Monday, March 5, 2012
Your Help Needed! Ask Key Members of Congress to Introduce the Social Security Work Incentive Amendments of 2012
This was sent to me by Bryon MacDonald of the World Institute on Disability.
Issue: Do-Nothing Congress fails Social Security Disability Beneficiaries who want to work.
Resolution: The Social Security Work Incentive Amendments of 2012
National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) members request the Congress to introduce and improve the draft bill that Social Security has sent to the Hill called the “Social Security Work Incentive Amendments of 2012.” The bill is a good start. It reauthorizes for five years counseling services that can increase employment for those who experience long breaks from the workforce.
• More Social Security Disability Beneficiaries Want Jobs Now!
Flat funded since 2000, Social Security's Work Incentives, Planning and Assistance Program (WIPA) does not have enough funds to serve the Social Security disability beneficiaries who are making attempts to work or working today (Livermore 2009, Mathematica Policy Research).
• Social Security work rules are complicated!
This bill should increase funding for employment and benefits counseling services and require better use of online benefits planning tools that save time, and reach more Social Security disability beneficiaries planning to work.
What You Can Do: Ask Key Members of Congress to Introduce this Bill Now!
Representative Sam Johnson, Chair (Facebook Page)
US House Subcommittee on Social Security
1211 Longworth Building
Washington, DC, 20515
Phone 202-225-4201
Texas District Office
2929 North Central Expressway, Suite 240
Richardson, Texas 75080
Phone 972-470-0892
Representative Xavier Becerra, Ranking Member (Facebook Page)
US House Subcommittee on Social Security
1226 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-6235
Fax: 202-225-2202
Los Angeles District Office
1910 W Sunset Boulevard, Suite 810
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Phone: 213-483-1425
Fax: 213-483-1429
Background Information: The 2012 SSA Transmittal to Congress
January 5, 2012
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Speaker:
Enclosed for consideration by the Congress is a draft bill to improve our work incentive provisions and extend the funding authority for two of our work incentive programs, the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program and the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) program. I have also enclosed a more detailed description of the proposal.
The bill would expand WIPA-which we would rename the Work Incentives and Self¬ Sufficiency Education (WISE) program-to include planning and assistance for self-sufficiency and financial independence. It would also extend funding for five years for WISE and the PABSS programs. Additionally, the bill would eliminate the maximum ($300,000) fiscal year cap on an entity’s WISE funding.
The legislation establishing these programs initially authorized appropriations for five years, after which the Congress extended the appropriations authorizations for another five years. Recently, the Congress has authorized several one-year extensions, and the current authorization expired at the end of fiscal year 2011. We are requesting 5-year extensions as longer-term appropriations authorizations are vital to our continued successful planning and implementation of WISE and PABSS, which are integral parts of our employment and work incentive mission.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that it has no objection to the transmittal of this proposed legislation to the Congress and that enactment would be consistent with the program of the President. We urge the Congress to give the draft bill prompt and favorable consideration.
I am sending an identical letter to the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the Senate.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Astrue
Commissioner of Social Security
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
THE IRS HAS PUBLISHED A LINK TO ITS VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE (VITA) SITES
It's Tax Time!
The Earned Income Tax Credit is available to low to moderate income working individuals and families, yet Californian's leave approximately 10 BILLION Earned Income Tax Credit money unclaimed.
This $10 Billion translates into an average EITC benefit of $2,100 for families with children; the maximum for families with eligible children is $5,751. The EITC can be claimed retroactively three years prior to 2011. So, if you qualified in 2008, 2009 and/or 2010, you can get the EITC refund from those years, too.
ITC eligibility requirements are:
• With three or more qualifying children, income less than $43,998 or $49,078 if married filing jointly. Maximum refund: $5,751
• With two qualifying children, income less than $40,964 or $46,044 if married filing jointly. Maximum refund: $5,112
• With one qualifying child, income less than $36,052 or $41,132 if married filing jointly. Maximum refund: $3,094
• With two qualifying children, income less than $40,964 or $46,044 if married filing jointly. Maximum refund: $5,112
• With one qualifying child, income less than $36,052 or $41,132 if married filing jointly. Maximum refund: $3,094
• With no children, income less than $13,660 or $18,740 if married filing jointly. Maximum refund: $464
If you're on SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and are concerned about exceeding SSI's (and Medi-Cal's) $2,000 (single) or $3,000 (couple) asset limits, don't be. Any EITC payment is exempt from the SSI restrictions. They won't count it against you.
