Social Security Ticket to Work canceled after transitioning from SSI to retirement benefits - will I lose all benefits?

dont worry about it. the ticket to work is just a voluntary program that helps disabled people go back to work if they want to. if ur not using it anyway it doesnt matter if its canceled

Those letters can be scary! I got one last year and panicked too. Ticket to Work is separate from your actual benefits.

This is a common source of confusion. The Ticket to Work program is specifically for SSI and SSDI recipients who want employment support while maintaining their benefits. When you transitioned from SSI to retirement benefits at 62, you automatically became ineligible for the Ticket to Work program, as it only applies to disability-based benefits (SSI/SSDI). Your retirement benefits will continue without interruption. The letter is simply informing you that you no longer have access to the Ticket to Work employment support services, but this has absolutely no impact on your monthly retirement benefits. The three reasons likely mentioned in your letter are the standard explanations for Ticket termination: 1) transition to retirement benefits, 2) reaching full retirement age, or 3) no longer meeting medical disability requirements - but only the first one applies to your situation.

The SAME EXACT THING happened to me last year!!!! The SSA is TERRIBLE at explaining these things!!! I called them SEVEN TIMES before I got someone who could actually tell me what was going on. They send these scary letters with no proper explanation and expect us to just figure it out. I was convinced I was losing all my money too!!!

Let me add some additional context to help you understand what happened. When you were receiving SSI (Supplemental Security Income), you were automatically enrolled in the Ticket to Work program, which is designed to help disability beneficiaries return to work if they're able. At age 62, you began receiving retirement benefits instead of SSI. Since Ticket to Work only applies to disability beneficiaries (SSI or SSDI), the program was automatically canceled for you. This is purely administrative and has absolutely no effect on your retirement benefits. Your monthly Social Security retirement payments will continue unchanged. This notice is simply informing you that you're no longer eligible for the employment support services offered through Ticket to Work, which you weren't using anyway. To verify everything is still in order with your retirement benefits, you can check your MySocialSecurity account online or call SSA directly.

If you're really concerned, you should try calling SSA directly to confirm. Good luck getting through though - I tried calling last week and was on hold for 2 hours before getting disconnected. Tried again the next day and never got through at all. Their phone system is completely broken.

When I switched from disability to retirement my sister-in-law told me I'd lose all benefits too! But that was totally wrong. Ticket to Work is just an employment program not your actual money.

I'm going through something similar but I'm on SSDI not retirement. I got a letter about my ticket being assigned to some employment network I never heard of. I'm trying to figure out if someone is using my information fraudulently. Has anyone dealt with tickets being assigned without their knowledge? Should I be worried about fraud?

To give you complete peace of mind: Your Social Security retirement benefits are secure and will continue as normal. The Ticket to Work program cancellation only affects support services for returning to work, which wouldn't apply to you as a retiree anyway. For future reference, when you receive any notice from SSA that you don't understand, you can: 1. Log into your MySocialSecurity account to verify your benefit status 2. Call your local SSA office (often less wait time than the national number) 3. Schedule an appointment through the SSA website for complex issues But in this specific case, your benefits are fine and there's no action needed on your part.

I'm glad you found this community to get clarity on this issue! This is actually a very common concern that many people face when transitioning from disability benefits to retirement. The Social Security Administration could definitely do a better job explaining these changes in their letters - it's understandable that you were worried about losing your only source of income. Just to reinforce what others have said: your retirement benefits are completely separate from the Ticket to Work program and will continue without any interruption. The program cancellation is purely administrative since you're no longer on disability benefits. It might be worth keeping all your SSA correspondence in a file so you can reference it later if you have questions. And definitely consider setting up that MySocialSecurity online account if you haven't already - it's really helpful for checking your benefit status and payment history anytime you have concerns.

