Will I Lose My Disability If I Work Part-Time?

Did you know you can work part-time and still continue to receive your monthly Social Security Disability benefits?

Social Security Disability Insurance rules allow benefits recipients to earn income under several scenarios without losing their benefits. This blog explains the circumstances under which someone can work and receive their full Social Security Disability (SSD). The amount someone may earn and still receive SSD benefits depends on the individual’s condition. The Social Security Administration even encourages people to try to resume work if they think they are up to it.

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How Much Can You Earn from Part-Time Work While Receiving Social Security Disability?

The Social Security Administration limits the amount of money most SSD benefits recipients can earn because the agency literally defines a “disability” in terms of the income a claimant can earn each month.

To be eligible for SSD benefits, the rules require that the claim be based on “a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that lasts or is expected to last 12 months (or result in death) and prevents the claimant from engaging in substantial gainful activity, or SGA.”

What are “substantial gainful activities?” In 2023, the Social Security Administration defines a substantial gainful activity as any work a claimant can do that will earn more than $1,470 per month; the limit for a blind claimant is $2,460.

It’s important to note that the Social Security Administration only counts a claimant’s “net” earnings after Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) and costs are deducted from their gross earnings. Examples could include unreimbursed costs for vehicle modifications to accommodate a disability, prosthetics, and associated adjustment and fitting costs, or special transportation costs to get to and from work.

What Happens If You Earn More than the Allowed SGA Amount?

Every SSD recipient is required to report any income earned each month to the Social Security Administration. If an SSD benefits recipient earns more than the amount set as the SGA limit, they do not automatically lose their benefits. Instead, the person automatically starts in a special program called the Trial Work Period (TWP).

What’s the Trial Work Period?

The Trial Work Period (TWP) is a program the Social Security Administration created to encourage those receiving disability benefits to try to go back to work. Before the TWP program, disability recipients hesitated to try working because they would lose their benefits by earning too much money. Then, if they found their disabling impairment returned or worsened, they wouldn’t have their job or disability benefits.

To eliminate those fears, the TWP program was established. The Trial Work Period is a program that allows a benefits recipient to earn an unlimited amount in nine calendar months and continue receiving their full SSD benefits payment. The nine TWP months do not need to be consecutive. They can be any nine months spread over a period of five years. The Trial Work Period program is only available to people receiving SSDI benefits. SSI benefit recipients are not eligible for the TWP.

For 2023, one of the nine months of a person’s Trial Work Period will be used whenever they earn more than $1,050, not the SGA amount of $1,450.

The Trial Work Period enables people who think their impairments may have subsided to pursue employment opportunities without worrying about jeopardizing their SSD benefits. If they learn they were wrong and need to stop working, their benefits continue uninterrupted. But, if they successfully resume work and remain employed, their benefits will stop at the end of the nine Trial Work Period months.

SSD Benefits Resume If The Claimant’s Disability Returns After Resuming Work

Following the Trial Work Period, the monthly SSD benefits payments cease. But a new period called the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) runs for the next three years. During the EPE, the SSD claimant can receive their full SSD benefit payment for any month their earnings fall below the SGA level.

There is no need to file a new claim during the EPE; the previous disability claim will remain valid, and benefits resume without delay for any month with below-SGA earnings.

This Extended Period of Eligibility remains active for 36 months. In the 37th month, the EPE ends. If the disability benefits are still being paid at that time, they will stop when the recipient next earns more than the SGA.

Five Years to File for Expedited Reinstatement of SSD Benefits

What happens after your Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) expires? If you fear that you may need to resume your SSD benefits after your EPE expires, don’t worry. The Social Security Administration allows you to file for “Expedited Reinstatement of Benefits” (EXR) anytime during the five-year period after your benefits ended.

The Expedited Reinstatement program is designed to reinstate your disability benefits immediately. Social Security will review and assess your application to ensure your impairment has returned to the extent qualifying you to resume benefits. During the time the agency reviews the reinstatement claim, the claimant will receive provisional benefits payments for up to six months. If the application for reinstated benefits is denied for any reason, the claimant gets to keep all the benefit payments they received during those six months.

The claimant also gains immediate Medicare coverage during the six-month provisional payment period. If the claim is approved, Medicare coverage continues.

Another distinct advantage to filing for Expedited Reinstatement rather than filing a new disability claim is that the EXR claims are presumed to be qualified. The agency must show that the impairment is no longer severe enough to resume disability benefits.