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From Barrier to Bridge: Approaches to Address Benefits Cliffs

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Working families can experience a variety of financial barriers that limit economic mobility. One significant barrier occurs when career advancement puts a family above the income-eligibility threshold for public assistance programs. Career advancement, and the wage gains that come with it, can create a scenario in which a family is financially worse off due to the partial or complete loss of benefits–a phenomenon known as a benefits cliff. In other instances, the loss of benefits may largely erase (but not entirely offset) the financial gains associated with career advancement, a dynamic known as a benefits plateau. Both situations can curtail economic mobility.

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  • Keith Barnes & Brittany Birken & John Rees, 2026. "From Barrier to Bridge: Approaches to Address Benefits Cliffs," Workforce Currents 2026-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:a00034:103608
    DOI: 10.29338/wc2026-03
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    File URL: https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/Project/Atlanta/FRBA/Documents/research/publication/workforce-currents/2026/08/04/from-barrier-to-bridge-approaches-to-address-benefits-cliffs.pdf
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