Monday, March 25, 2024

Can You Be On Disability And Still Work

Don't Miss

Seriously Do You Really Need To Understand Your Short

Can You Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits if You are Still Working?

Heres the short answer: yes. While its not exactly a fun topic to think about, its important that you familiarize yourself with the details of your planso you dont have to get up to speed when you actually need the benefit.

However, wading through our own plan documents is a step that most of us skip. That informational booklet is immediately relegated to our desk drawer or filing cabinet.

Do you remember the first day you started your job? Its kind of a firestormyou cant focus well or often, says McDonald. So we dont spend a lot of time achieving clarity about the benefit in the beginning. We only acquire an understanding of it when we are in deep need of the benefit.

But particularly if you have an existing problem or condition, youre going to want to know the ins and outs of the benefit thats available to you.

Anybody who goes into a new job and has any kind of serious medical condition that could at some point in time render them unable to work, I think its a good idea to be able to see the actual short-term and long-term disability plan documents to see how they define disability and how they handle pre-existing conditions, adds Bartolic.

Ideally, youll never have to take advantage of your short-term disability benefits. But in the event that the unexpected happens, youll be glad that you took the time to understand whats offered to you. This explainer is a good place to start, but you also need to read through the details of your specific plan.

Is Your Job Protected While You Take Short

Unlike a leave of absence you might take under the Family and Medical Leave Act , short-term disability doesnt offer any direct job protection. Many people are surprised to hear that you can legally be fired from your job while on leave, and you also arent entitled to the exact same position when you return.

However, the Americans With Disabilities Act protects people who meet the ADAs definition of disability, and makes it far more challenging for companies who are covered by ADA to fire an employee due to their disability.

Before terminating an employee, the company must first determine whether or not there are any accommodations they could make that would allow the employee to adequately do their job.

The company must work with the employee to try several variations of accommodations in an effort to find something that works. If theres no reasonable way to enable that person to fulfill the essential responsibilities of their position, only then can the employer explore termination of the employee.

The Exception To The Rule

You may be able to get both benefits if you opted for early retirement before you received disability benefits. These are also known an concurrent benefits. This exception would be applicable in a situation where an individual retired early due to serious medical conditions. If that individual can prove that they developed the disability prior to receiving early retirement income, theyll be able to earn both benefits.

Also Check: Ssdi Payment Calendar 2016

Question: Working While Waiting For A Disability Decision

I quit working in April 2020 and applied for Social Security disability for bipolar disorder. I was approved in October 2020, on my first attempt. But before I found out I was approved, I went back to my old job in August and made approximately $850 that month, and in September I grossed $1,500. Then in October I cut way back on my hours. When I went to sign papers at the Social Security office for my mom to be the payee, I told them I had recently went back to work and they told me I have to take them my paycheck stubs. Is that one month where I worked over the SGA amount going to affect my claim or do you have to work over the SGA for a period of time?

Scheduler Ratings Vs Tdiu

If you

Before receiving a TDIU, veterans will receive a percentage scale known as the schedule of rating, or a scheduler rating for short. This scale determines the severity of ones disability, with the higher the percentage corresponding to a lesser likelihood they would be able to hold a job.

From there, the TDIU determines the veterans legal restrictions for working based on their scheduler rating. Even if you receive a scheduler rating of only 40 or 50 percent, if the condition is severe enough as to bar you from operating functionally in the workplace, then you may still be assigned a 100% TDIU rating.

Recommended Reading: How To Increase Va Disability From 80 To 100

How Many Hours Can I Work While On Ssdi

Home » FAQs » Social Security Disability » How Many Hours Can I Work While On SSDI?

To receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, you must meet specific criteria. If you are earning money, you can only make up to a certain amount to qualify for benefits. For most people, how many hours you work doesnt count as much as how muchyou earn per month on SSDI.

The Social Security Administration will determine whether youre engaging in substantial gainful activity . SGA means:

  • You are earning more than a certain monthly amount .
  • For 2020, the SGA amount is $1,260 per month. For blind individuals, the SGA is $2,110 per month.
  • Its essential to check the SGA each year, as it can increase.

Most of the time, how much you earn matters more than work hours. However, there are exceptions.

Trial Work Period Program Allows Ssd Benefits And Higher Monthly Earnings

The Social Security Administration wanted to encourage SSD benefits recipients to try to resume any employment they could manage without the threat of immediately losing their benefits if they were successful. To solve the problem, the government created the Trial Work Period program.

Under the Trial Work Period plan, an SSD benefit recipient can earn as much as they can above the monthly SGA cut-off limit and still keep receiving their full benefits. The catch is that you can only take advantage of this program for 9 months. But for each of those 9 months, you can earn an unlimited amount of income and the government will not penalize you by reducing or eliminating your regular SSD payment. The 9 months do not have to be consecutive they can be spread across a five-year period.

