Welcome
Welcome to the Benefits Planning Learning Community! Together we are working to remove the fear of loss of benefits as a barrier to employment for people with disabilities.
This newsletter keeps you informed on benefits, shares timely updates and resources, and supports you in answering questions, having conversations, and guiding benefits planning.
Key Messages About Work and Benefits
Five things everyone (and we mean everyone!) needs to know and communicate about work and benefits:
Work and benefits can go together
All public benefit programs in Minnesota support work
People who work can earn more money than those who don't -- even if their benefits change
Benefits should not be the reason someone chooses not to work
Benefits planning helps people see how work is possible, work to their full potential, save money, and get ahead financially
Upcoming Events
Benefit Planning Learning Community Meeting
May 21 from 2 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Want to increase your confidence in talking about work and benefits with the people you support? Join the Benefit Planning Learning Community quarterly meeting to get accurate, up-to-date information on benefit policies, access to tools to help navigate and plan, and connect with colleagues doing similar work.
This quarter's topics include:
MN Paid Leave Updates
Navigating the Social Security Administration (SSA)
MyVault: Updated Build a Team Activity
We also want to hear from you about what you've been up to, your goals this year for increasing confidence talking about work and benefits, and success stories. Hope to see you there!
Benefit Coach Training
Benefits coach training is for professionals who help people with disabilities understand how work affects their benefits. It is designed for those who spend 10 or more hours a week supporting people with disabilities in making informed choices about benefits and work. Priority is given to Home and Community Based Services waiver providers who offer employment services. For more information on this training, please visit the Benefits Planning Toolkit.
Benefit Updates
MN Paid Leave
Starting January 1, 2026, most workers in Minnesota can get partial pay and job protection through Minnesota Paid Leave when they need time off for major life events like their own serious medical condition or caring for a family member. For benefit planners, it's important to understand how this new program interacts with other benefits so you can give clear, accurate guidance to people you support.
Impact on other benefits
How Minnesota Paid leave affects eligibility for other benefits depends on which benefits the person gets and how income is counted. Here's a list of how each program counts Minnesota Paid Leave payments:
SNAP counts Minnesota Paid Leave as unearned income.
MSA, GA, Housing Support, MFIP, and Refugee Cash Assistance count Minnesota Paid Leave as earned income.
Medical Assistance (MA) for people who are age 65 or older, blind, or disabled, including Medical Assistance for Employed Persons with Disabilities (MA-EPD), counts Minnesota Paid Leave as unearned income.
Note: A new added protection for people on MA-EPD allows them to stay on MA-EPD while getting Minnesota Paid Leave, even if they do not have other earned income and regardless of the 4 month job loss or medical leave.
Medicare counts Minnesota Paid Leave as unearned income.
SSI counts MN Paid Leave as unearned income. It's treated like sick pay.
SSDI payments from Minnesota Paid Leave are not countable income because they are not a result of work activity. Minnesota Paid Leave is treated like sick or vacation pay. This applies when:
Determining Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)
Determining Trial Work Period (TWP)
Determining reinstatement during the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)
Note: People on SSDI are eligible for Minnesota Paid Leave only if they have gotten SSDI in each month of their "base period" (the complete four quarters before they applied for Minnesota Paid Leave).
For more detailed information about how Minnesota Paid Leaves interacts with cash and food benefits, see the DHS Bulletin MN Paid Leave Policy for SNAP, MFIP, GA, MSA, RCA, and Housing Support.
For more detailed information about how Minnesota Paid Leave interacts with different health care programs, see the DHS Bulletin MN Paid Leave for Minnesota Health Care Programs Eligibility.
Detailed program eligibility information can be found in DHS policy manuals and the Social Security Administration's POM.
Minnesota Health Programs: MHCP Eligibility Policy Manual
Cash assistance and SNAP: Combined Manual
Social Security
New Social Security Call Process
Social Security recently changed how phone calls to local offices are handled. Here's what to expect when you call:
If someone at your local office is available, your call will go directly to them.
If no one is available, your call will be routed to the nearest office with available staff.
If they can't help you, they will set up a time for your local office to call you back.
There is not standard caller ID for these return calls. If you're expecting a call from Social Security, answer at the scheduled time - even if the caller ID doesn't show "Social Security."
Resources
Updated Self-Employment Income SSA-820 Form
The SSA-820 form used to report self-employment income has been simplified. Instead of asking for monthly income, it now lets you report earnings by year. It also includes space to report gig-work income. The new form can be found online at SSA.gov.
New Website Features
My Vault: Updated Build a Team Activity
We've made changes to all four My Vault Build a Team activities used by professionals so it's easier to create teams with people you support without messing up your own contacts list.
The updated activities are:
My Core Team
Build My Team: Work
Build a Benefits Planning Team
Build a Housing Team
With the change, when you complete one of these activities in a Pro Session on behalf of a person, their contacts are not added to your contact list. Instead, you enter each contact's name, phone number, and email address directly in the activity for the person and it stays there. It doesn't move to your contact list.
To see any of the team building activities, lot into your My Vault account on disabilityhubmn.org, click on "Paths," scroll down to "All Activities" and click on the activity you want to explore.
Chat
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