50214 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 208 / Monday, October 30, 2017 / Notices 

average wage index for 2016 

($48,664.73) to that for 1992 

($22,935.42) produces $1,973.29. We 

then round this amount to $1,970. 

Because $1,970 exceeds the current 

amount of $1,950, the monthly SGA 

amount for statutorily blind individuals 

is $1,970 for 2018. 

SGA Amount for Non-Blind Disabled 

Individuals 

Multiplying the 2000 monthly SGA 

amount for non-blind individuals ($700) 

by the ratio of the national average wage 

index for 2016 ($48,664.73) to that for 

1998 ($28,861.44) produces $1,180.31. 

We then round this amount to $1,180. 

Because $1,180 exceeds the current 

amount of $1,170, the monthly SGA 

amount for non-blind disabled 

individuals is $1,180 for 2018. 

Trial Work Period Earnings Threshold 

General 

During a trial work period of 9 

months in a rolling 60-month period, a 

beneficiary receiving Social Security 

disability benefits may test his or her 

ability to work and still receive monthly 

benefit payments. To be considered a 

trial work period month, earnings must 

be over a certain level. In 2018, any 

month in which earnings exceed $850 is 

considered a month of services for an 

individual’s trial work period. 

Computation 

The method used to determine the 

new amount is set forth in our 

regulations at 20 CFR 404.1592(b). 

Monthly earnings in 2018, used to 

determine whether a month is part of a 

trial work period, is the larger of: (1) 

The amount for 2001 ($530) multiplied 

by the ratio of the national average wage 

index for 2016 to that for 1999; or (2) the 

amount for 2017. If the amount so 

calculated is not a multiple of $10, we 

round it to the nearest multiple of $10. 

Trial Work Period Earnings Threshold 

Amount 

Multiplying the 2001 monthly 

earnings threshold ($530) by the ratio of 

the national average wage index for 

2016 ($48,664.73) to that for 1999 

($30,469.84) produces $846.49. We then 

round this amount to $850. Because 

$850 exceeds the current amount of 

$840, the monthly earnings threshold is 

$850 for 2018. 

Domestic Employee Coverage 

Threshold 

General 

The minimum amount a domestic 

worker must earn so that such earnings 

are covered under Social Security or 

Medicare is the domestic employee 

coverage threshold. For 2018, this 

threshold is $2,100. Section 3121(x) of 

the Internal Revenue Code provides the 

formula for increasing the threshold. 

Computation 

Under the formula, the domestic 

employee coverage threshold for 2018 is 

equal to the 1995 amount of $1,000 

multiplied by the ratio of the national 

average wage index for 2016 to that for 

1993. If the resulting amount is not a 

multiple of $100, we round it to the next 

lower multiple of $100. 

Domestic Employee Coverage Threshold 

Amount 

Multiplying the 1995 domestic 

employee coverage threshold ($1,000) 

by the ratio of the national average wage 

index for 2016 ($48,664.73) to that for 

1993 ($23,132.67) produces $2,103.72. 

We then round this amount to $2,100. 

Therefore, the domestic employee 

coverage threshold amount is $2,100 for 

2018. 

Election Official and Election Worker 

Coverage Threshold 

General 

The minimum amount an election 

official and election worker must earn 

so the earnings are covered under Social 

Security or Medicare is the election 

official and election worker coverage 

threshold. For 2018, this threshold is 

$1,800. Section 218(c)(8)(B) of the Act 

provides the formula for increasing the 

threshold. 

Computation 

Under the formula, the election 

official and election worker coverage 

threshold for 2018 is equal to the 1999 

amount of $1,000 multiplied by the ratio 

of the national average wage index for 

2016 to that for 1997. If the amount we 

determine is not a multiple of $100, it 

we round it to the nearest multiple of 

$100. 

Election Official and Election Worker 

Coverage Threshold Amount 

Multiplying the 1999 coverage 

threshold amount ($1,000) by the ratio 

of the national average wage index for 

2016 ($48,664.73) to that for 1997 

($27,426.00) produces $1,774.40. We 

then round this amount to $1,800. 

Therefore, the election official and 

election worker coverage threshold 

amount is $1,800 for 2018. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 

Program Nos. 96.001 Social SecurityDisability Insurance; 96.002 Social SecurityRetirement Insurance; 96.004 Social SecuritySurvivors Insurance; 96.006 Supplemental 

Security Income) 

Nancy A. Berryhill, 

Acting Commissioner of Social Security. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23522 Filed 10–27–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

[Docket No. SSA–2017–0032] 

Social Security Disability Program 

Demonstration Project: Promoting 

Opportunity Demonstration (POD) 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are announcing a 

demonstration project for the Social 

Security disability program under title II 

of the Social Security Act (Act). Under 

this project, we will modify program 

rules applied to beneficiaries who work 

and receive title II disability benefits. 

We are required to conduct the 

Promoting Opportunity Demonstration 

(POD), in compliance with section 823 

of the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA) of 

2015. 