Importantly, any month in which you earn more than $970 will count as one of your 9 months.

Read Also: What Does Disability Pay In California

Can You Still Work As A 100% Disabled Veteran

Veterans with a 100% disability rating may be able to work, but depending on how you were awarded the rating, there may be limitations to how much you are allowed to earn. A 100% disability rating can be reached in several ways:

  • One service-related condition that is rated at 100% disability
  • Several conditions that together reach the 100% disability level
  • A Total and Permanent disability rating
  • A Total Disability Individual Unemployability rating

In each of the above options, only the TDIU restricts how much you may work or how much money you can make.

Disability Ratings

Total disability ratings are awarded when there is present any impairment of mind or body which is sufficient to render it impossible for the average person to follow a substantially gainful occupation. Total disability may or may not be permanent. Since the rating is based on the average person, you may still be able to work, depending on your injuries or your skillset, and you would be permitted to do so, with no limit to your income.

Permanent disability is determined when such impairment is reasonably certain to continue throughout the life of the disabled person. Examples include loss of limbs, loss of sight in both eyes, or being bedridden. Although the condition is permanent and severe, you may still find a means of employment that brings you personal satisfaction and financial gain.

Unemployability Rating

What Evidence Do You Have To Provide To Collect Short

Can I Work And Collect Disability Insurance Benefits?

Your physician will need to sign off on your claim form before you even submit your application, to vouch for the fact that your injury or illness prevents you from working.

After you submit your claim, your employer or the insurance company who administers your short-term disability plan will request that you submit your medical records so that they can review them and verify that theyre consistent with your disability claim. Contact your healthcare providers office to find out the best way to send those records over.

It can feel a little invasive to hand over these types of private documents, but know that its a standard part of the benefits process.

Don’t Miss: How Much Does Disability Pay In California

Can You Work While On Disability

The only way an individual qualifies for Disability benefits is if they are able to prove they cannot engage in substantial gainful activity . This means that you make under a certain monetary amount each month, deemed substantial earnings by the Social Security Administration. Therefore, most recipients receive SSDI benefits in place of working. However, the following exceptions make working while on SSDI possible.

Can I Work While On Social Security Disability

If youre looking into applying for Social Security Disability, it can feel overwhelming and you may find yourself with a lot of questions. What will the judge ask at my disability hearing? is one that we hear often, and answered in a previous blog.

Theres one more very common question we hear, and wed like to take the time to answer that question for you today.

Read Also: How Do You Change Your Va Disability Direct Deposit

If You Disagree With The Decision

If you disagree with the decision, you may ask to have the decision reviewed. You must request this review in writing within 90 days of receiving your decision letter.

Your application will be reviewed by Service Canada staff who were not involved in making the original decision on your application.

Adding On The State Supplement

Can You Work and Still Collect Long

While the federal benefit rate is the same throughout the United States, many states add a state supplemental payment onto the federal benefit. The payment varies from $10 to $400, depending on the state. Even within your own state, the supplementary payment can vary depending on whether you are married or single and what your living arrangement is. For instance, in 2021, California adds an extra $160 to the monthly SSI payment for most people living independently with cooking facilities and $247 to those living independently without cooking facilities.

Some states pay the supplement only to those living in nursing homes. For example, Texas pays a $60 supplement to those living in a nursing home, and pays nothing to others. Similarly, Georgia pays an extra $20 to those living in nursing homes, and nothing to others. Maine pays only $10 extra, both to those living independently and those living in nursing homes.

A few states dont pay a supplement at all, including Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

For more information, see our article on the state supplementary payment.

Read Also: How Much Is Disability In Ca

The Ticket To Work Program

If you’re an SSDI recipient wanting to work but unable to perform any of your past jobs, you may be eligible for free vocational rehabilitation, schooling, or technical training through Social Security’s Ticket to Work program. Those participating in Ticket to Work will be evaluated at a vocational rehabilitation office and a plan will be developed for the individual to try to return to the workforce. As an added incentive, Social Security may not initiate a Continuing Disability Review of an individual in the Ticket to Work program.

Can You Work While On Disability Yes But Know The Rules First

Editors note: This story was originally published in July 2019. Income thresholds and other statistics have been updated for 2020.

Anytime a letter bearing the seal of the Social Security Administration arrives, James feels afraid to open it.

A 34-year-old with cerebral palsy, he depends on Social Security disability benefits for the majority of his income. The benefits cover his rent and bills each month. But its not enough to live on, so he supplements it with side gigs like DoorDash, Instacart and other delivery apps.

