Benefits cliffs are a critical challenge in America’s public benefits system, including programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Medicaid, housing assistance and childcare subsidies. These programs help families with low incomes meet basic needs, but rigid eligibility rules often penalize work and advancement.

As earnings rise even slightly, families can lose essential benefits, leaving them worse off financially. Nearly one in four workers receiving public benefits has reduced hours or declined promotions to avoid an abrupt loss, or steep reduction, of public benefits that outweighs their increase in income. This results in barriers to upward mobility and stability for families.

This report, Beyond the Cliff: The Challenge of Benefits Cliffs and How to Fix Them, outlines six federal policy recommendations from the Martha O’Bryan Center’s Beyond the Cliff coalition to ensure assistance programs support economic progress.