by Rick Kugler

There may be no time better than the present for students to increase their income and begin their career journey. The summer of 2009 will offer special opportunities for training, internships and jobs for youth with increases in Workforce Investment Act youth employment funding as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the "economic stimulus package"). Additionally, the $250 "economic recovery payment" that SSI and SSDI beneficiaries should soon receive can be wisely invested to purchase work attire, equipment or work-related transportation expenses, giving young SSI beneficiaries a head start into the workforce.

With this increase in resources for youth employment, it is useful to revisit the work incentives specifically for young people. A tool that is often overlooked is the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE), a work incentive for which many students with SSI under the age of 22 are eligible.  Here is how it works: normally, when SSI beneficiaries work, they can exclude a portion of their earnings and then $1 is deducted from the SSI check for every $2 earned. Eligible students using the SEIE are able to exclude a much higher amount of earnings--- up to $1,640 of gross pay a month with an annual cap of $6,600--which may result in students keeping most or all of their SSI check while they earn income.

Let us look at an example.  Leslie is an 18 year old SSI beneficiary who attends a local high school.  While she has had some trouble in school, she is very meticulous and organized. She often thought working in a library would be nice because it seems like a quiet and orderly environment.  A transition coordinator at her school suggested that Library Science may be a good field for her to pursue. She helped her to arrange an interview at a library at a local community college, where a position is available scanning paper materials to transform more of the library's collection into an electronic format.  The position pays $10 an hour and she can work 30 hours a week through the summer. There also could be an opportunity for her to work a weekend day or two during the school year.

For the summer, Leslie will earn about $1,200 a month. However, since she can exclude up to $1,640/month, that means all her summer earnings will be excluded, and she keeps her entire SSI check. When the summer is over, she will have only used about $3,600 of her $6,600 annual cap. Therefore, if she earns about $300 or $400 per month, working some weekend shifts, all of this income will also be excluded as well. The bottom line is that Leslie works and earns a paycheck, gains some valuable experience, while also  retaining all of her SSI benefits. As long as Leslie keeps her SSI, she also, she also keeps her free Medicaid coverage. There are any number of other earning scenarios that can be applied here.

What makes a student eligible for the SEIE?

• A college/university student who attends school at least 8 hours a week
• A young person in grades 7-12 who attends school at least 12 hours a week
• A student in an employment training course for at least 12 hours (15 hours for shop classes); or
• A student who attends class for less than the time specified due to illness/disability related issues.

Young people who are home schooled may also be eligible.

Do you know of any student beneficiaries that could use the extra money and benefit from career exploration? There are number of other work incentives that SSI beneficiaries in general can also use to increase their income and gain valuable work experience.  Summer will be here soon so the time to help people start their career journey is now.