Post-Entitlement Experience on Work Incentives (PEEWI)

Objective

Our goal for the Post-Entitlement Experience on Work Incentives (PEEWI) project is to obtain feedback from focus groups of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries about their experiences with returning to work and the agency's work incentives. We will inquire about beneficiaries’ individual experiences as related to:

  • Barriers in Returning to Work;
  • Understanding SSAs work incentives (i.e., trial work period (TWP) and impairment-related work expenses); and
  • Completing work activity forms (i.e., SSA-821/SSA-820) considering challenges such as but not limited to the length, complexity, or tone of the forms.
Additionally, we will gather beneficiary perspectives on potential alternative ways of treating post-entitlement earnings. We will inquire about beneficiaries’ perception of the current “cash cliff” relative to a specific offset of benefits for any earnings above a threshold (e.g., $1-for-$2) or where benefits are reduced by a specific amount within a range of earnings. Topics may include the beneficiaries’ perceived likelihood of utilization, associated challenges and benefits (e.g., overpayments, reporting challenges, earnings flexibility, etc.) and the relationship of these options to other work incentives.

Status

The contract for PEEWI was awarded to Fors Marsh Group in April 2024 and will be completed in April 2026.

Fors Marsh Group will facilitate several focus groups for this study in English and Spanish. Participants will consist of beneficiaries with the following previous or current experiences:

  • Offset experience from past demonstrations (specifically, the Benefit Offset- National Demonstration (BOND) and Promoting Opportunity Demonstration (POD))
  • Utilization of work incentives including the TWP and extended period of eligibility
  • A work-related cessation and/or suspension of benefits
  • Entitled to SSDI for over 5 years and never completed their TWP
  • Awarded SSDI benefits within 6 months to 1 year from Office of Management and Budget approval
We anticipate completing the project in April 2026.

Not applicable at this time.

Not applicable at this time.

Not applicable at this time.

Benefit Offset- National Demonstration (BOND)

Promoting Opportunity Demonstration (POD)