FIVE KEY MOMENTS: HEARING ON BARRIERS TO WORK FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

The following information was released by the Committee on Ways and Means:

Current Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) policies often discourage work for individuals receiving benefits. Witnesses at a joint hearing of the Ways and Means Social Security and Work and Welfare Subcommittees shared how they have seen needless complexity obstruct people with disabilities who want to work from getting a job.

Despite 60 percent of DI and SSI beneficiaries indicating they would like to work, less than one percent of DI beneficiaries have been able to leave the program for work. Studies show most beneficiaries are unaware of available pathways to employment, and when beneficiaries attempt to find work, they often must work with a third party to navigate the thicket of bureaucratic rules.

Complex Rules Block People with Disabilities from Work

A barrier to individuals with disabilities who want to work is the sheer complexity of federal rules surrounding the transition toward employment. Beneficiaries, like a witness from Kansas, have to work hand-in-glove with a third party to make sense of the maze of rules and regulations. Particularly for individuals without family, friend, or community support, the process may be even more challenging.

Witness: Without Work, "I Would Have Graduated to the Couch."

For individuals with disabilities, work has the potential to help them gain independence and a greater sense of purpose. Sean Tyree, a former recipient of DI and SSI benefits from Kansas who was born with a degenerative disease and now works as a research aide and disability advocate, testified about the transformative power of work in his life. In hisopening statement, he laid out the difficulty he faced in navigating overly complex federal programs in pursuit of work. He shared that his job provides his life with purpose and his experience offers encouragement to others with disabilities seeking employment.

Complexity Confuses and Discourages Social Security Insurance Beneficiaries

The process for SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to be connected to work is confusing, as illustrated by a chart displayed by Rep. Randy Feenstra(IA-04)duringthe hearing. Not only does the complexity of the official process discourage work, so does the spread of incorrect information. The formula for determining benefits is confusing enough that one of the witnesses, a third-party helping beneficiaries navigate the return-to-work process, has to rely on an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the expected benefits for her clients.

Benefit Cliff Discourages Return to Work. Clear Solutions Remain Elusive.

Both programs the hearing examined, DI and SSI, have benefit cliffs that discourage work. The confusing nature of the phase-outs for benefits discourages the building of greater financial security by beneficiaries and traps those looking to work in a web of complex rules. Authority to run pilot programs testing alternatives to the current benefit cliffs has expired and Committee Members discussed what new authority could look like to better serve beneficiaries.

Red Tape Hurts Job Opportunities for People with Disabilities

Complex rules, confusing structures, and incorrect information not only prevent individuals with disabilities from seeking work, but also hinders employers from hiring those same people. Similar to beneficiaries, businesses can be unsure of how to navigate the paperwork and rules for DI and SSI recipients, making it harder to offer jobs to individuals with disabilities.

More businesses are recognizing hiring individuals with disabilities is a smart business decision, not a charitable one.