September 2025 Spotlight on
Social Security Newsletter

Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) Spotlight on Social Security Newsletter brings exciting news, work incentive information, success stories, and other valuable information for beneficiaries receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), their families, and the professionals who serve them. Our webinar and newsletter series are offered every other month.

In this issue:

Upcoming September 18 Spotlight on Social Security Webinar

Join us to learn how Social Security’s Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) can help young people with disabilities work, earn, and keep their SSI benefits safe while in school. This webinar will show how SEIE and other supports make it easier to work, earn and prepare for independence while staying in school.

Title: Work, School and SSI: How the Student Earned Income Exclusion Makes it Possible
Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025
Time: 10:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. PST
Location: Zoom

Register for the September 18 Webinar Today

Have a question about this webinar? Submit your questions here.

Register for future webinars or explore archived recordings.

Featured Spotlight Article - SSI Students: Work, Earn and Keep Your Benefits

Thinking about a job or internship while in school but worried about losing SSI? The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) lets you earn, learn, and build for the future without losing the safety net you need today. This issue highlights the SEIE program and other tools designed for students.

What Is the SEIE?

SEIE helps students who receive SSI keep more of their benefits while working if they are regularly attending school. This means you can work while staying in school and keep all or most of your monthly SSI payment and Medi-Cal.

Who is Eligible for SEIE?

If you’re under age 22 and regularly attending school, Social Security will exclude part of your wages when figuring out your SSI payment. Regularly attending school means:

  • In grades 7–12: going to school at least 12 hours a week.
  • Home schooling grades 7 – 12: in school at least 12 hours per week & following California homeschooling laws.
  • In college: attending at least 8 hours a week.
  • In a training program: participating at least 12 hours a week (or 15 hours if it includes shop practice).
  • Personalized exceptions if your disability limits how many hours you attend.

How SEIE Works

With SEIE, Social Security won’t count some or all your paycheck when they calculate your SSI payment. This means you keep more of your SSI each month.

  • If you start working, let Social Security know about your job and report your wages every month.
  • Request the SEIE exclusion and show proof you’re a student.
  • In 2025, earn up to $2,350 per month and keep your full SSI benefits.
  • You can use the SEIE each month until you reach the yearly limit of $9,460.
  • For many students, this means your SSI check stays the same, even while you earn money from work.
  • The SEIE limits change every year.

SEIE in action: Student Earns $1,500 a month:

Example of wages and earnings both with SEIE and without SEIE
  Without SEIE With SEIE
Wages from Work $1,500 $1,500
Earnings Counted by SSI $707.50 $0
Impact on SSI Check SSI Check goes down SSI Check stays the same

Why SEIE Matters

With SEIE, you don’t have to choose between working and keeping your benefits. It’s your chance to earn more, gain new skills, and move toward greater independence.

  • Build valuable work experience.
  • Keep more of what you earn while in school.
  • Work toward financial independence.

How to Set Up SEIE

SEIE is not automatic but getting started is simple, here’s what to do.

  • Call or visit your local Social Security office.(Find your SSA Office)
  • Report that you’re a student under age 22 and request SEIE. (It’s helpful to put your request in writing)
  • Be ready to show proof of enrollment (class schedule and dates attending school or a letter from your school with school name and address).
  • A new SEIE request must be submitted every year.
  • If the SSA representative is not familiar with SEIE, mention this rule: POMs SI 00820.510.

Important Tip: Always keep a copy of anything you give to Social Security, like your SEIE request, enrollment letter and class schedule. This helps if there are questions later about your SEIE.

Understanding SSA’s $2,000 SSI Resource Limit

If you get SSI, SSA looks at your resources (things you own) to decide if you’re still eligible.

  • Limit: $2,000 for one person ($3,000 for a couple)
  • Counted: cash, bank accounts, stocks, some property
  • Not counted: your home, one vehicle, personal items, and certain savings tools like CalABLE accounts

If you work and save, your money can grow quickly, so you’ll want to make sure your resources (money in the bank) stay under $2,000 at the end of each month, unless it’s in a special account like CalABLE. Learn more by watching SSA’s What is an ABLE Account Video .

Work incentives like SEIE are great tools to help you get ahead, but everyone’s situation is different. A Work Incentive Planner (WIP) with the DOR or a Community Work Incentive Coordinator (CWIC) through Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) projects can give you personalized support.

Other Work Incentives to Know About

Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE):Social Security lets you exclude the cost of disability-related items or services you need for work when they figure out your income.

