Need Help Understanding Your Benefits The Wolf Pack Has Your Back
Can you work part time on Social Security Disability? Does my part-time job exceed the SGA limit? How do I start my trial work period? From the start of the application process for disability benefits to long after youve been approved, there are many difficult questions you may have.
If you need help applying or appealing for SSDI or SSI benefits, The Wolf Pack at Colbert Cooper Hill Attorneys has your back! Serving disabled individuals and their families in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Ardmore, and surrounding communities, our experienced disability attorneys will do everything in our power to help you get approved for the benefits you deserve. We know the ins and outs of the Social Security system and will answer any questions you may have about your benefits.
Contact The Wolf Pack today at or fill out our online form to get your free case review today!
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.
If You Go Back To Work While Collecting Long
By Aaron Hotfelder, J.D., University of Missouri School of Law
If you’re collecting long-term disability benefits and wish to return to work, you could be putting your LTD benefits in jeopardy, especially if you’ll earn as much as you were making before you became disabled, or even a substantial portion of your pre-disability wages.
Whether you’ll continue to receive your full long-term disability benefits depends on the specifics of your LTD policy, but as a general rule, those with “own occupation” policies are usually given greater freedom to work than those with “any occupation” policies. Read your policy’s summary plan description, check with your claims handler, or consult your disability attorney if you’re unsure whether you have an “own occupation” or “any occupation” policy. Here’s the difference.
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Can You Work Part
For many people, returning to work after a serious illness or injury, even on a part-time basis, feels like an important milestone. Your role as a working person or professional is probably an essential part of your identity getting back into the workforce can help you feel like youre on the path to recovery.
Some long-term disability plans do allow people to attempt a return to work, but youll need to review your policys terms and conditions carefully. If youre not careful, returning to the workforce may lead to termination of your benefits. In this article, the disability insurance lawyers at Bryant Legal Group discuss how LTD insurers address part-time and full-time work, and we also explain how you can protect yourself against termination of benefits.
Workers’ Compensation Disability Benefits
After an on-the-job injury, you may receive temporary or permanent disability benefits if you are unable to work. Workers’ compensation laws about working while receiving benefits vary depending on your state. For example, Louisiana forbids you to get another job while receiving WC benefits. However, in Massachusetts if you already have another job, you can continue to work as long as long as your duties do not conflict with your injury and you report the income to your workers’ compensation benefit provider. Contact the claims adjuster managing your case if you have any questions about obtaining or retaining a part-time job.
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When Do Work Hours Matter For Ssdi
If you earn more than $1,260 per month, the SSA considers you to be self-supporting. Hours are not usually what the SSA looks at if youre on SSDI. However, the hours you work might matter if:
- You are self-employed.
- You are the head of a business, such as a Limited Liability Company or corporation.
When you work for yourself, you can work hours without receiving an hourly wage. In that case, the SSA will look at how many hours youve worked, plus your monthly income.
Social Security typically allows up to 45 hours of work per month if youre self-employed and on SSDI. That comes out to around 10 hours per week. The SSA will also see whether or not youre the only person working for your business. You must not be earning SGA, along with not working too many hours.
Working And Earning Money
You can earn up to a certain amount per year without losing your disability benefits. For 2021, this amount is $6,100 . You must contact Canada Pension Plan as soon as you make more than $6,100 .
If you delay in contacting us when you start making over the allowed amount, you might have to pay some money back.
We may be able to help you return to work through the CPP Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program.
Re-starting disability benefits for the same disability
If you return to work but are unable to continue working because of the same or a related disability, you can ask to have the benefit automatically restarted without going through the usual reapplication process.
Examples
Working part-time while on CPP disability
Joseph returned to work on a part time basis in March 2021. He earned $6,170 by June 2021. Joseph must call Service Canada to let them know he has earned $6,100.
Additionally, he needs to tell them:
- the date he returned to work
- the hours he worked per week/month
- his hourly wages
- if the job is full time, part time, seasonal or self employed
Service Canada staff will contact Joseph to see how he is doing.
Working while receiving CPP disability and making less than $6,100 a year
Working while on CPP disability and making more than $6,100 a year
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Examples For Determining If You Can Work Part Time On Disability Benefits
Our job as your disability attorney is to help present the best possible evidence and argument for approving your claim. In many cases, we advise our clients to avoid working while applying for SSDI or Supplemental Income benefits. But, in some cases, we advise that part-time work below the SGA limit is ok. It just depends on the particulars of your claim and your work history.
What Can Happen If I Do Not Report My Earnings From Working
It can be difficult to make ends meet when trying to survive solely on disability benefits. It may be tempting to do a little work on the side and not report the earnings, so you do not lose your disability benefits. This can have serious consequences.
You must report all work and all changes in work. You must include all earnings, including both wages and self-employment. If you continue to accept disability benefits while working and not reporting your income, the SSA may determine it made an overpayment to you for every month in which you worked.
Even if you quit your unreported job, the SSA can withhold future benefit payments until you have paid off the overpayment amount. If the SSA terminates your disability benefits, you may have to repay the entire overpaid amount out of pocket. The SSA can intercept tax refunds and garnish your wages to collect the overpayment.
You might even face Social Security fraud charges. The SSA has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud. Consequences can include having to pay back all overpayments, fines of up to $5,000 for each occurrence, and imprisonment.
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What If Youre Still Not Ready To Go Back To Work
If youre on short-term disability, your benefits will end when your predetermined time period is over or when you return to workwhichever comes first. But what if youve already maxed out your short-term disability benefits and you still cant head back into the office?
Lets return to our example of missing out on work for major back surgery. Your doctor determined that youd need six months to fully recover, and your short-term disability plan approved you for that amount of time.
