Other Information

Social Security Administration

Social Security Administration
Phone: 1-800-772-1213

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-170), can help ensure the successful transition of youth with disabilities from school to work and adulthood through the provision of employability services, supports, and incentives.

Although the Ticket to Work Program serves adults up to age 64, youth aged 18-21 who area served by secondary education institutions can benefit from the Ticket to Work Program. Secondary education institutions have an opportunity to enhance existing funding by becoming a Ticket to Work Employment Network.

Almost one million youth under the age of 18 are receiving Supplemental Security Income benefits. Approximately 70 percent of them will be future Ticket recipients once they reach 18 years of age.

  • Call your local Social Security Office three months prior to your child's 18th birthday to begin the registration process. Ask that the "Disability Report - Adult Form" be mailed to you. This is the preliminary form that must be filled out to secure Supplemental Security Income.
  • Make an appointment with the Social Security Office to complete the registration process within 30 days of your child's 18th birthday. You may register at any time after the 18th birthday but benefits are not retroactive.
  • Your child becomes eligible for a medical assistance card at the time of diagnosis of a disability. If he/she does not already have an MA card, request one now through Social Security to assure that your adult child has healthcare insurance. Parents' income is not considered when applying for medical assistance for a child with a medically-diagnosed disability.
  • Contact your SS Office when your son or daughter begins to work and report monthly earnings by submitting paystubs to your SSA office.

    • Once your transitioning youth is working, the SSI benefits will be reduced by a formula but your child will NOT lose benefits.

    • In-school youth who receive SSI and work are eligible for a "student earned income exclusion."

  • Upon turning 21, your adult child will be re-determined for adult eligibility.
  • Contact your local Benefits Planning Assistance & Outreach coordinator. Your local SSA Office can provide you with that contact information.
  • When your child with a developmental disability who is working turns 21, they are eligible to buy into MAWD (Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities). Upon turning 21, the SSI-Medicaid asset test shifts from $2000 to $10,000.
  • GovBenefits.gov connects people in need to government assistance programs. GovBenefits.gov is the official benefits web site of the U.S. government. The site provides citizens with a central location to find more than 1,000 federal and state benefit programs that meet their needs.
  • Social Security Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool for SSI and SSDI. The Social Security Administration provides a simple web-based tool to see if an applicant might be eligible for benefits from any of the programs they administer. This tool will provide eligibility information based on the answers given by an applicant; however, BEST is not an application for benefits.
  • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have updated the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder , Formulary Finder and Landscape of Local Plans, all of which are available at www.medicare.gov. This Guide is part of the Medicaid Reference Desk, which explains Medicaid for people with cognitive disabilities. To go to the Medicaid Reference Desk home page, go to www.theDesk.info.
  • For Chester County - the PA Social Security Administration Benefits Counseling and Assistance Project is operated by Goodwill Industries; contact Annette Hudson at 1-866-541-7005.