In this project, we will test simplified 

work incentives and use a benefit offset 

based on earnings as an alternative to 

rules we currently apply to title II 

disability beneficiaries who work. 

Under the benefit offset, we will reduce 

title II disability benefits by $1 for every 

$2 that a beneficiary earns above a 

certain threshold. 

We will select beneficiaries and offer 

them the opportunity to volunteer for 

the project. When we make the 

selection, we will include beneficiaries 

who receive title II disability benefits 

only as well as beneficiaries who 

receive both title II disability benefits 

and Supplemental Security Income 

(SSI) based on disability or blindness 

under title XVI of the Act. We are 

modifying rules that apply to the title II 

program and the Ticket to Work 

program under title XI. We will 

continue to apply the usual SSI program 

rules for participants who receive SSI 

payments in addition to title II disability 

benefits. 

DATES: We plan to begin this project in 

November 2017 and end it in June 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeffrey Hemmeter, Office of Retirement 

and Disability Policy, Social Security 

Administration, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235, (410) 

597–1815. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
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1Section 823 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 

2015, Public Law 114–74, added this requirement. 

2Section 223(d)(1)(A) of the Act; 20 CFR 

404.1505(a). 

3Section 1614(a)(3)(A) of the Act; 20 CFR 

416.905(a). 

4Section 221(i), (m) of the Act; 20 CFR 404.1589, 

404.1590, and 404.1594. 

5The SSI program under title XVI of the Act does 

not provide a TWP. The performance of SGA by a 

recipient of SSI payments based on disability or 

blindness does not affect the recipient’s disability 

or blindness status under the SSI program. Section 

1619 of the Act; 20 CFR 416.260–416.269. 6Sections 222(c) and 223(d)(4) of the Act; 20 CFR 

404.1592. 

7 Id. 

8 20 CFR 404.1592(b). 

9 20 CFR 404.1572. 

10 20 CFR 404.1571–404.1576. 

11 20 CFR 404.1575. 

12Section 223(d)(4)(A) of the Act; 20 CFR 

404.1576. 

13 20 CFR 404.1592a(a)(1) and 404.1594(d)(5). 

14 20 CFR 404.401a and 404.1592a(a)(2). 

15Program Operations Manual System, DI 

13010.210. 

16 20 CFR 404.1592a(b). 

17Sections 202(d)(1), (d)(6), (e)(1), and (f)(1) and 

223(a)(1) of the Act; 20 CFR 404.316(d), 404.337(d), 

404.352(e), 404.401a, and 404.1592a(a). 

Background 

We are required to conduct this 

demonstration under Social Security 

Act section 234(f).1

In this section, we broadly outline our 

usual rules for paying disability 

benefits, how those benefits may 

terminate, and the work incentives that 

affect payments. Then, we discuss the 

modified rules we will apply under the 

demonstration project. 

Who may receive disability benefits? 

Under title II of the Act, we pay the 

following benefits to persons who meet 

the Act’s definition of disability: 

• Disability insurance benefits for a 

worker insured under the Act; 

• Widow’s and widower’s insurance 

benefits based on disability for a widow, 

widower, or surviving divorced spouse 

of an insured worker; and 

• Childhood disability benefits for a 

child of an insured worker who is 

entitled to retirement or disability 

benefits or has died. 

In the rest of this notice, we refer to 

these benefits collectively as Social 

Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) 

benefits and refer to the beneficiaries 

who receive them as SSDI beneficiaries. 

Under title XVI of the Act, we pay SSI 

to persons who are aged, blind, or 

disabled, and who also have limited 

income and resources. An SSDI 

beneficiary with limited income and 

resources may qualify for SSI payments. 

A person must meet the definition of 

disability under title II of the Act in 

order to be eligible for SSDI benefits. A 

person is disabled under title II if the 

person has a physical or mental 

impairment or combination of 

impairments that has lasted or is 

expected to last for at least 12 months 

or can be expected to result in death and 

that prevents the person from doing any 

substantial gainful activity (SGA).2 This 

definition also applies under title XVI of 

the Act for persons age 18 or older who 

receive payments based on disability.3

Continuing Disability Reviews 

We periodically reevaluate a 

disability beneficiary’s impairment(s) to 

determine whether the person continues 

to be under a disability.4 We call this 

evaluation a continuing disability 

review (CDR). We conduct CDRs at 

regularly scheduled intervals. We may 

begin a CDR at a time other than a 

regular interval if circumstances 

warrant. There are two main types of 

CDRs: (1) Medical CDRs, in which we 

examine medical improvement, if any, 

and (2) work CDRs, in which we 

examine earnings. If we determine in a 

CDR that the individual is no longer 

under a disability, we will stop benefits 

in most cases. 

How do we help disability beneficiaries 

to return to work? 

