Glossary

1619(b) continued Medicaid coverage

For Medicaid purposes, provides special status to working disabled or blind individuals when their earnings make them ineligible for SSI cash payments.

benefits specialist

An individual who works at a Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program, which is a local organization that gives beneficiaries Ticket to Work and other program information to help them understand how work affects their Social Security benefits.

computer-assisted personal interviewing—CAPI

An interviewing technique in which the respondent or interviewer uses a computer to answer the questions. It is similar to computer-assisted telephone interviewing, except that the interview takes place in person.

computer-assisted telephone interviewing—CATI

A telephone surveying technique in which the interviewer follows a script provided by a software application.

concurrent program beneficiaries

Individuals receiving benefits under both the DI and SSI programs.

continuing disability review

A periodic review to determine if a disabled individual is still medically eligible to receive benefits.

current-pay status

Status of a beneficiary who is paid a benefit for a given month, with or without deductions, provided the deductions add to less than a full month's benefit.

disabled adult child

A disabled person aged 18 or older—a son, daughter, or eligible grandchild of a retired, deceased, or disabled worker—whose disability began before age 22.

disabled widow(er)

A widow(er) or surviving divorced widow(er) of a worker fully insured at the time of death, if he or she is aged 50–59 and has been disabled throughout a waiting period of 5 consecutive calendar months that began no later than 7 years after the month in which the worker died or after the end of his or her entitlement to benefits as a widowed mother or father.

A surviving divorced widow(er)'s marriage to a worker must have lasted 10 years before the divorce became final. Benefits payable after December 1983 are continued for disabled widow(er)s and surviving divorced widow(er)s who remarry after the age of first eligibility for benefits.

disabled worker

A person who has earnings creditable for Social Security purposes on the basis of services for wages in covered employment or on the basis of income from covered self-employment.

earned income exclusion

The first $65 (up to a maximum of $85 if the individual has no income other than earnings) of any monthly earned income plus one-half of remaining earnings are excluded for SSI benefit computation purposes.

employment-specific service

Job training, job modification advice, on-the-job training, work assessments, or job search help.

expedited reinstatement

A provision of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. Effective January 1, 2001, if a person's Social Security or SSI disability benefits have ended because of earnings from work and he or she becomes unable to work again within 60 months because of his or her impairment, he or she would be able to request reinstatement of benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid, without filing a new application.

extended period of Medicare eligibility—EPE

The 36-month period after the completion of a trial work period for beneficiaries who continue to have a disabling condition and work. Monthly benefits are continued for 3 months after the trial work period and are then suspended if earnings are above the substantial gainful activity level. If earnings drop below the substantial gainful activity level during the EPE, monthly benefits may be resumed without a new application and disability determination. Medicare coverage continues throughout the EPE. See also trial work period and substantial gainful activity.

federal poverty level

Percent of federal poverty threshold relative to number of people in the household for 2014. Based on U.S. Census Bureau 2014 definitions.

full retirement age

The age at which a person becomes entitled to unreduced retirement benefits.

hourly reservation wage

The lowest hourly wage for which the respondent would be willing to work.

impairment-related or blind work expenses

The costs of items or services that a disabled or blind person needs to work. The expenses, when paid by the beneficiary, are deducted from his or her gross earnings when determining if the work is considered substantial gainful activity.

Medicaid

A federal-state program that provides medical assistance for certain individuals and families with low incomes and limited resources.

Medicare

A federally administered health insurance program that covers the cost of hospitalization, medical care, and some related services for most persons aged 65 or older. It also covers persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance payments for 2 years, and persons with end-stage renal disease. Medicare consists of four separate but coordinated programs—Part A (Hospital Insurance), Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), Part C (Medicare Advantage), and Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage).

plan to achieve self-support—PASS

A formal plan, requiring SSA approval, for attaining a specific work goal. With a PASS, an SSI recipient may set aside earned or unearned income and resources to pay for goods or services needed to reach the goal, such as education, vocational training, starting a business, or purchasing work-related equipment. Income and resources set aside are excluded from SSI income and resource tests, but they do not influence the determination of ability to engage in substantial gainful activity.

property essential for self-support

Property used for a business or personal property used for work as an employee that is excluded from resources when determining continuing eligibility for SSI.

proxy

An individual who answers survey questions on behalf of a sample member whose disabilities prevent him or her from responding.

services

Services include any employment services, job training, medical services, or mental health services.

sheltered employment

A program that provides employment with subsidized wages (or special wages that would not be available in a regular job) for people with disabilities.

Social Security Disability Insurance—SSDI

The program under the Social Security Act that pays monthly benefits to disabled workers and their spouses and children; and pays for rehabilitation services provided to the disabled.

student earned income exclusion

A provision that allows SSI recipients who are under age 22, regularly attending school, and receiving earned income to exclude some or all of their earned income from their countable income.

substantial gainful activity

Remunerative work that is substantial, as determined by the amount of money earned, the number of hours worked, and the nature of the work. For more information, see https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/sga.html.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Formerly known as Food Stamps, a program that provides benefits through electronic benefit transfers to help individuals and families with little or no income to buy food.

Supplemental Security Income—SSI

A federal program for low-income aged, blind, and disabled individuals who meet income and resource requirements. Beginning in 1974, SSI replaced the former federal and state programs of Old-Age Assistance, Aid to the Blind, and Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled. SSI is funded by general tax revenues, not Social Security taxes.

Ticket to Work

A program that helps SSDI and SSI beneficiaries return to work through employment services.

trial work period

A 9-month period during which monthly benefits continue for SSDI beneficiaries who are still disabled but return to work. If the disability ends after completion of the trial work period, benefits continue for an additional 3 months, and then entitlement is terminated. A disabled beneficiary would exhaust the trial work period only if services were performed in any 9 months within a period of 60 consecutive months. For a discussion of procedures when the disabling condition continues, see extended period of Medicare eligibility.

unemployment insurance

A federal-state coordinated program that provides partial income replacement to regularly employed members of the labor force who become involuntarily unemployed. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have unemployment insurance programs.

veterans' benefits

A variety of benefits and services for veterans and their dependents and survivors that include, but are not limited to, disability compensation, benefits for survivors, health care benefits, and educational assistance and training.

weighted statistics

Statistics that have been adjusted using the sampling weights. Sampling weights are computed from the inverse selection probability that incorporates the stages of sampling in the survey, adjusted for nonresponse. The weighted statistics represent the national population of beneficiaries.

workers' compensation

A form of accident insurance paid by employers that covers medical expenses and lost wages of individuals injured on a job or who develop a work-related illness.

work-oriented

A category of beneficiaries who have indicated that their personal goals include getting a job, moving up in a job, or learning new job skills or who saw themselves working for pay in the next 2 years or in the next 5 years.