I'm so glad you found the answers you needed here! This is exactly the kind of situation where SSA's communication style really fails people - sending official-looking letters that sound scary without clearly explaining that it's just administrative housekeeping. Your story is a perfect example of why this community is so valuable. When you're living on a fixed income and get an unexpected letter from Social Security, it can cause real anxiety about your financial security. The fact that multiple people here have experienced the same confusion shows this is a systemic issue with how SSA handles these transitions. For anyone else reading this who might face a similar situation: the key thing to remember is that Ticket to Work is a voluntary employment support program, completely separate from your actual benefit payments. Whether you're on SSI, SSDI, or retirement benefits, the cancellation or assignment of a Ticket to Work has no impact on your monthly payments. Xan, I hope you can rest easy now knowing your retirement benefits are secure!

I'm really glad you were able to get such thorough explanations here! This is such a common source of panic for people transitioning from disability to retirement benefits. The Social Security Administration really needs to improve how they word these notices - adding something like "This cancellation does not affect your monthly retirement payments" would save so many people from unnecessary worry. Your situation is actually very straightforward: when you moved from SSI to retirement benefits, you automatically became ineligible for Ticket to Work since it's only for current disability beneficiaries. The program was never affecting your actual payments anyway - it's just a voluntary job training and support service. Keep all your SSA letters filed away, and definitely set up that MySocialSecurity online account if you haven't already. It's really helpful for checking your payment history and benefit status whenever you have questions. Your retirement benefits will continue as normal - you can breathe easy!

I'm so relieved you were able to get the reassurance you needed here! This is exactly why I love this community - when you're dealing with confusing government correspondence that could affect your livelihood, having knowledgeable people explain things clearly is invaluable. Your situation highlights a real problem with how SSA communicates these administrative changes. They send official notices that sound alarming without clearly stating the most important fact: "This does not impact your monthly benefit payments." For someone living solely on Social Security, that distinction is everything. The transition from SSI to retirement benefits is actually quite common, and the Ticket to Work cancellation is just automatic paperwork when you're no longer in the disability system. Think of it like being automatically removed from a college mailing list when you graduate - it doesn't affect anything else about your status. I hope your experience here helps other people who might receive similar letters and panic. Sometimes the most valuable thing this community provides is simply peace of mind when dealing with bureaucratic confusion!

I'm so glad you found this community and got the peace of mind you needed! Your experience really shows how much stress SSA's unclear communication can cause for people who depend on these benefits. When you're living on a fixed income and see "cancellation" in an official letter, it's completely understandable to worry about losing everything. The fact that so many people here have dealt with the exact same confusion proves this is a widespread problem with how these transition notices are written. A simple line like "Your monthly retirement payments will continue unchanged" would prevent so much unnecessary anxiety. Your story will definitely help others who receive similar letters - there's real value in sharing these experiences so people know they're not alone when dealing with confusing government paperwork. It's wonderful to see how this community came together to provide clear, reassuring explanations when you needed them most!

This thread is a perfect example of why clear communication from government agencies is so important! Xan, I'm really glad you found the help you needed here. It's completely understandable to be worried when you receive an official letter mentioning "cancellation" - especially when Social Security is your primary income source. What happened to you is exactly what should happen when someone transitions from SSI to retirement benefits. The Ticket to Work program is automatically canceled because it only applies to disability beneficiaries, not retirees. Your monthly retirement payments are completely unaffected by this change. I've seen this same confusion come up repeatedly, and it really highlights how SSA could improve their letters with just one additional sentence explaining that benefit payments continue unchanged. For anyone else who might face this situation: Ticket to Work cancellation is purely administrative housekeeping when you transition between benefit types - it has zero impact on your actual monthly payments. Thanks for sharing your experience here - it will definitely help others who receive similar confusing notices!