We offer certain work incentives to 

encourage disability beneficiaries to 

attempt to work. We also administer the 

Ticket to Work program and other 

employment support programs to help 

disability beneficiaries become as selfsufficient as possible through work and 

to promote their economic 

independence. Under certain provisions 

of the Act, such as the title II provision 

for a trial work period, beneficiaries 

may test their ability to work while 

keeping their cash and medical benefits. 

The Trial Work Period 

We provide a trial work period (TWP) 

that allows SSDI beneficiaries 5 to test 

their ability to work for at least nine 

months and not have that work 

considered for disability purposes 

during that period.6 During this period, 

beneficiaries continue to receive full 

SSDI benefits, regardless of how much 

money they earn, as long as they report 

the work activity and continue to have 

a disabling impairment. The TWP ends 

when a beneficiary has completed nine 

trial work months (which do not have 

to be consecutive) within a rolling 60- 

month period. (The TWP may end 

earlier if we determine that the 

beneficiary’s disability ended based on 

medical factors.7) We count as a trial 

work month any month in which a 

beneficiary’s gross earnings are above a 

specified amount ($840 a month in 

2017) or in which the beneficiary works 

more than 80 hours in selfemployment.8

What happens if a beneficiary works 

after the TWP? 

If a beneficiary works after the TWP 

ends, we review the beneficiary’s work 

and earnings to decide if the work is 

SGA. Work is ‘‘substantial’’ if it involves 

doing significant physical or mental 

activities. Work activity may be 

‘‘substantial’’ even if it is performed on 

a part-time basis. Work activity is 

‘‘gainful’’ if it is performed for pay or 

profit or is the kind of work usually 

performed for pay or profit, whether or 

not a profit is realized.9

In deciding whether work is SGA, we 

consider the nature of the person’s job 

duties, the skills and experience the 

person needs to do the job, and how 

much the person actually earned.10

Usually, we consider a person’s work to 

be substantial and gainful if monthly 

earnings, after allowable deductions, 

average more than the monthly SGA 

amount (in 2017, $1,170 a month for a 

person who is not blind, or $1,950 a 

month for a person who is blind). If the 

person is self-employed, we may give 

more consideration to the kind and 

value of the work, including the 

person’s part in the management of the 

business, than to the person’s income 

alone.11

When we decide whether work is 

SGA and figure earnings, we deduct the 

reasonable costs of certain ‘‘impairmentrelated work expenses’’ (IRWEs), that is, 

items and services that enable a person 

to work.12 We will decide that an SSDI 

beneficiary’s disability has ended in the 

first month the person performs SGA 

after completion of the TWP.13 We pay 

benefits for the month disability ended 

and the following two months, no 

matter how much the beneficiary 

earns.14 We call this three-month period 

the ‘‘grace period.’’ 15

The Reentitlement Period 

Immediately after an SSDI beneficiary 

completes the TWP, the reentitlement 

period begins. The reentitlement period 

is also called the extended period of 

eligibility. The reentitlement period 

typically lasts for 36 months, but it may 

end earlier if we determine that the 

beneficiary ceases to have a disabling 

impairment for medical reasons.16 The 

reentitlement period allows an SSDI 

beneficiary with a disabling impairment 

an additional period to test the ability 

to work.17 If the beneficiary performs 

SGA during the reentitlement period, 

we will determine that the beneficiary’s 

disability has ended, and we will stop 


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18Section 223(e) of the Act; 20 CFR 404.401a and 

404.1592a(a)(2). 

19 20 CFR 404.1592c. 

20Section 223(i) of the Act; 20 CFR 404.1592b– 

404.1592f. 

21Section 223(i)(7) of the Act; 20 CFR 404.1592e. 

22Section 223(i)(6) of the Act; 20 CFR 404.1592f. 

23Section 1148 of the Act; 20 CFR part 411. 

24Section 1148(c) and (f) of the Act; 20 CFR 

411.300–411.435. 

25Section 1148(h) of the Act; 20 CFR part 411, 

subpart H. 

26Section 1148(h) of the Act; 20 CFR 411.500, 

411.525, and 411.575. 

27 20 CFR 411.500 and 411.525. 

28 Individuals receiving widow’s or widower’s 

insurance benefits or childhood disability benefits 

based on someone else’s status as an insured worker 

at the time of enrollment are not eligible. 

benefits, subject to the grace period. 

After the grace period, we will not pay 

benefits to the disability beneficiary or 

anyone receiving benefits on the 

earnings record for any month during 

the reentitlement period in which the 

disability beneficiary performs SGA.18

However, if the beneficiary does not 

perform SGA in a subsequent month in 

the reentitlement period, we will pay 

benefits again. The beneficiary does not 

need to file a new application for the 

benefits to start again. 

