We hear about the benefit cliff a lot in our financial wellness programs at Women’s Money Matters – when families start to earn just enough to lose benefits, but not enough to be financially stable, a step forward becomes a major setback.  On May 14th,  we celebrated a collective step forward with the launch of the Benefit Cliff Pilot, Bridge to Prosperity.

The Bridge to Prosperity is a first-of-its-kind pilot that not only provides direct cash payments to individuals experiencing the benefit cliff, but also the career pathways and financial coaching needed to ensure lasting economic mobility. The research gathered from this 3-year pilot will inform policy change at the state and national levels.

The full network of support was in attendance, from funders to community support partners to legislators, State Representative Patricia Duffy, and Senator Jamie Eldridge. The event centered on voices of lived experience through our panel of WMM program graduates who are now part of the first cohort of pilot participants in Boston. Our deepest appreciation to Deonne, Nyesha, Vivana, and Liza for bravely sharing their stories and the impact of both the benefit cliff and the pilot on their daily lives.

We are grateful to JPMorganChase for their $500K gift to Women’s Money Matters, as part of a coalition of partners with Springfield WORKS/Working Cities Challenge, to advance this pilot in support of low-income families in Massachusetts as they navigate the “benefits cliff” and transition to long-term economic mobility, while producing actionable insights to inform sustainable policy change.

A huge thank you to The Boston Foundation for so generously hosting this event and for your support of this pilot. This important work is possible through a partnership with the support of MassMutual Foundation, UpTogether, and Boston Medical Center (BMC). We were joined by the wonderful Thea James, MD, MPH, MBA, as our keynote, reminding us of the intersection between financial stability and personal and community-wide health. 

Finally, we encourage you to listen to two WMM Graduates and pilot participants, Nyesha and Liza, in recent interviews on WBUR and NBC Boston Stations, links in the comments below. Their stories are the heart of our mission at Women’s Money Matters, and we are so grateful for the diverse and committed network of support!

For more information

About Women’s Money Matters: 
Women’s Money Matters, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower women and girls living on low incomes with the tools to transform their financial futures. WMM programs provide essential money management skills and a strong support network, enabling participants to create secure, stable lives for their families and communities. WMM serves women and girls aged 8 through retirement who are living on low incomes, many in transitional housing. Core programs provide one-to-one coaching, and peer cohorts for social support and belonging. Topics include building and repairing credit, creating a spending and savings plan that works, and keeping your money safe. Volunteers are core to our work. There are a range of remote and in person opportunities. All you need is the desire to help another women or girl make the most of the money she has. WMM has reached thousands of women across Massachusetts and continues to grow programming to meet the demand for programming. For more information contact Women’s Money Matters at (617) 297-7376; Danielle Piskadlo dpiskadlo@womensmoneymatters.org

About Springfield WORKS: https://springfieldworks.net/
Springfield WORKS, an economic development initiative with the Western Mass Economic Development
Council, is dedicated to removing systemic and racial barriers to economic mobility and well-being.
Through targeted collaboration with community partners, employers, policymakers, educators, and
residents, our work is influencing the way employers source talent and career seekers gain access to
economic opportunities by providing solutions, networks, tools, and resources that remove barriers to
prosperity. For more information contact Anne Kandilis at a.kandilis@springfieldworks.net.

About JPMorganChase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorganChase had $4.4 trillion in assets and $351 billion in stockholders’ equity as of March 31, 2025. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers predominantly in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com
—————————————————————-

Thank you to NBC 10 Boston for providing this excellent coverage of the Benefit Cliff dynamic and the Bridge To Prosperity pilot.  An excerpt is below, as well as links to the full video interviews in both English and Spanish.  

Making too much money for public assistance, not enough to make ends meet

Article Excerpt: 

“As soon as I got a job, those benefits started getting cut,” Liza Montalban [WMM program graduate] said. “And unfortunately, the way the system works, a lot of the times they count your gross income and not your net pay. So what I was making on paper was a lot more than what I was bringing home. So I really was relying on those benefits, and when those benefits started getting decreased or completely cut, I found myself in another difficult situation again, even though I was working.”

This experience is known as the benefits cliff effect. Eligibility for public benefits like food, healthcare, housing and childcare assistance are based on income. The cliff effect happens when families’ income increases enough that they lose eligibility for these benefits, but can’t yet afford these needs on their own.

In Massachusetts, over 700,000 individuals live at or below the poverty line and face benefits cliff issues, according to Women’s Money Matters. Their research shows housing assistance can drop off once a recipient makes $20 an hour; food assistance can drop off once a recipient makes $22 an hour.

Montalban was invited to participate in a pilot program called Bridge to Prosperity that aims to bridge the gap between benefits and wages, with monthly cash payments that make up for the value of lost benefits, ranging from $300 to $700, over two or three years, depending on the group.

“This program has been life-changing for me,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like much, but it immediately supplemented the food stamps. We lost all of it.”

Participants are also paired with financial and career coaches to help them navigate the transition from public benefits assistance as they climb the economic ladder.

“We look at what are her goals from a professional perspective as well as financial perspective and we work together on a plan that allows her to take steps and action hopefully to meet her goals,” said Raffaella Molteni, Montalban’s coach.

Thank you to Liza for sharing your story. Watch the video in the links blow to see the full interview!

Link to NBC 10 Boston Interview

Link to Telemundo Interview

Women’s Money Matters empowers women and girls to improve their financial health to create a more secure future for their families and communities.

Ready to make a difference? Volunteer Coaches and Presenters make our mission happen. Our unique online and in-person programs offer one-on-one financial mentoring, workshops, and small peer group communities. 

Complete the Volunteer interest form on our website to join the next orientation, and help us spread the word to women and girls about our financial empowerment programs.