Although there are many reasons why families do not file for the EITC, primary among them is lack of awareness of the EITC and uncertainty as to how to apply for it. The IRS has established the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program to assist folks with low incomes to file specifically to receive the refund that they may qualify for. And it's FREE!
Click here: http://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/, put in your zip code and you will be presented with a list of VITA sites in your neighborhood. Click here for more information directly from the IRS:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96406,00.html.
Good luck with this to you who may be eligible for this refund.
Good luck with this to you who may be eligible for this refund.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
DB101 SEMINAR & WORKSHOP: www.db101.org
Arcadia Presbyterian Church
121 Alice Street, Arcadia, CA 91006-3988
Bryon MacDonald, World Institute on Disability, Oakland CA
The World Institute on Disability, under the direction of Mr. Bryon MacDonald, Program Director, Employment and Disability Benefits Initiative, EDBI, has created an invaluable on-line tool providing a wealth of information on Public Disability Benefits. This interactive site is available to everyone who needs to know about benefits safety nets -- how to access them, how to keep maintain them and how to keep them intact when transitioning from disability into the workforce.
www.db101.org consists of information and calculators compiled and composed by some the nation’s most accomplished benefits experts. This is a rare opportunity for anyone working in public and/or private social services sector to be well educated in all aspects of Disability Benefits, Employment and Employment Supports.
Benefits Advocacy Certification Webinar --
Pacific Clinics Training Institute
Every Tuesday, Feb 3 – March 31, 2012
Michael J. Van Essen, Director of Benefits Establishment
This cumulative 24 hour course thoroughly covers all aspects of Public Income and Healthcare Benefits for those who are ill, elderly and otherwise disenfranchised. Center to this instruction are the Social Security Disability Benefits, SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance. Their accompanying healthcare coverage, Medi-Cal and Medicare, respectively are also featured.
In addition to the basic instruction, these interactive webinars provide the means for discussions, case studies and many other useful learning techniques, giving the attendees a valuable and multi-dimensional learning experience about subjects that are rarely understood outside of the agencies that administer them.
For further information and to enroll please visit www.pacificclinics.org/trainingginstitute.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Accellerated Savings Accounts Don't Count Against SSI's Asset Limit of $2,000; $3,000 for a Couple
I am employed by Pacific Clinics of Southern California. We have approximately 12,000 consumers that we serve in four counties including Los Angeles.
Many
of our clients live month to month with very little income – subsistence living,
in fact.
The
majority receive SSI – Supplemental Security Income. The maximum monthly
payment from SSI for an individual in California, living alone with cooking
facilities is only $830 a month.
So,
saving any of that is, to most, at best, unlikely. Conventional understanding is that any money
over $2,000 violates SSI’s asset limits and the consumer becomes ineligible for
SSI payments when the saved amount is above $2k. That is correct in most cases.
There
is a special account, however, that is available qualified low income people called
the Accelerated Savings Account.
SSI recipients who qualify for the ASA
will not have those funds count against SSI’s asset limits!
Accelerated
Savings Accounts are designed to help people with low incomes – disabled or not
-- save money. United Way of Greater Los Angeles sponsors ASAs that pay 19.357% interest. That is an unheard of
rate of interest in today’s economy.
The
ASA account requires an initial deposit of $500. That money can come from any
source. It often comes from the Earned Income Tax Credit that low-income
workers receive from the IRS at tax time, whether they’ve paid taxes or not.
(See my article here.)
After
the initial deposit is submitted, the account holder deposits $40 each month
for 15 months. The final yield is over $300, much more than standard savings
accounts, CDs, etc., would accrue.
Click
here for the flyer: http://www.cceda.com/News_Archive_files/Flyers.pdf
For
more information or to sign up call any of the organizations by the numbers
listed below:
Community
Financial Resource Center 323-846-1434
East
LA Community Corporation 323-269-4214
x 228
Korean
Youth Community Center 213-365-7400
x 228
Long
Beach Community Action Partnership 562-216-4620
Mexican
American Opportunity Foundation 323-890-1555
x 1636
Valley
Economic Development Center 818-834-0577
x 201United
Way of Greater Los Angeles 213-808-6467
The Earned Income Tax Credit
Hello, Everyone.
TAX TIME is just around the corner so I’m sending you few words about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).
The Earned Income Tax Credit is an income tax refund for low to moderate income working individuals and families.
To be eligible, you must file a tax return -- regardless of annual earnings. An individual whose Adjusted Gross Income is below $13,660, for example, will likely be eligible for a refund of $464, even if he pays no taxes for 2011.
The Adjusted Gross Income of a family with three or more children can be as high as $49,078 and receive the credit. In this case the refund would total $5,751.
Also, this refund can be claimed retroactively for a maximum of three years. A parent or officially designated guardian with three or more dependents that haven’t claimed the refund can submit claims for 2008 and each year since, and, if eligible, could receive approximately $20,000 in one lump sum!
You don’t have to be a parent to qualify for the credit. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and siblings – Foster Parents, too – can receive this refund. The only requirements are that the qualifying children are under 18 years of age – or under 23 if attending school full time -- are related by blood or have been officially placed in the claimant’s care. They must also have lived at home with the claimant for at least half a year.
Now here’s a very important point of those receiving SSI: This refund does not count against SSI’s or Medi-Cal’s asset limits! These funds are exempt.
The money can be spent or saved. And there are ways to save it and make it grow, with no interruption to income and/or healthcare services.
And, if you’re looking for some free tax help, make an appointment for assistance at a VITA site. VITA stands for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. VITA folks have been trained by the IRS specifically to help fill out the necessary tax documents and make sure that if a refund is coming to you – any kind of refund including the EITC – you will receive it as quickly as possible. Check www.IRS.gov for VITA locations or Google VITA sites, Southern California.
So, that’s it. To find out more about the Earned Income Tax Credit go to www.irs.gov or call me at 626-254-5000. I’ll be happy to assist.
Thanks.
Michael J. Van Essen
Director, Benefits Establishment
Pacific Clinics
800 S. Santa Anita Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 254-5043 (office)
(626) 254-0661 (fax)
www.ofbenefittoall.blogspot.com
PacificClinics Privacy Notice: This message, and any attachments, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or exempt from disclosure under federal or state law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and destroy this e-mail and all attachments from your system. (W&I Code, Section 5328, 45 CFR 160 & 164).
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
FW: CFED Launches the SSI Asset Limit Reform Coalition
Michael J. Van Essen
Director, Benefits Establishment
Pacific Clinics
800 S. Santa Anita Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 254-5043 (office)
(626) 254-0661 (fax)
www.ofbenefittoall.blogspot.com
From: Shriver Center [mailto:civicrm@povertylaw.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 1:30 PM
To: Michael Van Essen
Subject: CFED Launches the SSI Asset Limit Reform Coalition
| People with disabilities have lower employment levels, report lower levels of savings, and are more likely to experience poverty than those without disabilities. The inextricable connection between disability and poverty requires special attention to developing policies and programs to give people the ability to save, acquire assets, and permanently escape poverty. As a leader in the asset building and disability movement, the Shriver Center has hosted a webinar series on asset building for people with disabilities: Accessible Assets, Part 1 (November 2009) and Accessible Assets, Part 2 (February 2011). As part of this webinar series, we also developed comprehensive webinar resource pages that provide current research and reports on asset building in the disability community. Among these resources is a Clearinghouse Review law review article, Accessible Assets: Bringing Together the Disability and Asset-Building Communities, which the Shriver Center authored. The article provides a more in depth look at the ABLE Act, Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and federal asset limit reform, among other barriers to savings for people with disabilities. The CFED recently launched the SSI Asset Limit Reform Coalition as a way to raise awareness about this important issue and to gather support. The SSI Asset Limit Reform Coalition supports and advocates to raise asset limits and protect certain types of savings and investments for recipients of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. For people with disabilities, asset limits in SSI pose a significant barrier to savings. In terms of public policy, asset tests send the wrong message—that having assets is a bad thing. Raising or abolishing asset limits would send a clear message that savings and asset building are encouraged and important. The SSI Asset Limit Reform Coalition is committed to favoring legislation that proposes the following changes to the SSI program:
In order to create more asset building opportunities for people with disabilities please consider joining the SSI Asset Limit Reform Coalition! |
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| 50 E Washington, Suite 500 Boston Office: | Southwest is the official airline of the Shriver Center. |
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PacificClinics Privacy Notice: This message, and any attachments, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or exempt from disclosure under federal or state law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient or the employee or agent responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender and destroy this e-mail and all attachments from your system. (W&I Code, Section 5328, 45 CFR 160 & 164).
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