Expedited Reinstatement 

Expedited reinstatement is an 

employment support available under 

both the SSDI and SSI programs.19 We 

provide expedited reinstatement for 60 

months after we terminate entitlement 

to disability benefits due to work 

activity.20 Rather than filing a new 

application for a new period of 

entitlement, individuals can, during this 

60-month period, request reinstatement 

of their prior entitlement to disability 

benefits. An individual may receive up 

to six consecutive months of provisional 

cash benefits and Medicare while we 

make a determination about whether the 

individual’s prior entitlement will be 

reinstated.21 The provisional cash 

benefits may be equal to the last 

monthly benefit payable during the 

prior entitlement. After we approve 

reinstatement, the initial reinstatement 

period (IRP) begins.22 During the IRP, 

the TWP and reentitlement provisions 

discussed above do not apply; if a 

beneficiary performs SGA in a month 

during the IRP, we will not pay benefits 

for that month. The IRP ends after a 

beneficiary has 24 months of payable 

benefits; the months do not have to be 

consecutive. At that point, the TWP and 

reentitlement provisions discussed 

above apply to the beneficiary. 

Ticket to Work Program 

In addition to the work incentives 

policies discussed above, we also 

administer the Ticket to Work program, 

which can help disability beneficiaries 

access employment services, vocational 

rehabilitation services, and other 

support services.23 A beneficiary 

participates in the program by assigning 

a ticket to a qualified provider, which 

may be an employment network or a 

State vocational rehabilitation agency.24

We pay these providers for certain 

outcomes achieved by the beneficiary.25

We may pay an outcome payment for 

each month for which SSDI benefits and 

Federal SSI payments are not payable to 

the beneficiary because of the 

performance of SGA or by reason of 

earnings from work activity.26 If the 

beneficiary is an SSDI-only or 

concurrent SSDI/SSI beneficiary, we 

may make up to 36 outcome 

payments.27

The Promoting Opportunity 

Demonstration (POD) 

Description of the POD 

Under the POD, we will modify title 

II disability program rules that we 

currently apply to SSDI beneficiaries 

who work. We will test alternate rules 

to determine their effectiveness in 

encouraging SSDI beneficiaries to return 

to work or increase their earnings. We 

will test simplified work incentives and 

use a monthly benefit offset based on 

earnings. Under the benefit offset, we 

will reduce SSDI benefits by $1 for 

every $2 of a beneficiary’s earnings that 

are above a certain threshold. The POD 

threshold is equal to the greater of (1) 

the applicable monthly TWP amount for 

the calendar year or (2) itemized IRWEs 

up to the SGA amount for the calendar 

year. 

We have contracted with Abt 

Associates to implement the POD and 

Mathematica Policy Research to conduct 

evaluation activities. We will evaluate 

the impact of the benefit offset on work 

activity, earnings, and continued receipt 

of cash benefits. 

Where will we conduct the POD? 

We expect to conduct this project in 

eight sites across the country: 

• Alabama (all counties); 

• California (Los Angeles, Orange, 

and San Diego counties); 

• Connecticut (all counties); 

• Maryland (Anne Arundel, 

Baltimore, Harford, Howard, 

Montgomery, and Prince George’s 

counties; Baltimore City); 

• Michigan (Barry, Berrien, Branch, 

Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Kent, St. 

Joseph, and Van Buren counties); 

• Nebraska (Adams, Buffalo, Douglas, 

Hall, Lancaster, and Sarpy counties); 

• Texas (Bexar, Dallas, and Tarrant 

counties); and 

• Vermont (all counties). 

Abt Associates is subcontracting with 

the State vocational rehabilitation 

agencies or Work Incentive Planning 

and Assistance providers in each site to 

work directly with the beneficiaries in 

this project. 

Who is eligible to participate in the 

POD? 

To be eligible to participate in the 

project, a beneficiary must: 

• Be at least age 20 and be under age 

62 throughout the project; 

• Be entitled to title II benefits based 

on disability as the insured worker 28

only; 

• Receive title II disability cash 

benefits, unless we are not paying cash 

benefits because the beneficiary is 

engaging in SGA after the grace period 

and during the reentitlement period; 

• Reside in one of the eight sites for 

the project, according to our records; 

and 

• Not be a prior or current treatment 

or control group participant in any of 

our other demonstration projects. 

How will we select participants and 

assign them to control or treatment 

groups? 

We will select potential participants 

for the POD from a pool of beneficiaries 

who meet the requirements for 

participation described above. We 

expect to recruit about 15,000 

beneficiaries to volunteer to participate 

in the POD. We will randomly assign 

the beneficiaries who have agreed to 

participate in the POD to a control 

group or one of two treatment groups, as 

described below. 

• Control Group—We will assign 

approximately 5,000 SSDI beneficiaries 

to this group, which will continue to be 

subject to our usual program rules. We 

will not test any alternate rules with this 

group. 

• Treatment Group 1—We will assign 

approximately 5,000 SSDI beneficiaries 

to this group, which will be eligible for 

the benefit offset. For any month the 

beneficiary’s SSDI benefits are reduced 

to zero under the offset, benefits are 

suspended for that month. The 

beneficiary remains eligible for benefits 

for months that the offset does not 

reduce benefits to zero. 

