Your Ticket 

To Work
Visit our website

Our website, www.socialsecurity.gov,

is a valuable resource for information

about all of Social Security’s programs.

At our website you also can:

• Apply for benefits;

• Get the address of your local Social

Security office; 

• Get forms to request important

documents, such as a Social Security

Statement, a replacement Social

Security or Medicare card or a letter

to confirm your benefit amount;

• Go to our special online worksite

pages at www.socialsecurity.gov/work

for additional information on the

Ticket to Work program and other

topics in this booklet; and

• Find copies of our publications.

Call our 1-800 number

In addition to using our website, you

also can call toll-free at 1-800-772-1213.

We can answer specific questions from 

7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

We can provide information by automated phone service 24 hours a day. If you

are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call

our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778. 

We treat all calls confidentially. We

also want to make sure you receive

accurate and courteous service. That is

why we have a second Social Security

representative monitor some telephone calls.

Contacting Social Security
Your Ticket to Work . . . . . . . 2

How the program works . . . . 3

How to get help in using 

the ticket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Other work incentives . . . . . . 12

What’s inside
2

Several million disabled and 

blind Americans receive monthly Social Security or Supplemental

Security Income (SSI) payments.

Some receive both. Many also have

help from Medicare or Medicaid in

paying medical bills. The impact 

of these programs in meeting people’s needs is significant. However,

many people with disabilities want

to work. To help them, Social

Security has a variety of work

incentives, including the Ticket 

to Work Program. 

Some of the work incentives

include keeping your cash benefits

and medical coverage while you

transition to the work place. And, if

you find that you cannot work, it is

easy to start your payments again.

This booklet is for people who

receive a Ticket to Work from Social

Security. The information in this

booklet will answer questions about

your ticket. It also tells you where to

go if you have other questions and

how to get additional help using the

ticket. If you have questions that are

not answered here, you should call

the Ticket Program Manager,

MAXIMUS, Inc., at 1-866-968-7842,

toll-free (TTY 1-866-833-2967).

Your Ticket to Work

Social Security
You can use your ticket to get the

services and support you need to go

to work or to earn more money.

The goal is to help you earn enough

money so that you can become

financially independent.

When you use your ticket, you

can get help finding a job, vocational rehabilitation or other assistance.

These services are provided by

employment networks, which are

private organizations or government

agencies that have agreed to work

with Social Security to provide

employment services and other

support to beneficiaries with

disabilities and state vocational

rehabilitation agencies.

How do I get started?

If you are interested in using 

the Ticket program to go to work 

or get vocational services, you

should call MAXIMUS, Inc., at 

1-866-968-7842, toll-free (TTY 

How the program works

The Ticket to Work 

program helps you obtain

vocational rehabilitation,

training, job referrals and

other employment support

services free of charge.

www.socialsecurity.gov 3
4

1-866-833-2967). MAXIMUS is a

private company that is working

with us to help manage the Ticket

program. MAXIMUS can answer

most of your questions about 

your ticket and can give you the

names, addresses and telephone

numbers of employment networks

or the state vocational rehabilitation agency in your area.

What is an employment

network?

Employment networks are

organizations that can help you find

a job and provide other employment

services, at no cost to you. The

Ticket program gives you the opportunity to choose from a variety of

employment networks.

An employment network may be

a single organization that provides

all of the services you need, or it

can be a group of providers. The

employment network you choose

also may work with others who 

are not part of the employment

network to provide the services

you need.

Before you give your ticket to an

employment network, you should

carefully choose the one you think

can best help you reach your

employment goal. You are free to

talk with as many employment 

networks as you want without 

having to give one your ticket.

Social Security
See the following sections for 

help in working with an employment network.

What happens when I 

contact an employment

network or state vocational

rehabilitation agency?

You can call or visit any

employment network or state

vocational rehabilitation agency. 

If you visit either, remember to

bring your ticket with you. They

may need to get information about

you from our records. You can

expect staff members to ask

certain questions about your

disability, your work history and

other subjects. This is necessary 

so they can decide if they can help

you. You should feel free to ask

them any questions about how

they can help you find and keep

the job that is best for you.

Can an employment 

network or state vocational

rehabilitation agency 

contact me?

Yes, they may contact you to find

out if you are interested in working

with them. They will give you

detailed information to help you

decide if you are interested in giving them your ticket.

www.socialsecurity.gov 5
6

How will an employment

network or state vocational

rehabilitation agency know

that I have a ticket?

MAXIMUS will keep a record of

people who have tickets and are not

working with employment networks.

MAXIMUS will give this information

to employment networks and state

vocational rehabilitation agencies.

What if I do not want 

to be contacted?

If you do not want to be contacted,

call MAXIMUS to remove your

name from the list. Even if you are

not on the list, you still can participate in the Ticket program.

Do I have to work with 

a particular employment

network or state vocational

rehabilitation agency?

No, you and an employment

network or state vocational

rehabilitation agency must agree

that you can work together. If you

cannot agree, you can take your

ticket and contact another employment network. Even after you 

have agreed to work with an

employment network or state

vocational rehabilitation agency

and signed a plan, you can still

Social Security
change your mind and move your

ticket to another network or state

vocational rehabilitation agency.

