Mitigating Benefits Cliffs for Low-Income Families:District of Columbia Career Mobility Action Plan as a Case Study
Elias Ilin and Alvaro Sanchez:
The structure of the United States social safety net features phaseouts of public assistance as household income increases, which can function as an effective marginal tax on wage gains, commonly referred to as a “benefits cliff.” These so-called benefits cliffs create a disincentive for low-income workers, especially those with children, to accept higher-paying jobs or promotions. This paper describes how benefits cliffs can affect the financial resources of a single adult, one child family living in the District of Columbia (DC) and introduces the DC Career Mobility Action Plan (Career MAP) pilot program, which serves as a benefits cliff mitigation strategy
for participants.