Social Security Administration November 22, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are announcing the following demonstration project relating to the Social Security disability program under title II of the Social Security Act (Act). Under this project, we will test modifications to current title II program rules that we apply to beneficiaries who work and receive title II benefits based on disability. We will also modify current rules for paying outcome payments to providers of services under the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program (Ticket to Work program). We are conducting this project, called the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND), under the demonstration authority provided in section 234 of the Act. In this project, we are testing the use of a benefit offset based on earnings as an alternative to certain rules that we currently apply to title II disability beneficiaries who work. Under the benefit offset, we will reduce title II disability benefits by $1 for every $2 that a beneficiary earns above a substantial gainful activity threshold amount. This alternative rule will allow a beneficiary to receive reduced benefit payments when we would ordinarily stop payments under our usual rules because of the beneficiary's work and earnings. In selecting beneficiaries to participate in the project, we will include some beneficiaries who receive only title II disability benefits. We also will include some beneficiaries who receive both title II disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) based on disability or blindness under title XVI of the Act. However, we are only modifying title II program rules for beneficiaries who participate in the project. We will continue to apply the usual SSI program rules for participants who receive SSI payments in addition to title II disability benefits.