The amount you are allowed to work differs for the Social Security Administration (SSA)’s two benefit programs. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplementary Security Income (SSI) have different rules and program requirements. Social Security Disability Insurance For SSDI, you can only receive
benefits if you cannot work a full time job, or enough to be considered substantial gainful activity ($1,350 per month, $2,260 if you’re blind). Therefore, most recipients receive SSDI in place of working. It is possible to work part time, but this can make it harder to prove you cannot work full time. If you are on SSDI already, you can’t start making the SGA amount
regularly. To make it easier for you to go back to work, they offer a nine-month trial period. You can receive full benefits for nine months while making over the SGA for nine months to test if you are able to work with your disability. In 2022, any month that you make more than $970 or work more than 80 hours if you’re self-employed is considered a trial month. If it is determined that you cannot work after your trial period, you can go back to receiving SSDI as normal. If you do choose
to go back to work, you will still be able to receive benefits for any month you don’t make over the SGA limit for 36 months. If, at any point during the 36 months you decide you can’t work, then you need to call the SSA and they will reinstate your benefits. After the 36 month period, the SSA will keep you application on file for five years, so will not have to complete a new application and your reinstatement will be expedited. If you return to work and lose your benefits, you are still
eligible for Medicare for at least 93 months (seven years) after your nine-month trial period. Supplementary Security Income SSI is awarded to those currently making little or no money. There are strict financial limits to be eligible for SSI, but it’s not based on work history. There is no limit on how many hours you can work on SSI, rather a limit on how much you can make in a month. For an individual in 2022, you need to be making less than $841 of countable income per
month and have less than $2,000 in assets to qualify. For a couple, the limit is $3,000. The difference between SSI and SSDI is that SSI encourages recipients to work as much as they can. Only about half of your income is counted towards the SSA’s income totals, so the $794 limit is often closer to $1,500 per month. The amount of your monthly payment depends on your income. If your income decreases while on SSI, your payments can be increased up until the limit of $841. If you income
increases, your payments will be decreased. Even if you are making enough that you are no longer eligible for SSI benefits, you may still be able to keep your Medicaid. It is also possible to apply to buy Medicaid from the state Medicare agency if you have high medical costs. You can make a small amount of income while collecting disability benefits, but how much depends on whether you get SSDI or SSI benefits.How much you can earn while on disability is different for individuals currently getting SSDI (Social Security disability insurance) benefits and those getting SSI (Supplemental Security Income) benefits. For a discussion of how much you can work when first applying for benefits, see our section on working and eligibility for Social Security disability. This article is about how working affects people who are currently receiving SSDI benefits, versus how working affects people who are currently receiving SSI benefits. Can You Work While on SSDI?Generally, SSDI recipients can't do what's considered "substantial gainful activity" (SGA) and continue to receive disability benefits. In a nutshell, doing SGA means you're working and making more than $1,350 per month in 2022 (or $2,260 if you're blind). So that's how much you can make in 2022 without affecting your disability benefits. And, you can deduct disability-related work expenses from that total. For more information, see our article on SSDI income limits. But, to encourage SSDI recipients to go back to work, Social Security has created some exceptions to this rule. SSDI recipients are entitled to a "trial work period" during which they can make more than the SGA amount without losing benefits. Trial work period. For a nine-month trial work period, SSDI recipients are entitled to test their ability to work and continue to receive full benefits regardless of whether they make more than the SGA amount. For 2022, the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers any month where a person has a monthly income of more than $970 to be a trial work month. If you're self-employed, any month where you work more than 80 hours can also be considered a trial work month. Extended period of eligibility. Once you've completed the nine-month trial work period (the months don't need to be consecutive), you can still receive SSDI for any month where your earnings fall below the SGA level, for a period of 36 months. This three-year period is called the "extended period of eligibility." In other words, if you earn less than $1,350 in any month during this period, you will get benefits, but if you earn more than $1,350 in any month, you won't get disability benefits for that month (after a three-month grace period). Expedited reinstatement. If Social Security stops your SSDI payments because of SGA, the agency gives you five years during which your benefits can be reinstated if you again stop working because of your disability. During this five-year period, called the "expedited reinstatement period," the SSA won't require you to file a new disability application to get benefits. For more information, see our article on the trial work period, the extended period of eligibility, and expedited reinstatement. How Much Can you Make While on SSI Benefits?After you're approved for SSI, the SGA limit no longer applies to you. With SSI, income works a bit differently. You can begin to work and continue to receive SSI benefits as long as your wages and other resources don't exceed the SSA's income limit for SSI; but your monthly benefit amount will be reduced in proportion to your income. Here's how the SSA reduces your income due to your earnings. Both the federal benefit amount and the SSI countable income limit are $841 (in 2022). The SSA will reduce your benefit by the amount of your "countable income." Fortunately, not all of your income is countable income. Calculating countable income. If your only income is from your job, the SSA doesn't include the first $85 you earn toward your countable income. After taking the $85 adjustment off of your income, the SSA will deduct, from your monthly benefits, 50 cents for every dollar you earn. For example, if you earn $1,000 a month from working, you have $457.50 of countable income. $1,000 Your monthly SSI benefit amount would be reduced by $457.50. You can earn up to about $1,675 a month, if you have no other income, before your SSI benefit is reduced to zero. State supplemental payments. Your monthly benefit amount is also affected by the amount your state adds to the federal SSI payment, if any. For more information, see our article on how much SSI pays. Expedited reinstatement. If your SSI payments stop because you earn too much money (that is, if your countable income is over $841 per month), but you are then forced to quit work because of your disability, the SSA will reinstate your benefits without the need for a new application for a period of five years. Ticket to Work program. Social Security has a program that helps SSI recipients with disabilities to pursue career planning. The program provides free employment support services, including benefits counseling and a continuation of Medicaid benefits if you go back to work. Learn more about the Ticket to Work program and other SSI work incentive programs. Disability-Related Work ExpensesIf, because of your disability, you have certain work-related expenses that a non-disabled person wouldn't have, the SSA will deduct these costs from your monthly earnings when calculating your benefits. Examples of qualifying expenses include special transportation needs, computer support services, or counseling services. These are called impairment-related work expenses, or IRWE. Reporting RequirementsBoth SSI and SSDI recipients must report to the SSA:
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 6th of the next month; if you mail or bring in your paystub to your local SSA, it must be done by the 10th of the next month. SSDI and SSI recipients can now report wages online using their Social Security account, and SSI recipients can now also report wages with a smartphone app. 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. Working While Applying for BenefitsKeep in mind that the mere fact that you're working, even if you are making somewhat less than $1,350 per month, may influence whether a disability claims examiner or a disability judge believes you're disabled, especially if you're working more than 15 or 20 hours a week. 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. Updated December 10, 2021 What is the most you can make while on SSI?During the 36-month extended period of eligibility, you usually can make no more than $1,350 ($2,260 if you are blind) a month in 2022 or your benefits will stop. These amounts are known as Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA).
How much can you earn in 2022 and draw Social Security?How We Deduct Earnings From Benefits. In 2022, if you're under full retirement age, the annual earnings limit is $19,560. If you will reach full retirement age in 2022, the limit on your earnings for the months before full retirement age is $51,960.
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If i collect ssi can i work
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