Its a difficult, frustrating balancing act, trying to work enough to maintain independence but not so much that his benefits are cut off. Its also suffused with fear. James talked to The Penny Hoarder about his experience but asked that his last name not be used out of concern of running afoul of the federal agency.

Millions of people are in James situation, fearful and confused by the labyrinth of rules governing their benefits. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, bringing needed attention to this subset of workers whose livelihoods seem constantly in peril.

Heres a primer on how the system works.

You May Like: Dod Retirement Pay Calculator

How Do You File For Short

If you believe that youll need to take advantage of your short-term disability benefit, your first step is to make sure that your illness or injury is well-documented, as youll have to provide some medical evidence or backing.

Consult with your doctor and find out what youre up against first. Make sure you speak honestly about your symptoms and the things that you are experiencing. That medical record will be reviewed by an insurance company, so start out with a strong pronouncement of, Hey, Im having this problem, advises McDonald.

Then, approach your HR department to begin the process of filing a claim . Dont have an HR department? Connect with your manager or consult your plan documents to understand exactly what you need to do to submit your claim.

Be aware that short-term disability plans have a requirement for how many days you need to be out of work before you can claim disabilityits called an elimination period. The reason is that they dont want to invoke short-term disability for something that could be covered by sick days, says Bartolic.

How Many Hours Can You Work If You Are On Disability

Can I work if I’m getting social security disability benefits?

Generally, the number of hours you can work will vary depending on your salary. You can earn no more than $1,350 gross each month for disability income payments in your name. Overall Household income levels affect only Social Security Insurance payments.

Disability benefits are not a gold mine. Living high on the hog is not possible on Social Security Disability benefits. Supplementing your benefit payments with earned income from a part-time job is a good option for many clients. If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security

Email us or call us at 877-794-2396 to find out more about how you can supplement your Social Security Disability benefit payments with part-time work income. Schedule a free initial consultation with one of our knowledgeable, helpful, and highly skilled attorneys in your area.

Krasno, Krasno, & Onwudinjo is headquartered in Philadelphia. We advise, counsel and represent clients from 11 different offices throughout Pennsylvania.

Recommended Reading: Best Rv For Disabled

Explanations For Collecting Unemployment Benefits

If you have collected unemployment benefits and you attend an appeal hearing, be prepared to explain why youre collecting unemployment benefits, or why you collected them recently. The judge may ask what jobs you applied for while you were collecting unemployment . If the jobs were ones that your stated limitations say you arent capable of doing , you may have a problem. You may want to offer to amend your alleged onset date to a date after you stopped collecting unemployment benefits.

Likewise, if you applied for a full-time desk job but are telling the judge you cant sustain any full-time work, you may also have a problem. You could argue that you probably could not have been able to sustain full-time work for more than a few weeks without great pain or other symptoms or without getting fired. As federal judges have stated in the past, A desire to work does not mean that a claimant can actually work, and Receipt of unemployment insurance benefits does not prove ability to work.

If you have a valid argument that there is no legal conflict between your collecting unemployment benefits and disability benefits, tell the judge. Here are some examples:

Dont Miss: What Is Ca Sui Sdi Tax

What To Do Before Deciding To Return To Work

If youre considering working while on long-term disability, be careful to review your policy with an experienced attorney. Your attorney should help you fully understand whether it is an own occ or any occ policy, and the implications of both. This will help you benefit from both continued disability checks and participation in meaningful work.

Don’t Miss: Army Medical Retirement Pay Calculator

Can You Receive Retroactive Payments

Once the SSA approves your SSDI application and calculates your monthly benefit, you may be entitled to a back pay award. How many months of payments you will receive will depend on the date you applied for benefits and your disability onset date.

If you are applying for SSDI benefits, you need the assistance of a skilled Social Security disability lawyer to get your application approved and receive the benefits you deserve. To schedule a free consultation with a member of our legal team, fill out the online form on this page or call our Roswell office today.

Related Links:

Expedited Reinstatement Of Benefits

Are There Any Benefits For Disabled Adults Still Living ...

At the end of the EPE there is an additional five year period called âexpedited reinstatement of benefits.â If the original impairment flairs up within five years of the end of the 36-month EPE, preventing the individual from earning SGA, Social Security can reinstate the SSDI benefits provisionally while a medical review is completed. If the medical review confirms the disability condition or blindness, then the provisional SSDI benefits will be made permanent. If the medical review concludes that there is not a medical disability, SSDI benefits will be immediately terminated but with no overpayment for benefits paid provisionally.

Read Also: Va Retirement Pay Calculator

More articles

Popular Articles