What is the Benefits Cliff?
Imagine working hard to earn a promotion and a raise only to find that, should you accept, you’ll soon be denied assistance via social support programs that are critical to making ends meet – and leaving you and your family financially worse off than before. As a result, you’re forced to make an unfair choice: advance your career or do what’s best for your family in the here and now.
When this happens, businesses lose out on recruiting or growing talent, employees lose the opportunity to advance their career, and our entire community loses out on hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars over the course of a lifetime.
To overcome these challenges, we must first know where the Benefits Cliff is — and that number is different for every individual. That’s why Employ Buffalo Niagara, along with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, has created this Benefits Cliff Calculator — a free, simple tool that will do the math for you to calculate an individual’s Benefits Cliff.
Get started with the Benefits Cliff Calculator
Employees, employers, and workforce entities can plug in current benefits and potential income increases to gain a better understanding of how employees can thrive, businesses can promote their promising talent, and all of our neighbors can be carried toward financial security and independence. The tool will also help the public sector understand the urgent need for policy changes to lessen the impact of the Benefits Cliff moving forward.
Benefits Cliff Resources and Guides
Awareness is the first step toward tackling the challenges of Benefits Cliffs. Whether you’re a business leader, workforce advocate, or policymaker, we’re here to support your efforts with free, accessible resources.
Explore our collection of tools—including engaging explainer videos and shareable social media content—designed to educate, inspire, and drive action. Use these assets to spark conversations in your workplace, amplify awareness on your channels, and share with your network. Together, we can build understanding and pave the way for meaningful solutions.
- Help us advocate for change on social media: Benefits Cliff Social Media Resources
- To help spread awareness about detrimental benefits cliff policies, use these social media assets, which includes post copy, graphics, hashtags, and relevant links. Once you’ve found the social media post that you or your organization most closely aligns with, all you have to do is copy, paste and post on LinkedIn, Facebook and/or Twitter along with all four of the graphics.
- Tell Lawmakers: Act now to Bridge the Benefits Cliff
- A quick and easy way to communicate with your local and state representatives. A message is generated and communication is sent based on your address.
- Letter to the Governor
- Download this letter to send to the Governor to encourage her to act now to address the Benefits Cliff in NYS.
To Learn More
Learn more about the Benefit Cliff Calculator and discover more Employ Programs, submit your information!
From the Blog
Navigating Shifting Workplace Norms: Panel Discussion
The workplace landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and staying ahead of the curve is crucial for businesses aiming to attract and retain top talent. In the final session of our 4-part Hidden Talent series, we brought together a panel of industry experts to shed light on these critical shifts and provide actionable insights for employers.
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How the U.S. Is Closing the Door to Top Talent
The BNP organized a Capital Conversations event as part of our Government Affairs series to examine the workings of the H-1B program and explore potential reforms that could strengthen our regional economy.
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Successfully Engaging Non-Traditional Talent
Uncovering and Cultivating Hidden Talent Series: Session 3 – Talent Hiding in Plain Sight
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Keeping talent from moving on, by creating pathways to move up
Uncovering and Cultivating Hidden Talent Series: Session 2 – Talent on the Move
Keeping and growing talent is key to any high-performing organization. But what can you do to keep employees from walking out your door for new opportunities?
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Employ Team Participates in Nationally Recognized Programs to Advance Local Initiatives
Buffalo Niagara Partnership (BNP) team members were selected to participate in two nationally recognized programs to advance Employ Buffalo Niagara and the chamber’s workforce and talent initiatives.
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Reaching the Next Generation of Hidden Talent
Uncovering and Cultivating Hidden Talent Series: Session 1 – Next Gen Talent
As employers, we all know that the job market has changed, which makes it harder to hire and retain quality employees.
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Manufacturing TPM: Reaching Important Hiring Milestones
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s Manufacturing Talent Pipeline Management (TPM) Collaborative made important career connections in the first quarter of 2023.
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TPM: Sizing Up the Right Fit
What’s it like to work a customer service job at a regional employer with immediate openings? Students from 716 Ministries/Trocaire and the Service Collaborative of WNY found out through a day spent visiting with hiring managers from Univera, National Fuel, Wegmans, and Independent Health.
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7.28.22 Webisode: Creating Career Pathways
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership knows that hiring is the most common pain point amongst all employers right now, and will be for the foreseeable future. We created the Employ Buffalo Niagara Career Pathways Program to help regional companies attract and retain talent in this challenging job market.
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Partners on the Career Path
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership continues to expand the Career Pathways Project as a component of Employ Buffalo Niagara to help connect job seekers to regional careers with tangible growth opportunities. The project was launched in 2021, made possible by a generous grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr Foundation.
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