• Treatment Group 2—We will assign 

approximately 5,000 SSDI beneficiaries 

to this group, which will be eligible for 

the benefit offset. If a beneficiary in this 

group has the SSDI benefit reduced to 

zero under the offset for 12 consecutive 


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months, we will terminate the 

beneficiary’s entitlement to SSDI. 

How will we conduct the POD? 

The evaluation contractor, 

Mathematica Policy Research, will 

conduct outreach through mailings and 

phone calls to recruit and enroll 

beneficiaries into the POD, and 

randomly assign participants into the 

control and treatment groups. 

Beneficiaries we recruit and who wish 

to participate will sign a consent form 

to indicate their agreement to 

participate before being randomly 

assigned to one of the three groups 

described above. All enrolled 

beneficiaries can withdraw from the 

project at any time. Beneficiaries 

randomly assigned to the control group 

will receive a notice informing them of 

their assignment and that the usual 

program rules apply. Beneficiaries 

randomly assigned to the treatment 

groups will receive a notice informing 

them of their assignment and that 

alternate program rules will apply for 

earnings. The notice will provide 

contact information for Abt Associates, 

which will be beneficiaries’ central 

point of contact for the POD. 

The notice will also inform 

beneficiaries of the POD-related benefits 

counseling available to all treatment 

group members. Each site will have 

benefits counselors dedicated to the 

project who can help beneficiaries 

understand the alternate rules under the 

POD and how the offset will affect their 

SSDI benefit. 

Participation in the POD is voluntary, 

and a beneficiary may withdraw the 

consent to participate in the POD at any 

time in writing. A beneficiary who 

wishes to withdraw consent will inform 

Abt Associates in writing and be offered 

counseling on withdrawing from the 

demonstration and returning to usual 

rules. A beneficiary in a treatment group 

who withdraws consent will no longer 

be eligible for the alternate program 

rules or any project services available 

under the POD, but will have the option 

to continue to participate in evaluation 

activities, such as follow-up surveys. If 

a beneficiary chooses not to participate 

in the evaluation activities, we will 

continue to track the beneficiary for the 

project evaluation using program data. 

We will apply our usual program rules 

to the beneficiary beginning with the 

month that withdrawal from the project 

becomes effective. We will apply our 

usual title II disability program rules for 

all participants after the end of the 

project, beginning July 2021. 

What provisions of the Act and 

regulations are we waiving to provide 

alternate rules under the POD? 

Alternate Title II Program Rules 

The following alternate program rules 

will apply to an SSDI beneficiary 

assigned to a treatment group during 

participation in the POD: 

• Eligibility for the benefit offset will 

begin after random assignment to a 

treatment group and end at the close of 

the project in June 2021; 

• Payment of SSDI benefits will be 

subject to reduction, potentially to zero, 

under the benefit offset; 

• Payment of benefits to any other 

person entitled to benefits on the 

earnings record of the SSDI beneficiary 

will continue for any month for which 

the beneficiary’s SSDI benefit is 

partially reduced under the benefit 

offset and will stop for months for 

which the SSDI benefit is reduced to 

zero under the offset; 

• For months that SSDI benefits are 

reduced to zero under the offset, 

benefits are suspended for participants 

in both treatment groups. If the 

participants’ earnings decrease in a 

subsequent month such that the offset 

does not reduce the SSDI benefit to zero, 

the beneficiary will again receive a 

benefit, subject to the offset. If a 

participant in treatment group 2 has the 

SSDI benefit reduced to zero for 12 

consecutive months, we will terminate 

entitlement to benefits; 

• The TWP will not apply to the 

participant; 

• The reentitlement period will not 

apply to the participant; 

• If a participant has entitlement 

reinstated under expedited 

reinstatement, the IRP will not apply to 

the participant; 

• If a participant was eligible for 

Medicare Part A coverage because of 

entitlement to SSDI and the SSDI 

entitlement terminates as a result of the 

POD’s benefit offset, the participant will 

remain eligible for Medicare Part A 

coverage for 93 additional months 

provided that the person continues to 

have the same disabling impairment(s) 

that provided the basis for the prior 

SSDI entitlement and meets the other 

SSDI entitlement requirements; 

• No work CDRs will be initiated or 

completed during the POD 

participation; 

• We will continue to pay outcome 

payments to qualified providers under 

the Ticket to Work program for 

participants who earn above SGA, 

whether or not their SSDI benefit is 

reduced to zero; and 

• Our usual program rules will apply 

beginning with the month after 

participation in the POD ends. 

Applying these alternate rules 

involves waiving or altering certain 

provisions included in sections 222(c); 

223(a)(1), (d)(4), (e), and (i); and 1148(h) 

of the Act and 20 CFR 404.316(d), 

404.325, 404.401a, 404.1571 through 

404.1576, 404.1590, 404.1592, 

404.1592a, 404.1592f, 404.1594, 

411.500(b)–(e), 411.525(a)(1)(i), and 

411.575(b)(1)(i)(A). 

