Glossary

1619(b) continued Medicaid coverage

For Medicaid purposes, provides special status to working disabled or blind individuals when their earnings make them ineligible for SSI cash payments.

computer-assisted personal interviewing—CAPI

An interviewing technique in which the respondent or interviewer uses a computer to answer the questions. It is similar to computer-assisted telephone interviewing, except that the interview takes place in person.

computer-assisted telephone interviewing— CATI

A telephone surveying technique in which the interviewer follows a script provided by a software application.

concurrent program beneficiaries

Individuals receiving benefits under both the DI and SSI programs.

continuing disability review—CDR

A periodic review to determine if a beneficiary is still medically eligible to receive benefits. A work CDR determines whether a DI beneficiary has work earnings that meet or exceed the substantial gainful activity level.

current-pay status

Status of a beneficiary who is paid a benefit for a given month, with or without deductions, provided the deductions add to less than a full month's benefit.

Disability Insurance—DI

See Social Security Disability Insurance.

disabled adult child

A disabled person aged 18 or older—a son, daughter, or eligible grandchild of a retired, deceased, or disabled worker—whose disability began before age 22.

disabled widow(er)

A widow(er) or surviving divorced widow(er) of a worker fully insured at the time of death, if he or she is aged 50–59 and has been disabled throughout a waiting period of 5 consecutive calendar months that began no later than 7 years after the month in which the worker died or after the end of his or her entitlement to benefits as a widowed mother or father.

A surviving divorced widow(er)'s marriage to a worker must have lasted 10 years before the divorce became final. Benefits payable after December 1983 are continued for disabled widow(er)s and surviving divorced widow(er)s who remarry after the age of first eligibility for benefits.

disabled worker

A person who has earnings creditable for Social Security purposes on the basis of services for wages in covered employment or on the basis of income from covered self-employment.

earned income exclusion

The first $65 (up to a maximum of $85 if the individual has no income other than earnings) of any monthly earned income plus one-half of remaining earnings are excluded for SSI benefit computation purposes.

employment-specific service

Job training, job modification advice, on-the-job training, work assessments, or job search help.

expedited reinstatement

A provision of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Act. If a beneficiary's Social Security or SSI disability benefits have ended because of earnings from work and he or she becomes unable to work again within 60 months because of his or her impairment, he or she would be able to request reinstatement of benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid, without filing a new initial disability-benefits application.

extended Medicare eligibility

A provision that allows for continued premium-free Medicare coverage for up to 93 months after the trial work period.

extended period of eligibility—EPE

A period of 36 consecutive months that follows a trial work period. During the EPE, DI beneficiaries may still receive benefits depending on how much they work and earn. SSA can pay disability benefits to beneficiaries during their EPE if:

• their condition is still disabling, and
• their work is not substantial.

Medicare coverage continues throughout the EPE. Benefits end if the beneficiary engages in substantial work after the EPE concludes. See also trial work period and substantial gainful activity.

federal poverty level

Percent of federal poverty threshold relative to number of people in the household for 2018. Based on U.S. Census Bureau 2018 definitions.

full retirement age

The age at which a person becomes entitled to unreduced retirement benefits.

hourly reservation wage

The lowest hourly wage for which the respondent would be willing to work.

impairment-related or blind work expenses

The costs of items or services that a disabled or blind person needs to work due to their impairment. The expenses, when paid by the beneficiary, are deducted from his or her gross earnings when determining if the work is considered substantial gainful activity.

Medicaid

A federal-state program that provides medical assistance for certain individuals and families with low incomes and limited resources.

Medicare

A federally administered health insurance program that covers the cost of hospitalization, medical care, and some related services for most persons aged 65 or older. It also covers persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance payments for 2 years, and persons with end-stage renal disease. Medicare consists of four separate but coordinated programs—Part A (Hospital Insurance), Part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), Part C (Medicare Advantage), and Part D (Prescription Drug Coverage).

plan to achieve self-support—PASS

A formal plan, requiring SSA approval, for attaining a specific work-related goal. With a PASS, an SSI recipient may set aside non-SSI income and resources for a specified period of time to pay for goods or services needed to reach the goal, such as education, vocational training, starting a business, or purchasing work-related equipment. SSA does not count the income and resources set aside under a PASS when deciding SSI eligibility and payment amount.

property essential for self-support

Property used for a business or personal property used for work as an employee that is excluded from resources when determining continuing eligibility for SSI.

proxy

An individual who answers survey questions on behalf of a sample member whose disabilities prevent him or her from responding.

services

Services include any employment services, job training, medical services, or mental health services.

sheltered employment

A program that provides employment with subsidized wages (or special wages that would not be available in a regular job) for people with disabilities.

Social Security Disability Insurance—DI

The program under the Social Security Act that pays monthly benefits to disabled workers and their spouses and children. It also pays for rehabilitation services provided to beneficiaries.

student earned income exclusion

A provision that allows all individuals on an SSI record who are under age 22, regularly attending school, and receiving earned income to exclude a certain amount of earned income from their countable income before SSA calculates their SSI payment.

substantial gainful activity

A measure of work activity with which SSA evaluates the capacity for work of individuals applying for or receiving DI disabled-worker benefits or those applying for SSI payments because of a disability (other than blindness). SSA generally uses an earnings threshold to determine whether an applicant's or beneficiary's work is substantial, and whether that individual is considered disabled under the law. For more information, see https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/sga.html.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Formerly known as Food Stamps, a program that provides benefits through electronic benefit transfers to help individuals and families with little or no income to buy food.

Supplemental Security Income—SSI

A federal program for low-income aged, blind, and disabled individuals who meet income and resource requirements. Beginning in 1974, SSI replaced the former federal and state programs of Old-Age Assistance, Aid to the Blind, and Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled. SSI is funded by general tax revenues, not Social Security taxes.

Ticket to Work

A program that helps DI and SSI beneficiaries return to work through employment services.

trial work period—TWP

A period during which DI beneficiaries can test their ability to work or run a business for at least 9 months and receive full DI benefits if their impairment does not improve. A disabled beneficiary would exhaust the TWP only if substantial work is performed in any 9 months within a period of 60 consecutive months.

unemployment insurance

A federal-state coordinated program that provides partial income replacement to regularly employed members of the labor force who become involuntarily unemployed. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have unemployment insurance programs.

veterans' benefits

A variety of benefits and services for veterans and their dependents and survivors that include, but are not limited to, disability compensation, benefits for survivors, health care benefits, and educational assistance and training.

weighted statistics

Statistics that have been adjusted using the sampling weights. Sampling weights are computed from the inverse selection probability that incorporates the stages of sampling in the survey, adjusted for nonresponse. The weighted statistics represent the national population of beneficiaries.

Work Incentive Planning and Assistance—WIPA

A free counseling service provided by community organizations to assist beneficiaries in making informed choices about work and earnings, Funded by Social Security Administration grants.

workers' compensation

A form of accident insurance paid by employers that covers medical expenses and lost wages of individuals injured on a job or who develop a work-related illness.

work-oriented

A category of beneficiaries who have indicated that their personal goals include getting a job, moving up in a job, or learning new job skills or who saw themselves working for pay in the next 2 years or in the next 5 years.