Issues

[Excerpt] Title I of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-170) established the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (hereafter referred to as the Ticket to Work or Ticket program), which is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The purpose of this program is to enhance work incentives for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. The legislation created a “ticket” system to expand choices in the numbers and types of providers that SSDI and SSI beneficiaries may choose to assist them in receiving employment services. The legislation also expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage for individuals with a disability who are working or could work. Most notably, the Ticket to Work program created a market for public and private providers of support services known as employment networks (ENs) to which Social Security disability beneficiaries can voluntarily assign their tickets in exchange for a range of employment support services. The goal of the Ticket program is to reduce dependence on disability benefits and help Social Security disability beneficiaries enter or reenter the workforce. ENs would then be eligible to receive payments from SSA based on ticket holders achieving employment “milestones” or outcomes. This report provides an overview of how the Ticket to Work program operates and addresses several issues related to the Ticket program. First, it provides a brief background on the SSDI and SSI programs and a legislative history on how the Ticket program evolved. Second, this report provides an in-depth explanation on the various components and regulations of the Ticket to Work program in its current form and prior to major regulatory changes in July 2008. Third, it examines other work incentive programs created by Ticket to Work legislation and concludes with a discussion on the issues surrounding implementation of the Ticket program

Concurrent Receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Unemployment Insurance (UI): Background and Legislative Proposals in the 113th Congress

[Excerpt] Although Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) both provide income support to eligible individuals, the two programs serve largely separate populations. SSDI provides monthly cash benefits to statutorily disabled individuals who worked in jobs covered by Social Security and to their dependents. UI, on the other hand, provides temporary cash assistance to involuntarily unemployed workers who meet the requirements of state law. Under certain circumstances, however, some individuals may be concurrently (simultaneously) eligible for benefits under both programs. Numerous proposals have been introduced in the 113th Congress to prevent or offset concurrent receipt of SSDI and UI benefits. Proponents of these bills contend that concurrent receipt of SSDI and UI benefits is “double dipping” or duplicative, inasmuch as each payment serves the same function of replacing lost earnings. Opponents, however, argue that dual receipt of UI and SSDI benefits is consistent and appropriate under law, because the SSDI program actively encourages beneficiaries to return to work through various work incentives. This report provides background on SSDI and UI and explains how individuals may be eligible for both programs at the same time. It also summarizes the competing arguments for and against concurrent eligibility and examines many of the legislative proposals formally introduced in the 113th Congress to eliminate or reduce concurrent receipt of SSDI and UI benefits

Concurrent Receipt of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Unemployment Insurance (UI): Background and Legislative Proposals

[Excerpt] Although Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) both provide income support to eligible individuals, the two programs serve largely separate populations. SSDI provides long-term benefits to statutorily disabled individuals who worked in jobs covered by Social Security and to their eligible dependents. In contrast, UI provides temporary benefits to involuntarily unemployed workers who meet the requirements of state law. Under certain circumstances, however, individuals are eligible for both programs. Several proposals have been introduced in the 114th Congress to prevent or reduce concurrent receipt of SSDI and UI benefits. Proponents of these bills contend that concurrent receipt is “double dipping” or duplicative, inasmuch as each payment serves the same function of replacing lost earnings. Opponents argue that concurrent receipt of SSDI and UI benefits is consistent and appropriate under law, because the SSDI program actively encourages beneficiaries to return to work through various work incentives. This report provides background on SSDI and UI and explains how individuals may be eligible for both programs concurrently. It also summarizes the competing arguments for and against concurrent eligibility and examines the legislative proposals introduced in the 114th Congress to deny or offset the SSDI benefits of individuals in receipt of UI. The report ends with a discussion of potential issues in implementing such proposals. of potential issues in implementing such proposals

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Reform: An Overview of Proposals to Reduce the Growth in SSDI Rolls

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program provides benefits to insured workers with disabilities under the full retirement age and their dependents based on an individual worker’s earnings and work history in covered employment. Recently, some Members of Congress and the public have expressed concern over the financial sustainability of the SSDI program. Between 1980 and 2011, the number of disabled-worker beneficiaries grew 196.6%, whereas the number of workers insured for disability increased 50.9%. This increase in the ratio of disabled-worker beneficiaries to insured workers, or prevalence rate, has placed pressure on the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund, which the Social Security Board of Trustees projects will be exhausted in 2016. Some of the increase in the SSDI prevalence rate stems from changes in the demographic characteristics of the insured-worker population. According to the Social Security Board of Trustees, the aging of the baby boom generation and a sharp rise in the number and incidence rate of female insured workers helped to propel the prevalence rate upward between 1980 and 2011. However, other factors may have also contributed to the growth in SSDI rolls. For example, instances of high unemployment and the increasing relative value of SSDI benefits to low-income workers may have induced more individuals to apply to the program. In addition, inconsistency in the determination and adjudication process might have increased the likelihood of denied claimants being awarded SSDI on appeal. Moreover, changes to federal policy that relaxed certain program eligibility criteria and increased the value of disability benefits relative to retirement benefits may have played a role in increasing the SSDI prevalence rate. To assist lawmakers in addressing the sustainability of the program, this report provides an overview of reform proposals designed to mitigate the growth in SSDI rolls. Most of the proposals discussed in this report focus on reducing the inflow (incidence) of new beneficiaries into the program. These proposals include implementing stricter SSDI eligibility criteria, improving consistency in the disability determination and adjudication process, and incentivizing employers to provide supported-work services for employees following the onset of disability (i.e., rehabilitation, workplace accommodation, and a partial wage replacement). On the other hand, some of the proposals seek to increase the outflow (termination) of beneficiaries from the program. Proposals to reduce the current beneficiary population entail providing stronger incentives for beneficiaries with some residual functional capacity to return to the labor force, as well as increasing the number of continuing disability reviews (CDR) performed by the Social Security Administration (SSA)

