The benefits cliff refers to when employees earn wage increases, but lose public benefits worth more as a result, leading to fewer Net Financial Resources for them and their families.
It is holding our community and our workforce back and enabling cyclical generational poverty.
m+
Americans receivemeans-based assistance
%
of public benefits go to non-elderlyemployed individuals
%
of residents in Greater Rochester liveabove the line of poverty, but below the
Self-Sufficiency Standard
Read more:
Additional resources to learn about the benefits cliff can be found below:
- Buffalo Niagara Partnership Benefits Cliff Calculator
- "Benefits Cliffs: The Financial Risks of Increased Earnings for Working Families" from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation
- BenefitsCliff.com, a Leap Fund project
- Advancing Careers for Low-Income Families, from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
For more information about Greater Rochester Chamber’s efforts to address the benefits cliff, please contact Chief of Staff Marc Cohen at Marc.Cohen@GreaterRochesterChamber.com.