However, you had some pretty significant complications with your surgery and your recovery. As the end of those six months draw near, its evident that you arent physically capable of sitting at a desk for eight hours each daythis is a problem that will plague you for a lot longer, perhaps even permanently. Now what? Are you just out of luck?
If you have long-term disability benefits, it should be straightforward enough to transition into those benefits if you meet the new definition of disability for your long-term plan. The definition for disability under a long-term plan is typically subtly different than the definition for short-term disability.
Some insurers require new paperwork from the claimant and new medical records before they will begin paying a long-term disability benefit, says McDonald.
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.
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How Resources Impact Your Benefits
Resources are the things you own, like a car or a house, or stocks, bonds, or the money in your bank accounts.
If you get SSI or SSI-related Medicaid, you have to meet the resource limit for these programs . The house you live in or one car you own are not counted as resources . Note: There is no resource limit for SSDI, Medicare, and income-based Medicaid.
Because most people want to be able to save for the future, there are programs that let you build up your resources and wealth to more than the resource limit without losing your benefits.
ABLE accounts, Individual Development Accounts , and Plans to Achieve Self-Support are savings programs that let you put money aside without risking your SSI or Medicaid benefits.
Special Needs Trusts are another way to build up your resources without losing your benefits. And tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit , can help you make the most of your income.
For more details, read DB101s article on Building Your Assets and Wealth.
Understanding The Substantial Gainful Activity Limitations
The short answer is yes. You can work part time while on Social Security Disability. You just have to make sure your income doesnt exceed the limitations for substantial gainful activity, or SGA. The SGA amount is a set maximum monthly wage that helps the Social Security Administration determine whether or not your disability prevents you from earning a living. Essentially, if you exceed this limit, they may think you dont need disability benefits anymore.
While the SGA limit for 2022 is $1,350, SS disability beneficiaries who make a gross income of $970 a month will trigger whats known as a trial work period. Its not impossible to work part-time while receiving Social Security disability benefits, but its important to keep in mind that the rules surrounding disability claims and work activity are extremely complicated. For this reason, the vast majority of people choose not to work while getting benefits, so they can avoid overpayments that can jeopardize their benefits.
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Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme And Rehabilitative Work
Injury Benefit is one of the benefits available under theOccupationalInjuries Scheme. If you are getting Injury Benefit you can do lightvoluntary work. You can also do part-time work which is part of a treatment orcharitable in character without permission. However, if you wish to do other rehabilitative work or atraining course you must get written permission from the DSP before starting. Exemptions allowing a person to work are notnormally granted within the first 26 weeks of Injury Benefit.
Incapacity Supplement is paid to people who are gettingDisablement Pension and who do not qualify for any other disability payments.You can work provided you do not earn more than 33 a week on average.However, if you wish to do other rehabilitative work or a training course youmust get written permission from the DSP before starting. Initial requests foran exemption to do training courses are automatically granted but subsequentrequests are referred to a DSP medical advisor. If you wish to take part in aCommunity Employment Scheme, you cannot retain your Incapacity Supplement butyou can retain your Disablement Benefit.
People getting Disablement Pension can work and do not need permission from the Department.
Can I Work While Applying For Social Security Disability
The short answer is, yes you can.
In order to qualify for Social Security disability, you must have a medical condition or combination of medical conditions that prevent you from doing any and all types of work . The decision to apply for SS disability should only be made after you determine that, because of your physical or mental health, you are unable to work in any full time capacity. If you are working full time or are able to work full time, you will be deemed ineligible for benefits.
However, if you are working only on a part-time basis, you may still be eligible to apply for Social Security benefits. Be aware that there is a cap on how much income you can bring in from employment and remain eligible. If you earn more than what is commonly called the substantial gainful activity limit, generally your application will be denied without any consideration of your medical problems or limitations.
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What Are The Penalties To Your Ssd Benefits
If you are receiving SSI disability benefits and are earning money from a job, the first $85 you earn from your job is not penalized.
Your Waterloo disability lawyer will help you calculate the penalties incurred thereafter, but in general, you will lose $.50 from your SSI payments for every dollar you earn at your job after the $85 deduction.
For instance, if your SSI payment is $500 each month and you earn $300 each month from your job, the SSA will deduct $107.50 from your monthly payment, leaving you with $392.50 in SSI benefits.
If you have questions about the effect of your part-time job on your disability benefits, contact Iowa disability lawyer Hugh Field today at 801-1633 orcontact us online.
Qualified and Accomplished Legal Representation
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Attorney Hugh Field has practiced law for nearly 50 years and is well respected in the legal community.
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We will always put your and your best interests first. Our clients are always our top priority.
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We do what it takes to win and don’t hold anything back. Attorney Field is prepared to fight for you.
Deductions For Impairmentrelated Work Expenses
Whether you are employed by someone else or self-employed, the New Jersey Social Security Administration allows deduction from earnings for what it calls impairmentrelated work expenses, which are payments you make for certain items and services that you need in order to work. These payments are generally for drugs or medical treatment for the disabling impairment but may also include payments for some transportation costs, vehicle modification, attendant care services, residential modification, etc. Such impairment-related work expenses may be deducted from your monthly earnings when determining if the work constitutes substantial gainful activity, even though such items and services are also necessary for normal daily activities.
However, the work expense rules must be reviewed carefully before making a deduction because some expenses you wouldnt expect are included and some expenses that you might expect to qualify are excluded, such as payment for routine drugs. Routine drugs are not deductible unless they are necessary to control the disabling condition so as to enable you to work. Deduction may be made only if the cost is actually paid by you. Thus, if the cost is paid by insurance, it is not deductible and neither is the cost of the medical insurance. Insurance co-pays, however, are deductible.
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