Sponsors (54)
Creates a 20-year SSDI demonstration for blind beneficiaries that ignores SGA, preserves entitlement while working, and offsets benefits $1 per $2 of earnings above the exempt amount.
Official title: To amend title II of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to carry out a demonstration project relating to disability benefits of blind individuals.
Introduced February 10, 2025 by Pete Sessions · Last progress February 10, 2025
The bill helps blind SSDI beneficiaries work by preserving entitlement and phasing down benefits more smoothly and with work-expense protections, but it can reduce some monthly benefits, create administrative confusion, and weakens certain safeguards—shifting some financial risk onto beneficiaries while generating evidence for future policy.
People with blindness can continue receiving SSDI entitlement while earning income because the demonstration prevents earnings from terminating eligibility.
Participants retain part of their SSDI benefits as they earn more because benefits are reduced incrementally (a $1 reduction per $2 earned) instead of ending abruptly, smoothing the work-benefit cliff.
Allowed deductions for work-related expenses raise the effective earnings threshold before benefits are reduced, letting beneficiaries keep more net income from work.
Some participants who earn above the exempt amount may receive lower monthly SSDI checks because benefits are reduced under the offset formula.
Replacing existing rules (trial work period and SGA) could create confusion and administrative complexity for beneficiaries and SSA staff about benefit calculations and program rules.
Waivers of Title II and section 1148 reduce certain program safeguards and oversight, increasing risk of inconsistent treatment or unintended eligibility outcomes.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a 20-year demonstration program testing revised SSDI rules for people whose disability is blindness. The program ignores the usual substantial gainful activity (SGA) test for eligibility, keeps entitlement in place despite earnings, reduces monthly benefits by $1 for every $2 of earnings above an exempt amount (after allowed work expenses), and waives certain procedural rules to encourage and test continued work by blind SSDI beneficiaries. The project must start within 180 days of enactment, applies to blind beneficiaries who become entitled during the first 10 years of the demonstration, and allows participants to opt out after that 10-year window.