Work Incentives Planning and Assistance

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance

Background:

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized Social Security to award grants, contracts or cooperative agreements to provide community-based Work Incentives expertise to beneficiaries of Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits based on disability. We currently have 74 cooperative agreements throughout every state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Services:

The goal of the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program is to enable beneficiaries with disabilities to receive accurate information, and use that information to make a successful transition to work. Each WIPA project has Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC) who will:

  • provide in-depth counseling about benefits and the effect of work on those benefits;

  • conduct outreach efforts to beneficiaries of SSI and SSDI (and their families) who are potentially eligible to participate in federal or state Work Incentives programs; and

  • work in cooperation with federal, state and private agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve SSI and SSDI beneficiaries with disabilities.

Current WIPA Awardees:

Effective July 1, 2021, Social Security awarded Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) cooperative agreements to 74 organizations. Please visit the current listing of 2021 WIPA awardees.

To locate and find contact information for a WIPA provider, please click on the following links to use the Find Help tool on the Choose Work website or call the Ticket To Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967 (TTY), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET.

WIPA Resources:

Training for WIPA staff on Social Security Work Incentives and other benefit programs:

Social Security has a contract with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to provide training and technical support to the WIPA project staff.

VCU training website

Cloud Storage:

We now have a process and authorization to use cloud storage and file sharing for our WIPA Program. You may purchase cloud services using our funding, and you may store SSA information under the following conditions:

  • The service has Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) approval; and
  • You confirm that the service has FedRAMP approval with your Project Officer prior to use; and
  • You send verification of the service you have and intend to use to your Project Officer for final approval. This can be a screenshot; and
  • You do not store anything in the cloud until and unless you receive final approval from your Project Officer in writing.

Here is a link to a list of services: FedRAMP Authorization