We all need to play a role in helping people understand how work and benefits go together.
Benefits planning is not a separate or single conversation or a conversation that happens only with an expert. Everyone supporting a person with a disability has a role in helping the person to learn the facts, explore their options, make an informed choice, and reach their goals.
Disability Hub MN is here to help everyone get connected to the information, training and support they need to succeed in their role.
Below you'll find an overview of the various roles and benefit planning responsibilities.
The person
Choosing and advocating for their path forward, based on what they want and don’t want
The person is the decision maker. They get information and support to learn about their benefits, explore the effects of work on benefits, create a plan that leads to financial stability, and take the steps to implement the plan. The person may ask other people who support them to help them make an informed choice about work and benefits.
The person:
Makes an informed choice about benefits and work.
Gets support to make an informed choice and manage benefits with working.
Examples of things the person might do as they explore work and benefits:
Shares questions or concerns about benefits and work with staff who help them.
Asks questions when staff share information about benefits and work.
Talks through options with staff and makes an informed choice about how much to earn when working.
Creates a plan with staff to report earnings to benefit agencies.
Disability Hub MN can help the person:
Get answers to their questions—online or over the phone.
Confirm their current benefits and identify other benefits that might help.
See how it is possible to work and get ahead with benefits by doing a Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) estimator session.
Use DB101 tools and resources to explore work incentives, set work goals, and manage benefits while working.
Understand and access work incentives.
Learn how to report earnings to benefit agencies (e.g., Social Security and county or tribal agencies).
Anticipate common issues that come up once a person begins working and help create strategies for preventing and addressing those issues.
Connect to resources for additional financial and benefits planning, including in-depth technical assistance or a full benefits summary and analysis, if needed.
Address barriers they face along the way.
All staff
Providing positive messages
In agencies serving people with disabilities, all staff who interact with people with disabilities, like assessors, advocates, or teachers must be able to provide positive messages about work and benefits. So, if in conversation the person says something like, “I can’t work because I’m on benefits,” staff can give the positive message that you can work, even if you have benefits.
All staff interacting with people with disabilities:
Know and share the 5 key messages about work. It is the responsibility of all staff to know and be able to share the 5 key messages about work.
Help a person see the benefits of working. For example, when the topic of work comes up in conversation, all staff can share the benefits of working (more money, a way to meet and connect with people, increase confidence, increase structure and stability in a person's life, improve overall health, and more).
Know basic information about public benefits.All staff should complete the Benefits Planning Level 1 training. See additional information and resources in the ‘Training and resources for this role’ section below.
Share information and tools to address questions and concerns. All staff can share Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) articles, videos, and tools. These resources address myths and show people it is possible to work and get ahead with benefits.
Connect a person to resources for additional benefits planning when necessary. Staff can introduce people they support to DB101 and Disability Hub MN as ongoing resources they can go to for questions along the way. Staff also need to know how to connect people to a certified Benefits Coach or Work Incentive Coordinator / Practitioner if the person needs more support creating and implementing a plan for benefits and work or understanding complicated benefit issues.
Be the place staff go—by themselves, and with the people they support—to get answers to questions about benefits. Hub experts can answer questions about benefits, from “who’s eligible” to “how will income from work affect that benefit?” and everything in between.
Help staff connect with other professionals who can provide the people you support more in-depth benefits planning services.
Help staff identify training, tools and resources that can help support them in their role.
Staff who support people in making informed choices about work
Providing positive messages, accurate information and support
All agency staff who support people in making an informed choice about work — like case managers, Vocational Rehabilitation counselors, school transition counselors, and provider employment specialists — must be able to help the person learn the facts about their benefits, explore their options, make an informed choice and implement a plan to get ahead when working.
They’re not expected to be the “experts” at benefits planning, but they should know enough about work and benefits to help the person answer questions to keep moving toward their goal. They should also know how to partner with Disability Hub MN or a certified Benefits Coach or Work Incentive Coordinator / Practitioner when more help or information is needed.
Staff who support people with disabilities in making an informed choice about work do everything listed in the role above, including:
Know and share the 5 key messages about work. It is the responsibility of all staff to know and be able to share the 5 key messages about work.
