Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Social Security Program
When a serious accident in Pennsylvania occurs and causes a person to endure a disability, an individual may qualify to receive Social Security Benefits. While filing for Social Security may be complex, it is well worth the effort for those seeking financial assistance for needs ranging from educational services to health care to basic, daily requirements such as food, housing and even clothing.
Determining Social Security eligibility can involve wide-ranging and intricate assessment of an applicant’s social and financial situation in relation to their physical or mental disability. After an individual seeking Social Security Benefits receives approval, he or she may receive financial assistance for a varying length of time. But what kind of transition should a person expect when they are ready to return to work but still need help from the Social Security Administration?
The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program operates under the Social Security Administration’s employment support program on a national and state-wide level to help SSA recipients with disabilities regarding job placement, career development and benefits planning.
The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research notes that since the WIPA program’s commencement in 2000, it has made several different kinds of helpful services available to more than 300,000 SSA beneficiaries who are currently employed or motivated to pursue employment. While some may simply believe that the WIPA program aims to help individuals remain on benefits, the program’s real mission is to help SSA recipients eventually work their way to not needing SSA funding. A National Beneficiary Survey (NBS) for 2006 demonstrated that 44 percent of SSA beneficiaries noted their personal goals to include either one or all of the following: obtaining employment, maintaining duties of a better job, advancing in a job as far as job title/position, and working for pay within the next five years.
