(Host) The Douglas administration is highlighting a program that allows people to pursue a career while retaining their government disability benefits.
As VPR’s John Dillon reports, the program keeps a safety net under people as they re-enter the work force.
(Dillon) Seven years ago, Jack Pickett was severely injured in a propane explosion.
He qualified for Social Security disability benefits to cover his living expenses and medical bills.
Pickett says he wanted to get back to work as soon as possible. But the traditional Social Security disability program has a huge catch: If you earn just $1 over the $1,000-a-month maximum cap, you lose all your government benefits.
Pickett says he was desperate to work, but faced being cut off from Social Security.
(Pickett) "Well, I started working the summer after I got hurt. And that was when the whole idea of losing those benefits sort of became a reality."
(Dillon) But then a Social Security counselor told Pickett about a pilot program being tested in Vermont and three other states.
The program is designed to help people get jobs. Instead of facing what’s called the "cash cliff" – where you lose all your benefits if you earn over the maximum – the rules are more flexible for people who work. For every $2 earned on a job, the beneficiary sees a $1 reduction in benefits. For Pickett and others enrolled in the experimental program, it meant building a career while keeping his Social Security safety net.
(Pickett) "I wanted to work. And part of my rehabilitation for my personal self was to work. So there was a threat that I would lose Social Security because there were times when I had to have surgeries. I wouldn’t be able to work. So when she mentioned this program I jumped right on it."
(Dillon) Governor Jim Douglas says Pickett’s experience shows people will re-enter the work force if the income rules are changed.
(Douglas) "Rather than our social safety net entrapping people, this program is an example of how we can reform a program. So it’s a springboard back to independence."
(Dillon) Pickett says he wasn’t the only one who benefited from the pilot program. His restaurant in Stowe now employs 35 people.
(Pickett) "And it feels really good to write paychecks. I’m not saying they’re all making a great living, but they’re all certainly making a good living."
(Dillon) The state will now be part of a much larger study that looks at changing Social Security disability rules to encourage people to work.
For VPR news, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.