Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
Background:
The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized Social Security to award grants to community-based organizations throughout the U.S. and the U.S. territories. This grant program, called Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA), provided SSDI and SSI disability beneficiaries (including transition-to-work aged youth) with free access to information about work incentives, benefits planning, job placement and career development.
Current funding for the WIPA program grantees has ended. Therefore, the 102 WIPA projects across the U.S. and the U.S territories no longer have current Social Security funds available to continue to provide services to beneficiaries. Beneficiaries once served by the WIPA program are being instructed to call the Ticket Call Center at 1-866-968-7842 and 1-866-833-2967 (TTY), but may inquire directly with Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 and 1-800-325-0778 (TTY).
Helping Beneficiaries:
- The Red Book (SSA's guide to work incentives -- http://www.socialsecurity.gov/redbook/)
- Choosework.net (Beneficiary website with information about work incentive webinars and the Ticket to Work program -- http://www.choosework.net/)