Benefits Counseling Services

Work Incentives are special rules that apply when a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI, DWB, CDB) beneficiary or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient returns to work. There are many different types of work incentives that may protect your eligibility for benefits including MaineCare or Medicare, and that may make you eligible for funding to advance your career. The rules are different depending on whether you receive SSI or Social Security for disability. If you receive both benefits, both sets of rules apply.

MaineHealth Vocational Services has Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) that help Maine people understand how working affects their Social Security disability and other public benefits. This service is provided at no cost to Maine residents 14 or older who receive Social Security disability benefits, are considering or currently working, and have questions about how working impacts benefits. This service is made possible through funding from the Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, and the Social Security Administration.

Requesting Services

To request individualized benefits counseling services from a Community Work Incentives Coordinator (CWIC), please complete our BCS Referral Packet, then print, sign, and send to us. Call us at 1-888-208-8700 if you have trouble accessing the referral packet or do not have access to a printer so we can mail the paperwork to you. Please mail or fax your completed referral to the address below.

MaineHealth Vocational Services
Attn: BCS Project Specialist
22 Bramhall Street
Portland, ME 04102
Fax: 207-662-6789

You will hear back from us to coordinate an appointment as soon as possible after we receive and process these forms. The forms allow us to verify benefits you receive from Social Security; without the forms we cannot give you the most accurate information. Our benefits counseling services are provided statewide. Every effort is made to provide in-person, community-based services. Sometimes due to high demand for service and the large geographic area, a combination of mail, telephone, and videoconferencing services may be used.

Services Provided

Work Incentives Planning
Tell us your questions about working and benefits and we will talk with you about what work incentives are available to you. When you have a financial goal, either projected or actual, we will develop a written report for you. This report will explain your current benefits and outline a plan describing how to use work incentives. We can also assist you in identifying services that you might need along the way and connect you with resources to assist you in finding or maintaining your employment goal.

Work Incentives Assistance
Your CWIC can help answer questions about benefits even after you return to work. We are here to help you to understand how to report your income, how to use the work incentives and what resources may be available to you while working. When you begin working or your income from work increases, we are also available to assist you in considering your health care coverage options and will talk with you about how work incentives can be used over time. 

Information and Referral
With your permission, we will also work with other service providers to make sure you get the help you need to achieve employment success. In the event that you need protection and advocacy services, we can help you connect with these services as well. 

You might meet a CWIC at a workshop or a meeting in your community. In these settings, CWICs answer questions about general work-related Social Security rules and incentives and can refer you to related services for which you may be eligible. These sessions are offered statewide as requested and as resources allow.

Also available directly from the Social Security Administration are Work Incentive Seminar Event (WISE) webinars offered monthly. Register for an upcoming webinar or view a previously recorded WISE event.

Transition-Aged Youth With Disabilities

Social Security defines transition-aged youth as individuals aged 14-25 who are making the transition from school to work and/or further education. Transition-aged youth with disabilities face unique challenges in transitioning from school to work, and some may even think working is not part of their future.

Successful entry into the workforce can greatly enhance a person’s long-term earnings potential and quality of life. Summer jobs, internships and volunteer work can help young people develop job stills, soft skills (learning how to present well and interact effectively with others), gain connections with employers for future job searches, and learn about career choices. Linking knowledge gained at the worksite with a planned program of study increases school attendance and engagement, decreases dropout rates and even makes it more likely that a student will attend college.

Many students under age 22 can work without their SSI (Supplemental Security Income) being affected (up to $2,220 a month, capped at $8,950 a year in 2023). Otherwise their SSI would be reduced about $1 for every $2 they earn. This is called the Student Earned Income Exclusion. A PASS plan may also help you save money for your job goal.

If you get Childhood Disability Benefits other work incentives may be available. For more information download our Trial Work Period and Extended Period of Eligibility fact sheets.