Help a person see the benefits of working. For example, when the topic of work comes up in conversation, staff can share the benefits of working (more money, a way to meet and connect with people, increase confidence, increase structure and stability in a person's life, improve overall health, and more).
Know basic information about public benefits. All staff should complete the Benefits Planning Level 1 training. See additional information and resources in the ‘Training and resources for this role’ section below.
Share information and tools to address questions and concerns. All staff can share Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) articles, videos, and tools. These resources address myths and show people it is possible to work and get ahead with benefits.
Connect a person to resources for additional benefits planning when necessary. Staff can introduce people they support to DB101 and Disability Hub MN as ongoing resources they can go to for questions along the way. Staff also need to know how to connect people to a certified Benefits Coach or Work Incentive Coordinator / Practitioner if the person needs more support creating and implementing a plan for benefits and work or understanding complicated benefit issues.
Plus, staff in this role also:
Help a person set goals, including financial goals with work.
Know and provide additional information about public benefits, including federal and state benefit eligibility rules, what they provide, work incentives, and reporting requirements. Staff who support informed choice give accurate information about work and benefits, like sharing that people who work and have disabilities can keep their Medical Assistance through Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD). In addition to the Level 1 training, staff who support informed choice should complete the Benefits Planning Level 2 training. See additional information and resources in the ‘Training and resources for this role’ section below.
Answer basic questions and address myths about benefits and work. Staff in this role address myths and barriers related to benefits and work, like letting people who think they’ll lose their benefits if they work know that all benefit programs have special work rules that support working.
Help a person confirm their current benefits and identify other benefits they may be eligible for. For example, staff who support informed choice help a person use the My Vault Benefits Lookup activity to confirm the benefits they get.
Use DB101 tools to address questions and concerns. For example, staff in this role might complete a DB101 Estimator Session and Try-it tools with a person and explain the results.
Help a person know how to report earnings and create a plan for reporting. Staff in this role provide information about how to report earnings to benefit agencies (e.g., Social Security and county) and they help people make a plan to do it.
Answer questions about benefits and work that staff can’t answer.
Provide resources and training to support staff in their role.
Help staff learn how to communicate the benefits of work with the person so they can set and achieve work and financial goals.
Help staff understand how to use DB101 articles, videos, and tools to help the people they support learn how their benefits may be impacted by work.
Work with staff to complete a DB101 Estimator so they can show the people they support how a work goal may impact their benefits.
Help staff learn how the people they support can use My Vault to look up their own benefits, plan for work, and store and share important documents.
Provide more in-depth benefits planning services for the people they support in pursuing employment. The Hub can provide technical assistance, remote benefits planning services, or a full benefits summary and analysis, when needed.
Get staff connected with other professionals who can provide benefits planning support at a higher level, when needed.
Benefits Coach
Supporting the person and their team to create and implement a work and benefits plan
Some agencies have staff who spend a lot of time helping people understand and plan for what happens to their benefits when they work. These staff are encouraged to become a certified “Benefits Coach”.
Provided by Disability Hub MN, benefits coach training and certification helps staff gain a deeper knowledge about work and benefits so they can help people with disabilities learn the facts about benefits and work incentives, explore their options, make an informed choice, and implement a plan to get ahead when working. With more in-depth training, benefits coaches also support other agency staff in understanding work and benefits, answering questions, and supporting key messages.
Benefits coaches do everything in the roles listed above, including:
Know and share the 5 key messages about work. It is the responsibility of all staff to know and be able to share the 5 key messages about work.
Help a person see the benefits of working and set goals, including financial goals with work.
Know information about public benefits, including federal and state benefit eligibility rules, what they provide, work incentives, and reporting requirements. Benefit coaches give accurate information about work and benefits, including things like knowing that people who work and have disabilities can keep their Medical Assistance through Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD). To be certified, benefits coaches complete the Benefits Planning Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 training. See additional information and resources in the ‘Training and resources for this role’ section below.
Answer basic questions and address myths about benefits and work.
Share information and tools to address questions and concerns. All staff can share Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) articles, videos, and tools. These resources address myths and show people it is possible to work and get ahead with benefits.
Use DB101 tools to address questions and concerns. For example, a benefit coach might complete a DB101 Estimator Session and Try-it tools with a person and explain the results.
