An upcoming Voice article will cover the work history requirements in order to qualify for Title II disability benefits. This article does not cover the work rules for recipients of Supplemental Security Income or SSI, a needs-based benefit available to qualifying elderly, blind or disabled individuals.
There are a couple of preliminary concepts to keep in mind whenever discussing how work affects SSDI benefits. First, wages do not reduce or offset SSDI benefits. Second, wages are counted in the month the work is performed, not the month in which the wages are paid. These components include trial work period, substantial gainful activity, extended period of eligibility and expedited reinstatement of benefits.
For this discussion, assume that the disabling medical condition still exists but that the SSDI recipient is going to try to work in spite of the medical condition. Also, remember that the financial figures referenced below are likely to change annually — check the Social Security website for the latest figures.
Keep in mind that in order to qualify for SSDI, in most cases a person must show an inability to engage in substantial gainful activity SGA described in more detail below. Work deductions discussed below are not counted. An individual is entitled to have 9 service months treated as the TWP. The months do not have to be consecutive months but must be within a five-year period. An individual is only entitled to one TWP.
While individuals are in a TWP it does not matter how much they earn in wages. Example: Jennifer is 28 years old and was severely injured in an auto accident when she was Until the end of her TWP, it did not matter how much Jennifer earned in wages. The SGA amount is calculated based upon when the work was performed, not when the wages were paid. There are two work deductions that can apply: impairment related work expenses IRWE and work subsidies. IRWE include goods or services the individual must purchase in order to work.
These expenses cannot be reimbursed and must be paid out of pocket by the SSDI recipient after starting work. By Barbara Kate Repa. Because Social Security disability payments are often not enough to live on, it will be important for you to collect all the other benefits to which you may be entitled and even try to supplement your income by working a little, if you are able.
If you earn regular income, you might not be considered disabled any longer, and you could lose your disability eligibility altogether. You are only officially disabled if you are unable to perform "substantial gainful work" SGA. But this income limit is not an absolute rule if you own your own business. In that case, other facts may be considered, including your work duties, the number of hours you work, and the extent to which you run or manage your own business.
Also, you are entitled to a nine-month trial work period during which you can make over the SGA amount. In deciding how much you are earning, the Social Security office can deduct from your income the amounts of any disability-related work expenses, such as medical devices or equipment—a wheelchair, for example—attendant care, drugs, or services you require to be able to work.
You are not permitted to collect more than one Social Security benefit at a time. If you are eligible for more than one monthly benefit—disability and early retirement, for example, or disability based on your own work record and also as the disabled spouse of a retired worker—you may receive the higher of the two benefit amounts, but not both. For the purposes of this rule, though, Supplemental Security Income SSI —a program jointly run by federal and state governments to guarantee a minimum income to elderly, blind, and disabled people—is not considered a Social Security benefit.
You are permitted to collect Social Security disability payments and, at the same time, private disability payments from an insurance policy or coverage from your employer. You may also receive Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits at the same time as Social Security disability benefits.
If you are still receiving Social Security disability benefits when your workers' compensation benefits run out, you can again start receiving the full amount of your Social Security benefits. If Minnie also had private insurance that paid disability benefits, she could receive those benefits as well as all of her Social Security.
To learn more, read Nolo's article on the Social Security disability offset for workers' comp. A few states, including New York and California , offer temporary disability benefits alongside their unemployment insurance programs.
Examples of qualifying expenses include special transportation needs or counseling services. These are called impairment-related work expenses , or IRWE. You must also report the amount of your monthly wages if any to the SSA. If you report your wages by telephone, it must be done by the 6 th of the next month; if you mail or bring in your paystub to your local SSA, it must be done by the 10 th of the next month.
Social Security's website has more information on telephone wage reporting and online wage reporting. Also, see our section on reporting changes to Social Security to find out what other changes you may need to report. For this reason, many disability lawyers and representatives will advise their clients not to work while their case is pending. For more information, see our article on whether you have to quit work when applying for disability benefits. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.
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