What happens if an

employment network 

or state vocational

rehabilitation agency and 

I agree to work together?

First, the employment network

will work with you to develop a

plan that is right for you. The plan

will state your goals for the type of

work you want to do, and may

include the amount of money you

want to earn. The plan also will

state exactly what services the

employment network will provide

to help you reach your goals. In

addition, the plan will explain your

rights under the program, including:

• Your right to take your ticket

back if you are not satisfied 

with the services you are

receiving from the employment

network; and

• Information on the availability 

of services and help in resolving

disputes through the state

protection and advocacy system.

You can find more information

about these services on pages 

11-12.

If you and your state vocational

rehabilitation agency agree to work

together, and the state determines

www.socialsecurity.gov 7
8

you are eligible, the state vocational

rehabilitation agency will outline a

plan to determine the services it

will provide for you.

You or your representative (if 

you have one) and the employment

network or state vocational

rehabilitation agency will have to

sign the plan before you can start

working with it. The employment

network or vocational rehabilitation agency should give you a copy

of your plan in an accessible

format. You can work with this

organization to change your plan 

if your situation changes.

When you sign the plan, you

have “assigned” your ticket to the

employment network or state vocational rehabilitation agency, and

you cannot work with another

employment network without

taking your ticket back.

If you or the employment network

or state vocational rehabilitation

agency decide that you cannot work

together, you can then reassign 

your ticket to another employment

network.

Social Security
What if I am unhappy with

the employment network 

or state vocational

rehabilitation agency?

There are several steps you can

take if you are having a problem

with your employment network.

We require all employment networks to have a process to deal

with situations where clients are

unhappy with them. If this process

is not successful, you can call

MAXIMUS and ask to resolve your

problem informally. If MAXIMUS

cannot resolve your problem informally, it will report your problem

to us.

If you give your ticket to a state

vocational rehabilitation agency,

the state agency must give you a

description of the services available

through the client assistance program. It also must give you the

opportunity to resolve your grievance through mediation or an

impartial hearing.

You also can ask the protection

and advocacy agency in your state

to help you if you are unhappy with

an employment network. You can

ask your protection and advocacy

state agency to help you at any

stage of the grievance process.

www.socialsecurity.gov 9
10

How does participating in the

Ticket program affect medical

reviews of my disability?

We ordinarily review your

medical condition from time to

time to see if you are still disabled.

If we find that you are no longer

disabled, we may stop your benefits.

If you are participating in the

Ticket program, we will not

conduct a review of your medical

condition as long as you meet

certain requirements and give your

ticket to an employment network

or state vocational rehabilitation

agency. We will send you more

information about these requirements after you give your ticket to

an employment network or state

vocational rehabilitation agency.

Do I have to take part in 

the program?

No, the Ticket program is

voluntary. If you decide that you

are not interested in using your

ticket, or that you are not able to

work, you do not have to take part.

If you decide not to use the ticket

it will have no effect on your

disability benefits. However, you

should keep the ticket we sent you

in case you change your mind and

decide to take part in the program.

Social Security
Where can I get more

information or advice?

By calling MAXIMUS, Inc., you

can also get the phone numbers for

two other important sources of

information and advice about the

Ticket program. 

1. The state protection and 

advocacy system

You should ask MAXIMUS to

help you contact your local state

protection and advocacy system

if you have a disagreement with

your employment network which

you are unable to settle.

These state protection and

advocacy agencies can help you

with any complaints you have

about an employment network or

other provider that is helping you.

And it can help you with any

problems you have with the

employment plan you develop

with the employment network.

The state protection and

advocacy system also can give

you information and advice 

about vocational rehabilitation

and employment services,

including helping you select 

an employment network.

How to get help in using 

the ticket

www.socialsecurity.gov 11
12

Additionally this agency can tell

you how your work may affect

your benefits.

2. Benefits planning, assistance and

outreach programs

Social Security pays local

community agencies to help 

you understand special rules that

can help you go back to work.

Representatives from this

program can tell you how your

earnings would affect your disability benefits and the benefits

you may be receiving from other

government programs.

These agencies also can tell you

about the other government benefits you may be able to receive. 

Call MAXIMUS to find the state

protection and advocacy system or

benefit planning, assistance and

outreach organization nearest you.

In addition to the ticket, Social

Security has other special rules

called “work incentives” that help

serve as a bridge between disability

benefits and financial independence.

These work incentives include:

• Cash benefits while you work;

• Medicare or Medicaid while you

work; and

Other work incentives

Social Security
• Help with any extra work

expenses you may have as a

result of your disability.

You can find more information

about Social Security and SSI work

incentives by contacting us and

asking for Working While

Disabled—How We Can Help

(Publication No. 05-10095).

www.socialsecurity.gov 13
Social Security Administration

SSA Publication No. 05-10061

ICN 463262

Unit of Issue - HD (one hundred)

May 2006 (Destroy prior editions)