By Ashlee Deans, NENA Director

If you have a low to moderate income, you may be eligible to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to decrease the amount of taxes you owe and possibly increase your return. The amount of credit you receive when you file depends on whether you have a disability, dependents, or children.

You may be able to claim credit for prior tax claims. If you qualify for EITC, you have up to 3 years to file the claim after the due date of your tax return.

To claim the EITC you must meet certain requirements:

Calculate how much EITC you will receive?

The EITC Assistant Calculator can help you estimate the amount of credit you may receive. The EITC Assistant Calculator will tell you: if you are eligible, how many children and/or family members may qualify as dependents, estimate the credit you may receive, and your filing status.

To find out if your disability benefits quality as earned income go to: Disability and the EITC. This page will also let you know if your Earned Income Tax Credit affects any other government payments.

NEWS TO KNOW

Announcing National Slam the Scam Day
A Joint Effort to Protect Consumers from Scams

On March 5, 2026, federal, state, and local government, non-profit organizations, and private companies are joining forces to help protect consumers from scams. Over the years, scams have grown and evolved in scale and sophistication.

The Federal Trade Commission reported that consumers lost over $12.5 billion to scams in 2024- a 25% increase from 2023. Consumers lost more than $5.7 billion to investment scams and almost $2.95 billion to imposter scams.

We are all vulnerable. Scammers target individuals, businesses, and even government agencies to attempt to steal money or personal information. They pretend to be from a well-known business or organization. Scammers state there’s some sort of problem or offer a prize, such as a benefit increase. They pressure you to act quickly. Most alarming, scammers tell you to pay using currency that is hard to trace, such as cryptocurrency, gift card, prepaid debit card, wire transfer, cash, or even gold bars. They might even say they are helping to keep your money safe.

Follow #SlamTheScam posts on social media and share them with your loved ones and your community. Stay skeptical about unexpected contact from businesses or organizations. Hang up or delete suspicious messages. Do not click on links. Report scams to the Federal Trade Commission (reportfraud.ftc.gov). Visit ftc.gov/scams to stay up to date on the latest scams and the tactics scammers use.

February 25, 2026
SSA Request for Information: National Strategy for Financial Literacy

The Department of the Treasury has published a Request for Information (RFI) to support the Financial Literacy and Education Commission’s (FLEC) annual review of the U.S. National Strategy for Financial Literacy. This RFI offers an opportunity for individuals and organizations to provide feedback to help ensure financial literacy programs remain relevant, effective, and responsive to public needs.

Written comments and information are requested on or before April 6, 2026.

As a member of FLEC, we support national efforts to improve financial literacy and education. Financial literacy plays an important role in long-term financial well-being and supports our shared goal of promoting income security for all Americans. We encourage you to consider submitting feedback if you have insights to share and to raise awareness of this opportunity within your networks.

Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to empowering individuals and families to make informed financial decisions.

Sincerely,

Nick Perrine

Chief Communications Officer

External.Relations@ssa.gov

TTW Resources

During the recent National Annual Training Conference, many helpful resources were shared. Please see below for a list of the mentioned websites you may find helpful:

• Rehabilitation Services of America (RSA): https://rsa.ed.gov/ Provides leadership and resources to assist state and other agencies in providing vocational rehabilitation and other services to individuals with disabilities
• Ticket Tracker: https://www.ssa.gov/work/tickettracker.html A monthly report of Ticket to Work program activity
• Marketing Email: Data.Marketing.POC@ssa.gov Email for expressing interest or requesting info regarding the SSA EN Marketing Program 
• UNLV- Career Launch/Job Trends: https://careerlaunch.unlv.edu/job-trend-data/ Occupation search tool to see typical job descriptions, employment outlook, and salary 
• Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR): https://www.csavr.org/ Chief administrators of public rehab agencies serving individuals with disabilities. 

Help Wanted Job Board

Does your member organization have an internal position available within your organization that you would like to post in the NENA E-News?

As a member courtesy, we will post your opening in our next E-News update one time.

Posting requirements:

• The posting must be for a specific, EN-related position within your organization (i.e., career specialist, career services provider)

• Email admin@nenaticket.org to submit your post

• Include the title, location, a brief description (25 words) and contact information on the form.

*Those interested in applying should contact the EN directly. NENA will have no further information about any posted positions.