When will a participant in one of the 

treatment groups be eligible for the 

benefit offset? 

A beneficiary who is in a treatment 

group will be eligible for the benefit 

offset after random assignment and 

should begin to report earnings to Abt 

Associates the month after random 

assignment. Thus, if random assignment 

is in November, the beneficiary should 

report November earnings and IRWEs in 

December, and the benefit offset, if any, 

will begin with the December benefit, 

which is paid in January. Participants 

should report earnings and IRWEs 

information to the POD through June 

2021. 

How will we apply the benefit offset? 

We will apply the benefit offset on a 

monthly basis to reduce SSDI benefits 

based on a beneficiary’s report of 

monthly earnings and IRWEs. 

Participants who report their earnings 

and IRWEs information for the prior 

month on time in the current month 

will have the benefit offset calculated 

into the following month’s benefit. For 

example, for a participant who reports 

April 2018 earnings and IRWEs in May 

2018, the offset will be calculated in the 

May 2018 benefit, which is paid in June 

2018. 

In the example below, we show how 

we will calculate the amount by which 

monthly SSDI benefit payments will be 

reduced under the offset for a 

beneficiary whose earnings exceed the 

POD threshold. In the example, we use 

the POD threshold that would apply in 

2017. 

Example: A beneficiary reports 

monthly earnings of $1,040. The POD 

threshold is $840. The reported monthly 

earnings exceed the threshold by $200. 

We will reduce the beneficiary’s SSDI 

benefit payment by $100. The 

calculations for this example are as 

follows: 

First, we calculate the monthly 

earnings that exceed the POD threshold. 

$1,040 (monthly earnings report) 

¥$840 (2017 POD threshold) 

$200 


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Second, we calculate the $1 for $2 

benefit offset amount by dividing the 

amount of earnings that exceeds the 

POD threshold by 2. 

$200 ÷ 2 = $100 (monthly $1 for $2 

benefit offset amount) 

For the purposes of the POD, we will 

round the monthly benefit offset amount 

resulting from the calculations down to 

the nearest dime. 

We consider monthly IRWEs in the 

calculation only when the total is 

greater than the POD threshold. If the 

total monthly amount of itemized 

IRWEs is greater than the POD 

threshold, we will use the total monthly 

amount of itemized IRWEs as the 

monthly POD threshold for the offset. 

However, if the total monthly amount of 

itemized IRWEs equals or exceeds the 

applicable SGA amount, we will use the 

SGA amount as the monthly POD 

threshold for the offset. 

In the example below, we show how 

we will calculate the amount by which 

monthly SSDI benefit payments will be 

reduced under the offset for a 

beneficiary whose earnings and 

itemized IRWEs exceed the POD 

threshold. In the example, we use the 

POD threshold that would apply in 

2017. 

Example: A beneficiary reports 

monthly earnings of $1,040. The 

beneficiary also reports monthly 

itemized IRWEs of $940 and all are 

approved. Since the total monthly 

amount of itemized IRWEs is greater 

than $840, we use the IRWEs amount as 

the POD threshold. The reported 

monthly earnings exceed the threshold 

by $100. We will reduce the 

beneficiary’s SSDI benefit payment by 

$50. The calculations for this example 

are as follows: 

First, we calculate the monthly 

earnings that exceed the POD threshold. 

$1,040 (monthly earnings report) 

¥$940 (POD threshold is equal to the total 

monthly itemized IRWEs) 

$100 

Second, we calculate the $1 for $2 

benefit offset amount by dividing the 

amount of earnings that exceeds the 

POD threshold by 2. 

$100 ÷ 2 = $50 (monthly $1 for $2 

benefit offset amount) 

For the purposes of the POD, we will 

round the monthly benefit offset amount 

resulting from the calculations down to 

the nearest dime. 

What happens if a beneficiary does not 

report earnings on a monthly basis? 

It is very important that beneficiaries 

in the treatment groups report earnings 

and IRWEs. If a beneficiary reports 

earnings for a month, but does not 

continue to report monthly, the prior 

reported earnings will carry forward for 

subsequent months until the beneficiary 

reports earnings again, or until the end 

of the project. If the beneficiary is late 

in reporting earnings for a month, we 

will make appropriate adjustments to 

future benefit payments if we determine 

that we paid the beneficiary too much 

or too little in benefits under the offset 

for the months when we carried over 

prior earnings. We will send the 

beneficiary a written notice of our 

determination that will provide appeal 

rights. 

We will perform an end-of-year 

reconciliation after the close of each 

calendar year. We will determine the 

actual amount of the beneficiary’s 

earnings for each month in the calendar 

year to decide if the person was paid 

more or less in benefits than was due 

under the offset. We will make 

appropriate adjustments to future 

benefit payments if we determine that 

we paid the beneficiary too much or too 

little in benefits under the offset. We 

will send the beneficiary a written 

notice of our determination that will 

provide appeal rights. 