I'm so glad you were able to get such clear and reassuring answers here! Your experience really highlights how confusing SSA's communication can be - when you're living on Social Security as your only income, receiving any letter with "cancellation" in it would understandably cause major panic. What everyone explained is exactly right: the Ticket to Work program is completely separate from your actual benefit payments. When you transitioned from SSI to retirement benefits at 62, you automatically became ineligible for Ticket to Work since it only applies to people currently receiving disability benefits (SSI or SSDI). The cancellation is just administrative cleanup - your retirement benefits will continue without any interruption. I've seen this same confusion come up so many times, and it really shows how much better SSA could do with their letter writing. Adding just one sentence like "This cancellation does not affect your monthly retirement payments" would save people so much worry. You can rest easy knowing your benefits are secure! And definitely consider setting up that MySocialSecurity online account - it's a great way to monitor your benefits and payment status whenever you have questions.

I'm so glad you were able to get such thorough and reassuring explanations here! As someone who also depends on Social Security benefits, I completely understand how terrifying it must have been to receive that letter. When you're living on a fixed income and see official correspondence mentioning "cancellation," it's natural to assume the worst. Your experience really demonstrates how much the Social Security Administration needs to improve their communication. They could easily prevent this kind of panic by including a simple clarification like "This notice does not affect your monthly benefit payments" right at the top of these letters. The community responses here have been incredibly helpful in explaining that Ticket to Work is just a voluntary employment support program - completely separate from your actual retirement benefits. When you transitioned from SSI to retirement at 62, you automatically became ineligible for the program since it only applies to current disability beneficiaries. Your retirement benefits are absolutely secure and will continue unchanged. This was just administrative paperwork to formally close out a program you were no longer eligible for anyway. Thank you for sharing your experience - it will definitely help other people who receive similar confusing notices!

I'm so relieved you were able to get such clear answers here! As someone who's also navigating Social Security benefits, I completely understand the panic you must have felt receiving that letter. When you're depending on these payments as your primary income, any official notice mentioning "cancellation" would be absolutely terrifying. The explanations everyone provided are spot-on - the Ticket to Work program is completely separate from your actual retirement benefit payments. It's essentially a job training and support service that only applies to people currently receiving disability benefits (SSI or SSDI). Since you transitioned to retirement benefits at 62, you automatically became ineligible for the program, so the cancellation is just administrative housekeeping. Your monthly retirement payments will continue exactly as they have been - this notice has zero impact on your actual income. The Social Security Administration really needs to do better with these communications by clearly stating upfront that benefit payments are unaffected. This thread is going to be so valuable for others who receive similar confusing letters. Thank you for sharing your experience and helping create a resource that will reassure future readers facing the same situation!

I'm so glad you found the support and answers you needed here! This thread perfectly illustrates why communities like this are so valuable - when you're dealing with confusing government correspondence that could impact your livelihood, having knowledgeable people break things down clearly is invaluable. Your situation is actually very common during the SSI-to-retirement transition. The Ticket to Work cancellation is purely administrative - since the program only applies to disability beneficiaries (SSI/SSDI), you automatically became ineligible when you switched to retirement benefits at 62. Your monthly payments are completely unaffected. What's really frustrating is how easily SSA could prevent this panic with better letter writing. A simple line at the top stating "This cancellation does not affect your monthly retirement payments" would save so many people from the terror you experienced. I hope other community members who receive similar notices will find this thread and realize they're not alone in being confused by SSA's poor communication. Your willingness to share this experience will definitely help others navigate the same situation with much less stress!

I'm so glad you were able to get such comprehensive and reassuring answers here! As someone who's relatively new to understanding Social Security benefits, this thread has been incredibly educational. Your panic was completely understandable - when you're 65 and Social Security is your lifeline, receiving any official letter mentioning "cancellation" would be absolutely terrifying. What everyone explained is exactly right: the Ticket to Work program cancellation is just administrative cleanup when you transition from disability benefits (SSI) to retirement benefits. It's like being automatically removed from a student discount list when you graduate - it doesn't affect anything else about your status or payments. The fact that so many people here have experienced this same confusion really highlights how much SSA needs to improve their communication. Adding one simple sentence like "Your monthly retirement payments continue unchanged" would prevent so much unnecessary stress for people in your situation. Your story will be incredibly valuable for others who receive similar letters and panic. Thank you for sharing your experience and helping create a resource that will reassure future community members facing the same confusing correspondence!