How Much Money Can You Make On Social Security Disability?
If you have been reluctant to get a part-time job or attempt returning to work full-time while getting disability benefits because it would affect your eligibility, the disability professionals at the Clauson Law Firm have good news for you. The Social Security Administration allows you to work without jeopardizing your eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income benefits, provided you follow the rules, including knowing how much you can earn without violating any Social Security Disability insurance.
The Social Security Administration encourages the 7.2 million disabled workers currently receiving benefits through SSDI and 7.4 million people getting benefits through SSI to try working. If you are wondering how much can you make on SSDI or SSI without affecting disability benefits, the following information explains the rules to help you comply with them.
Substantial Gainful Activity And Disability Benefits
The disability definition used to determine if adults qualify for SSDI or SSI states that a person must be unable to do substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment. The impairment or impairments must have lasted or be expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death.
“Substantial gainful activity” means work activities requiring physical and mental activity, including:
- Lifting
- Climbing stairs
- Sitting or standing for extended periods
- Walking
- Remembering
- Following directions
The gainful aspect of substantial gainful activity means that work-related activities are done in exchange for a worker being paid. A person who does not receive payment may nonetheless be doing substantial gainful activity when there is an expectation of payment or the activities are typically done in exchange for payment.
The Social Security Administration uses monthly income to determine if a person is capable of substantial gainful activity. A monthly SGA amount is set each year. If you earn less than it, you do not have the ability to do work activities to earn enough to support yourself. However, exceeding the SGA amount means you are not disabled because you have the ability to support yourself through the income earned by working.
The government set the monthly SGA amount in 2024 at $1,550, but it becomes $1,620 in 2025. It’s important to note that a higher monthly SGA applies to someone who cannot work because they are blind. If you cannot work because of blindness, the SGA in 2024 is $2,590. It increases in 2025 to $2,700.
SGA also becomes a factor should you decide to work while collecting SSDI benefits. Depending on the program, you may be able to collect your full monthly benefits through SSDI and keep the money earned while working as long as the earnings do not exceed the SGA amount.
If you’re wondering how the Social Security Administration knows when you are working, it’s because you must report earnings and work history when applying for disability benefits. You also must notify Social Security of any change in your finances, including earnings from work and other sources of income. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements may result in the termination of your benefits.
How Much Can You Make On SSDI?
Working and earning more than the SGA level during a month while collecting SSDI benefits typically means you are not disabled, except if you comply with the Social Security work rules and take advantage of their work incentives. One of them is a trial work period.
A trial work period gives nine months to test your ability to work. Here are a few things to know about the trial period:
- You must notify the Social Security Administration about your decision to work and participate in the work incentives.
- Any month when your earnings exceed $1,110 in 2024 is a trial work month. The earnings amount changes annually, so it increases in 2025 to $1,160.
- You have 60 months to use the nine months of a trial work period.
The trial work period is available for self-employed individuals with the same rules, except the monthly earnings for self-employed individuals are based on earnings after deducting business expenses. If you’re self-employed and report working more than 80 hours per month in your business, it is a trial work month regardless of your earnings.
The advantage of a trial work period is that it does not have a disability benefits income cap. It allows you to earn as much as possible from working while continuing to collect your full SSDI benefits even if you exceed the SGA level for the month.
If, at the end of a trial work period, you feel that you need additional time to determine whether your disability allows you to continue working, there is an extended period of eligibility. An extended period of eligibility is an additional 36 months to work while continuing to receive full disability benefits as long as your monthly earnings do not exceed the SGA level.
Exceeding the SGA level during an extended period of eligibility means your SSDI payments stop. However, because payments stopped during the extended period, you have five years to request their reinstatement if you discover that your medical condition prevents you from continuing to work. The request for reinstatement does not require completing and submitting a new application for benefits.
Another advantage of the trial work period has to do with Medicare coverage. You become eligible for Medicare 24 months after the start of SSDI payments. If SSDI benefits stopped because of earnings from work and you need medical insurance coverage because of your disability, Medicare Part A coverage continues. The coverage continues for up to 93 months after your trial work period ends, and you can continue coverage after the 93 months by paying the Medicare Part A premium.
Services and things you need to assist you while working are another of the incentives available to you when working while collecting SSDI. The cost of the things and services may be deducted from your wages or self-employment income to reduce your monthly earnings.
- Fees for taxi, paratransit, special bus service, or other non-public transportation used to get to and from work.
- Cost of counseling services.
- Specialized or modified equipment to accommodate your disability and allow you to work.
The disability team at Clauson Law can answer questions about Social Security Disability allowance and incentive programs available through the Social Security Administration and help ensure that you comply with the special rules pertaining to them.
Work Incentives Available For Someone Collecting SSI Disability Benefits
SSI is a need-based program with income and resource limitations. Unlike SSDI, with monthly payments determined by how much you earned while working at jobs subject to payment of Social Security taxes, monthly payments are based on need. The maximum federal benefit payment is $943 for individuals and $1,415 for couples. The amounts change annually, with a monthly benefit for individuals of $967 and $1,450 for couples in 2025.
The maximum monthly SSI benefit is reduced by income you receive from other sources, including earnings from working. However, not all income counts toward reducing your monthly benefits. Some exclusions reduce the monthly income.
For example, you may deduct $20 from monthly unearned income and $65 from earned income. If you do not have unearned income and do not use the $20 exclusion, you may use it to reduce earned income. Finally, after excluding the first $65 and the $20 you did not use for unearned income, only half of the earned income counts toward reducing your monthly SSI benefit payment. Based on 2024 monthly SSI benefit amounts, an individual’s earnings could not exceed $1,971.
Work incentives available to you when you get disability benefits through SSI include the following:
- Expedited Reinstatement: If your monthly payments stop because of earnings from work, you have five years to ask that your benefits be restarted without submitting a new application.
- Deduction Of Work Expenses: As with the SSDI program, you may deduct expenses for items or services needed to accommodate your disability and allow you to work.
- Students With Disabilities: SSI beneficiaries younger than age 22 who go to school or attend a training program may exclude a portion of their monthly earnings. The current maximum income exclusion is $2,290 monthly with a yearly cap of $9,230.
The Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) program helps people to become less dependent on SSI benefits by allowing them to put money aside from income and resources to pay for school or a training program to assist them in getting a job or starting a business.
A plan under the PASS program must be in writing and submitted to the Social Security Administration for approval. If your plan is not approved, you may appeal the decision.
Help Available From A Trusted Disability Law Firm
Founded in 2009 by attorney Vaughn Clauson, the Clauson Law Firm focuses on providing superior and trustworthy advice and representation to people in North Carolina and throughout the country in Social Security disability claims from initial application and through the appeal process. Learn more about how Clauson Law can help you by contacting us today for a free consultation.