What happens to beneficiaries whose 

benefit is reduced to zero for 12 

consecutive months? 

When a beneficiary’s earnings are 

high enough that the offset amount 

equals or exceeds the beneficiary’s SSDI 

monthly benefit payment, the 

beneficiary will not receive a benefit 

payment for that month. That is, the 

SSDI benefit is reduced to zero under 

the offset, and the benefit is suspended 

for that month. Beneficiaries in 

treatment group 2 only will have 

entitlement terminated after their 

benefit is reduced to zero (that is, 

suspended) for 12 consecutive months. 

What options do we provide to 

beneficiaries whose entitlement to 

disability benefits terminates during the 

POD due to work activity? 

Participants whose entitlement to 

disability benefits terminates due to 

work activity during the POD can apply 

for expedited reinstatement, as under 

current rules. Participants can request 

expedited reinstatement of their prior 

entitlement for a 60-month period. We 

will apply the same criteria used under 

current rules to determine whether a 

beneficiary meets the requirements for 

reinstatement. As under current rules, 

an individual may receive up to six 

consecutive months of provisional cash 

benefits while we make a determination. 

Participants in treatment group 2 who 

are reinstated will remain in the 

demonstration. They will continue in 

the POD treatment group 2 and will be 

subject to the applicable alternate rules 

for that treatment group. Under current 

rules, after we reinstate entitlement 

through expedited reinstatement, the 

IRP begins. Under POD rules, the IRP 

will not apply. See the following section 

for further details on the IRP. 

A participant whose entitlement is 

terminated under the POD will remain 

in this terminated status (unless the 

person is reinstated as discussed above), 

even if the person withdraws from the 

project. 

What happens to the IRP of a 

beneficiary in the POD? 

The IRP will not apply to 

beneficiaries in treatment groups during 

POD participation. When a beneficiary 

in a treatment group stops participating 

in the POD, the status of the IRP will be 

the same as when the beneficiary began 

participating in the POD. That means 

that if a beneficiary enters the POD 

during the beneficiary’s IRP, the IRP 

will pick up at the same point after the 

beneficiary’s participation in the POD 

ends and the beneficiary returns to our 

usual rules. If a beneficiary in treatment 

group 2 has entitlement terminated 

because of the offset but then has 

entitlement reinstated under expedited 

reinstatement, the beneficiary will 

return to participation in treatment 

group 2. When the beneficiary’s 

participation ends and the beneficiary 

returns to usual rules, the beneficiary 

will begin the IRP. 

What happens to the POD participation 

for beneficiaries whose entitlement to 

disability benefits terminates for any 

reason? 

Participants must maintain all SSDI 

eligibility requirements to continue 

receiving SSDI. For example, 

participants will still be subject to 

medical CDRs, which could result in a 

termination of entitlement on medical 

grounds. If a participant’s entitlement 

terminates for any reason and we 

subsequently approve reinstatement, the 

participant will return to the same 

treatment group the participant was in 

before termination until the participant 

withdraws from the project or the 

project ends. 

What happens to the payment of 

benefits to other persons entitled on the 

earnings record of a beneficiary whose 

SSDI benefit is subject to the offset? 

If any other person is entitled to 

benefits on the earnings record of a 

beneficiary whose SSDI benefit is 

subject to the offset, we will pay the 

other person the full amount of monthly 

cash benefits that the person is 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 208 / Monday, October 30, 2017 / Notices 50219 

29 20 CFR 404.1592a. 

30Section 226(b) of the Act; 42 CFR 406.12. 

31 Id. 

otherwise due for any month for which 

the beneficiary is eligible for payment of 

a reduced SSDI benefit under the offset. 

However, we will not pay benefits to the 

other person for any month for which 

the beneficiary’s SSDI benefit is reduced 

to zero under the offset. For example, a 

beneficiary in a POD treatment group 

could have earnings above SGA, and if 

the earnings do not result in full offset, 

other persons entitled on the 

beneficiary’s record will continue to 

receive their full amount of benefits for 

as long as the beneficiary is 

participating in the POD. By contrast, 

under current rules, if a beneficiary has 

earnings above SGA during the 36- 

month reentitlement period following 

the TWP, other persons entitled on the 

beneficiary’s record would not continue 

to receive benefits.29

What happens to the TWP of a 

beneficiary in the POD? 

The TWP will not apply to 

beneficiaries in treatment groups during 

their participation in the POD. A month 

during which the participant works and 

earns above the TWP amount will not be 

considered a trial work month for any 

purpose. Once the beneficiary’s 

participation in the POD ends, the 

beneficiary will, from that point 

forward, be subject to our usual rules, 

but the work and earnings accumulated 

during the POD participation will not be 

counted toward a TWP. Upon return to 

our usual rules, the beneficiary’s TWP 

status will be equal to the TWP status 

before participating in the POD. We 

will, however, count the period of the 

POD participation as part of the rolling 

60-month TWP window. For example, if 

a beneficiary in a treatment group has 

completed four trial work months before 

enrolling in the POD, the first month the 

beneficiary earns above the TWP 

amount after the beneficiary’s 

participation in the POD ends will be 

the beneficiary’s fifth trial work month. 