Blind Work Expenses (BWE):If you’re blind, even things like taxes, transportation or service animal expenses may be deducted when calculating your earnings.

Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS):Lets you set aside income or resources for a work goal, to pay for things like tuition, training, equipment or transportation without impacting your SSI eligibility.

Section 301 Continued Payments:Lets you keep SSI or SSDI payments if you’re in an approved vocational rehabilitation or similar program, even if SSA says your disability has medically improved.

SSI Linked Medi-Cal:If you get SSI, you also get Medi-Cal. When you start working, you can usually keep Medi-Cal as long as you still have a disability, you earn less than $64,517 (2025) and your resources stay under the SSI limit ($2,000 for one person, $3,000 for a couple).

Tools and Resources

Ticket to Work (TTW)

TTW website has information, fact sheets, webinars and a find help tool to help you connect to free employment services or benefits planning.

SSA Red Book

Social Security’s handbook on employment supports, with clear explanations and real-life examples to help people understand the work incentives that help protect benefits.

Disability Benefits 101

Interactive tools and information tailored for Californians to navigate work incentives and benefits.

California Achieving a Better Life Experience (CalABLE)

With a CalABLE account, you can save for school, living expenses, or your future while keeping your SSI, Medi-Cal and other public benefits. Money in a CalABLE doesn’t count toward the SSI $2,000 resource limit, helping protect SSI eligibility.

DOR Social Security Programs and Disability Benefit Planning Services

Tools, support, information, webinars, newsletters and access to recorded videos on our YouTube Channel, to help you move confidently toward your employment goals.

Social Security Updates

Reminder: Appointments Now Needed at Social Security Offices

This new system is called Appointment Focused Service (AFS) and is meant to reduce waiting times and improve customer service. Most in-person services at Social Security now require an appointment . You can schedule by:

  1. Online through your "My Social Security" account or SSA.gov.
  2. Phone by calling 1-800-772-1213 or your local office.
  3. In person at your local office (appointment will be scheduled for a future date).
  4. While appointments are preferred, vulnerable individuals, military, or situations requiring immediate attention should not be turned away.

Walk-ins are limited, only for urgent situations, such as:

  • E-Verify employment issues
  • Safety concerns (harassment, abuse, life endangerment)
  • Victims of human trafficking
  • Other time-sensitive or critical cases

Tip: Use online services whenever possible, they’re often faster and available anytime.

This Month’s DOR Work Incentive Planning Services (WIP Services) Success Story

Navigating early adulthood with a disability can be overwhelming, especially when you’re unsure if school or a rewarding career will ever be possible. For Sophia, who lives with a significant mobility impairment, SSI, Medi-Cal and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) are essential for her independence. She feared that pursuing work or higher education might put those supports at risk.

That changed when she learned about DOR Student Services and Social Security’s Work Incentives. With the support of her DOR team, she is enrolled in college, working part time, saving money, and enjoys traveling while she pursues her dream of becoming a psychologist. With the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE), Sophia can work part-time while in school and continue to receive her SSI, keep her health coverage and IHSS support. What once felt like an impossible goal became a realistic, step-by-step journey toward a career helping others.

Work Incentives are not one-size-fits-all; each person’s path will look different. The key is finding the ones that fit your situation. A Work Incentive Planner can provide individualized guidance to help you connect to the Work Incentives that fit your circumstances. For Sophia, Medi-Cal, IHSS, and SEIE were game-changers. With this support, she’s been able to focus on her education and work toward a future where she can make a difference in the lives of others, without sacrificing the stability she needs today.

Watch Inspiring Success Stories on Our Spotlight on Social Security YouTube Channel.

You Too Can Work with a Work Incentive Planner!

Thinking about getting a job but not sure how it will affect your benefits? A WIP can help!

  • Learn the details about how work affects SSI or SSDI.
  • Get the facts about keeping Medi-Cal or Medicare while working.
  • Make informed decisions with confidence.

Talk to your DOR counselor for a referral for DOR WIP Services.

If you're not receiving DOR services, contact the Ticket-to-Work Helpline for free benefits planning through a local Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program. Call 1-866-968-7842 (TTY: 1-866-833-2967) or visit the TTW Find Help Tool.

Interested in Receiving DOR Services?

If you are ready to take the first step in an exciting journey with DOR, contact a local office to request an application, please visit Contact Us to find the closest office to your home. You will need to provide additional information about yourself to request services.

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