People with disabilities who work can get Medical Assistance (MA) no matter how much they make.

MA Rules that Help Young People who Get Jobs

These rules mean your child can keep MA even while making a lot of money at work:

• SSI 1619(b) helps people stay on MA if they got SSI before starting a job. If your child keeps getting SSI while working, MA will continue because your child’s income will still be low. But if your child makes enough money that SSI benefits end, the 1619(b) rule lets MA continue even if your child makes up to $74,611 per year.
• Another option is Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD). MA-EPD lets people pay a small monthly premium to get MA coverage. MA-EPD has no income limit, so your child could make $100,000 per year and still get it. Note: There’s no asset limit for MA-EPD; they can save as much as they want.

Getting a job doesn’t mean your child will stop getting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. SSI makes sure your child will be better off when working.

SSI Rules that Help Young People who Get Jobs

SSI is based on financial need. That’s why people worry that if they get jobs, they’ll lose their SSI benefits. These rules show why you don’t need to worry:

• The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) means that if your child gets a job while in school, his or her SSI benefit probably won’t go down. That means your child will get money from work and SSI at the same time.
• With the SEIE, anyone under 22 and regularly attending school can make up to $2,350 per month up to a total of $9,460 in a year, without having that money reduce their SSI benefits at all!
• If your child doesn’t qualify for the SEIE, working is still a good idea, because SSI counts less than half of what a person earns at a job when calculating his or her benefit.

As your child makes more money, he or she can start saving for bigger goals, like college, a car, or someday buying a home. Building assets will be a key to comfort and security for your child’s entire life.

SSI and MA Rules Help People who Work and Save

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has a $2,000 asset limit and disability-based Medical Assistance (MA) has a $3,000 asset limit for people 21 and older. However, your child can save way more money than these limits if he or she gets a job.

SSI asset rules for people who work:

• Not all assets are counted, so your child can own a car or get certain types of financial aid for school that won’t be counted against the asset limit.
• ABLE accounts will let you and your child put money into a special account where the first $100,000 will not count against the asset limit.
• Savings in a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) or Individual Development Account (IDA) are not counted. These special types of accounts let your child save for specific expenses, like school tuition.
• Assets in a Special Needs Trust or Pooled Trust do not count.

MA asset rules for people who work:

• The SSI asset rules also apply to MA.
• If your child is under 21, there is no asset limit for MA.
• If your child is older and has income from a job, he or she can pay a small premium to get MA coverage through the Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD) program, which doesn't have an asset limit.
• There is no asset limit for income-based MA, no matter how old your child is.

The more your child works, the more money your child can make. If he or she makes enough, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits may stop, but overall your child will be much better off!

SSI Has a Safety Net for People who Lose Benefits and Need Them Later

Even if your child makes a lot more money than he or she ever got from SSI, you will probably worry about what would happen if the job ended. Would your child be able to get back on SSI if needed?

Yes.

SSI’s 1619(b) rule helps people who stop getting SSI get back on it easily. If a job ends or earnings go down, your child can just report the change to Social Security and SSI benefits will start up again. He or she will not even have to reapply.

1619(b) is for people earning less than $74,611 in a year. If your child earns more than that, other rules can help your child start getting SSI benefits again.