What happens to the reentitlement 

period of a beneficiary in the POD? 

The reentitlement period will not 

apply to beneficiaries in treatment 

groups during POD participation. There 

is also no reentitlement-related 

assessment to determine whether a 

beneficiary’s disability ended during a 

reentitlement period because the person 

performed SGA. Once the beneficiary’s 

participation in the POD ends, the 

beneficiary will, from that point 

forward, be subject to our usual rules. 

Upon return to usual rules, the 

beneficiary’s reentitlement status will be 

equal to the reentitlement status before 

participating in the POD. No work or 

earnings during POD participation will 

be considered in determining the 

reentitlement period upon return to 

usual rules. 

Will we conduct work continuing 

disability reviews during the POD? 

We will not initiate work CDRs for 

participants in the POD treatment 

groups while they are participating in 

the POD. If a participant in a POD 

treatment group has a work CDR in 

progress when POD participation 

begins, we will not complete the work 

CDR while the person is participating in 

the POD. 

Will the alternate rules under the POD 

affect a beneficiary’s Medicare 

coverage? 

A beneficiary who is under age 65 and 

who has been entitled to SSDI benefits 

for 24 months is entitled to Hospital 

Insurance (Medicare Part A) under the 

Medicare program.30 Entitlement to 

Medicare coverage generally continues 

as long as a beneficiary’s entitlement to 

SSDI benefits continues. However, a 

beneficiary whose entitlement to SSDI 

benefits terminates due to the 

performance of SGA may be entitled to 

extended Medicare coverage for a period 

of at least 93 months following the end 

of the TWP, provided that disability 

continues. Under the Act, the period of 

extended Medicare coverage is 

determined as if the beneficiary had a 

15-month reentitlement period 

following the end of the TWP.31

Section 234(f)(2)(D) of the Act, created 

by section 823 of the BBA of 2015, 

provides special rules on Medicare Part 

A coverage for some POD participants. 

If a participant is entitled to Medicare 

Part A coverage because of entitlement 

to SSDI benefits and the SSDI 

entitlement is terminated as a result of 

the POD’s benefit offset, the participant 

is entitled to extended Medicare 

coverage for a period of 93 months 

following the SSDI entitlement 

termination, as long as the participant 

continues to have the same disabling 

impairment(s) that provided the basis 

for the prior SSDI entitlement and the 

participant meets the other SSDI 

entitlement requirements. 

What are the alternate rules under the 

Ticket to Work program? 

We will apply an alternate rule for 

paying outcome payments to a qualified 

service provider that has been assigned 

a ticket by an SSDI-only or concurrent 

SSDI/SSI beneficiary in a POD treatment 

group. As noted above, under our usual 

rules, we may pay outcome payments to 

service providers for months in which 

SSDI benefits are not payable to a 

beneficiary because earnings are at or 

above the SGA level. Under the POD’s 

offset, however, a beneficiary’s earnings 

may be at or above the SGA level and 

yet still not be high enough to reduce 

the SSDI benefit to zero. Thus, applying 

our normal Ticket to Work program 

rules could unduly burden these service 

providers, since they would not receive 

the outcome payments that they would 

otherwise be eligible for if the 

beneficiary was not participating in the 

POD. Therefore, for the POD, we will 

pay an outcome payment to the provider 

for each month the participant earns 

above SGA, whether or not the SSDI 

benefit is reduced to zero. This process 

will occur only during a beneficiary’s 

POD participation period. 

We will apply our usual rules for 

paying outcome payments beginning 

with the first month after a beneficiary’s 

POD participation period ends. We will 

continue to limit the number of months 

for which outcome payments may be 

made based on the same ticket to a 

maximum of 36 months. We will count 

any month for which we pay an 

outcome payment under the alternate 

rule or our usual rule toward this 36- 

month limit. 

What is our authority for conducting the 

POD? 

Section 234 of the Act authorizes 

experiments and demonstration projects 

designed to promote attachment to the 

labor force, including projects that test 

alternative methods of treating work 

activity of SSDI beneficiaries and that 

involve the waiver of certain program 

rules. Section 234(f) of the Act, added 

by section 823 of the BBA of 2015, 

specifically requires that we conduct the 

POD. We are conducting the POD 

consistent with the requirements in 

section 234(e) of the Act that 

participation in a demonstration project 

must be voluntary and based on 

informed written consent, and that the 

voluntary agreement to participate may 

be withdrawn by the volunteer at any 

time. 

Authority: Section 234 of the Act. 

Nancy A. Berryhill, 

Acting Commissioner of Social Security. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23521 Filed 10–27–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES