Ticket to Work Myths: What Actually Happens to Your Benefits

Myth: Using My Ticket Triggers a Medical Review

FALSE. This is one of the most common fears, and Social Security's Choose Work program addresses it directly: while you are participating in Ticket to Work and making timely progress on your Individual Work Plan, medical continuing disability reviews are paused. Trying work through the program comes with federal protection — that is the whole point.

Myth: Working Means Losing Medicare or Medicaid

FALSE. You keep your Medicare or Medicaid as long as you receive an SSDI or SSI payment of any amount. And work incentives can extend coverage further: under Section 1619(b), Medicaid can continue even after SSI cash payments stop, as long as you still need it to work and your earnings stay under your state's threshold. SSDI recipients may keep Medicare for an extended period as earnings grow.

The details depend on your situation, which is exactly why benefits counseling exists.

Myth: If Work Doesn't Work Out, I Have to Reapply

FALSE. Expedited Reinstatement lets your benefits restart without a brand-new application if you have to stop working within five years due to the same or a related condition — and you can receive up to six months of temporary benefits while Social Security reviews your case. The program is designed so that trying work is not a one-way door.

Talk to a Benefits Counselor First

Every situation is different — your benefit type, earnings, health coverage, and state rules all matter. Before making decisions about work, talk to a trained benefits counselor who can walk through what applies to you.

ACO's benefits counselors are free through Ticket to Work for SSDI and SSI recipients in the Milwaukee area and remotely across Wisconsin. Call 414-239-6465 or email aco@acomilwaukee.com.