Help a person confirm their current benefits and identify other benefits they may be eligible for. They do this by helping the person request a Benefit Lookup through their own My Vault account. Benefit coaches might help a person get a Benefits Planning Query from Social Security.
Connect a person to resources for additional benefits planning when necessary. Staff can introduce people they support to DB101 and Disability Hub MN as ongoing resources they can go to for questions along the way. They can also connect them to a Work Incentive Coordinator or Practitioner when the person needs support that is beyond what the benefits coach can provide.
Help people know how to report earnings to benefit agencies. Benefit coaches help a person make a plan for reporting earnings to benefit agencies (e.g., Social Security and county).
Plus, benefit coaches also:
Conduct a “financial check-up” identifying financial or benefit issues, a person's need for employment support services or other services to support their goals, etc.
Provide additional support for DB101 tools. In addition to completing DB101 Estimator Sessions with the person, benefit coaches analyze DB101 Estimator Sessions results, write benefits reports and talk through options with the person to help address needs and plan for the future.
Help a person report earnings to benefit agencies. Benefits coaches help people manage their benefits and guide them in how to report earnings to agencies like Social Security and the county.
Help people identify and request relevant work incentives. Benefits coaches help people know what work incentives apply to their situation and help them request them, if needed. For example, a Benefits Coach might help a young person identify that they qualify for the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) and help them request that work incentive from Social Security.
Anticipate common issues that come up once a person begins working and strategies for preventing and addressing those issues. For example, benefit coaches proactively identify critical transition points with benefits like when the benefit amount will change, when they will switch from one program to another, or when they will earn enough to work their way off a benefit and help the person prepare for and navigate these changes.
Follow up on identified goals and benefit changes, review benefit letters and ensure accurate reporting and benefit adjustments.
Connect a person to in-depth technical assistance or a full benefits summary and analysis, if needed. Benefits coaches connect the person with a Work Incentive Coordinator or Practitioner when an issue or situation they don’t know how to answer comes up.
Support professionals who have lower levels of benefits planning training. Benefit coaches provide information about benefits and work to other agency staff. They may present on benefit topics, tools and resources at staff meetings, talk through specific benefit questions share information and answer questions from co-workers about benefits and work.
Level 3 training: Benefits coach In this section, learn more about benefits coach certification and whether it's right for you or your staff. You'll also find information about how to apply and information for supervisors.
Provide resources, training and certification to support staff in their role.
Connect staff to the Hub's work and benefits experts who can:
Review their DB101 estimator results and help to understand what those results mean.
Plan with them how to talk through options with the person to help address their needs and plan for the future.
Answer questions about benefits that may be outside of the scope of their work as a benefit coach.
Review benefit reports and benefit verification documents like Benefit Planning Queries (BPQYs) and Benefit Look Ups (BLUs) to ensure the accuracy of their Benefit Coaching services.
Write and present full Benefit Summary and Analysis (BSA) reports for people they support when needed.
Work Incentive Coordinator and Work Incentive Practitioner
Supporting the person with all benefit and work related planning
Some agencies have staff who are certified benefits counselors that provide even more in-depth work and benefit planning services than a benefits coach. These services include development of full benefits summary and analysis reports, helping a person request a work incentive, and addressing the most complex work-related benefit issues.
These staff are trained and certified by one of two organizations with two types of credentials:
Community Partner Work Incentive Coordinator (CPWIC) through the Virginia Commonwealth University’s National Training and Data Center, or
Work Incentive Practitioner Credential (WIP-C) through Cornell University’s Yang Tan Institute
Note: Most agencies do not need staff of this level because most benefit-related questions can be answered by a benefits coach and the support provided by Disability Hub MN.
Community Partner Work Incentive Coordinators and Work Incentive Practitioners have the highest level of benefits and work training and information. They are the people who are able dig into the most complex benefit issues.
Examples of things a CPWIC or WIP-C does:
Helping a person with a work-related overpayment situation.
Determining the effect of work on family benefits, like a spouse’s MA or children’s Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) benefits
Analyzing the effect of work on each benefit and writing a report summarizing the effects in a Benefits Summary and Analysis.
Helping a person write a Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS) plan.
Helping a Benefit Coach understand and think through questions they have about a person’s situation.