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): The Five-Month Waiting Period for Benefits

This report explains the five-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and its legislative history. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is authorized by Title II of the Social Security Act and provides income replacement for eligible individuals who are unable to work due to a longterm injury or illness that is expected to last at least one year or result in death

Submerged Lands of Texas, Brownsville-Harlingen Area: Sediments, Geochemistry, Benthic Macroinvertebrates..

Surface sediment textures, sediment geochemistry, and benthic fauna of the State-owned submerged lands were mapped and described using bottom samples collected at 1-mi (1.6-km) intervals from bays, estuaries, and lagoons, and the inner continental shelf. In one area of Laguna Madre samples were collected at 0.5-mi (0.8-km) intervals. In addition, the distribution of wetlands in adjacent areas was mapped using color infrared photographs taken primarily in 1979. Textural maps of the Brownsville-Harlingen area show that sand and muddy sand, having a mean grain size of between 2.5 and 5, are the dominant sediment types in bay-estuary-lagoon and inner-shelf areas. Generally, in Laguna Madre sands occur on the barrier island side of the lagoon, whereas muddier sediments are more abundant along the mainland side and in deeper areas. Muddy sand is dominant in the relatively wide southern end of Laguna Madre, and sand is dominant along the narrower, northern two-thirds of the lagoon where broad sandy wind-tidal flats on Padre Island grade into shallow subaqueous lagoon sands. Dominantly sand-sized sediments blanket most of the inner shelf and extend about 10 mi (16 km) offshore from Padre Island. The greatest extent of sand is associated with marine reworked late Pleistocene fluvial-deltaic deposits that underlie much of the inner shelf. Water depths average about 90 ft (30 m) at the outer limits of this sand-rich area. A nearshore patch of mud occurs near the mouth of the Rio Grande and represents the most recent deposition of the river. To the east and north the mud grades into muddy sand that represents a mixture of relict shelf sands and more modern fluvial muds.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Social Security: What Would Happen if the Trust Funds Ran Out?

This report explains what the Social Security trust funds are and how they work. It describes the historical operations of the trust funds and the Social Security trustees' projections of future operations. It explains what could happen if Congress allowed the trust funds to run out. It also analyzes two scenarios that assume Congress waits until the moment of insolvency to act, showing the magnitude of benefit cuts or tax increases needed and how such changes would affect beneficiaries

Profiles

Short biographical sketches of Henry Whitcom Sweeney by A.N. Mosich, DR Scott by James R. Morton, John Bennett Canning by William Robert Smith, and F.R.M. de Paula by Stephen A. Zeff

Molecular evidence for gender differences in the migratory behaviour of a small seabird

Molecular sexing revealed an unexpectedly strong female bias in the sex ratio of pre-breeding European Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus), attracted to playback of conspecific calls during their northwards migration past SW Europe. This bias was consistent across seven years, ranging from 80.8% to 89.7% female (mean annual sex ratio ± SD = 85.5% female ±4.1%). The sex ratio did not differ significantly from unity (i.e., 50% female) among (i) Storm Petrel chicks at a breeding colony in NW France, (ii) adults found dead on beaches in Southern Portugal, (iii) breeding birds attending nest burrows in the UK, captured by hand, and (iv) adults captured near a breeding colony in the UK using copies of the same sound recordings as used in Southern Europe, indicating that females are not inherently more strongly attracted to playback calls than males. A morphological discriminant function analysis failed to provide a good separation of the sexes, showing the importance of molecular sexing for this species. We found no sex difference in the seasonal or nocturnal timing of migration past Southern Europe, but there was a significant tendency for birds to be caught in sex-specific aggregations. The preponderance of females captured in Southern Europe suggests that the sexes may differ in migration route or in their colony-prospecting behaviour during migration, at sites far away from their natal colonies. Such differences in migration behaviour between males and females are poorly understood but have implications for the vulnerability of seabirds to pollution and environmental change at sea during the non-breeding season

Social Security and Same-Sex Marriage: Frequently Asked Questions

This report addresses a number of frequently asked questions regarding the eligibility of same-sex couples for Social Security benefits and the interpretation of state marriage laws. These questions include those relating to general eligibility and the application process for same-sex couples and those in other types of legal relationships