Can I work while receiving SSA or SSI benefits?
If you are getting disability benefits. Social Security’s work incentives
program can help you if you are interested in working. Special rules make it
possible for people receiving Social Security disability benefits or
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to work and still receive monthly payments
until they can work on a regular basis.
And, if you cannot continue working because of your medical condition, your
benefits can start again—you may not have to file a new application.
Work incentives include:
Continued cash benefits for a time while you work;
Continued Medicare or Medicaid while you work; and
Help with education, training and rehabilitation to start a new line of work.
The rules are different under Social Security and SSI.
Trial work period—The trial work period allows you to test your ability
to work for at least nine months. During your trial work period you will receive
your full Social Security benefits regardless of how much you are earning. The
trial work period continues until you have worked nine months within a 60-month
period.
Extended period of eligibility—After your
trial work period, you have 36 months during which you can work and still
receive benefits for any month your earnings are not “substantial.” In 2005,
earnings of $830 or more ($1,380 if you are blind) are considered substantial.
No new application or disability decision is needed for you to receive a Social
Security disability benefit during this period.
Quick benefit restart—After your benefits
stop because your earnings are substantial, you have five years during which you
may ask SSA to start your benefits immediately if you find yourself unable to
continue working because of your condition. You will not have to file a new
disability application and you will not have to wait for your benefits to start
while your medical condition is being reviewed to make sure you are still
disabled.
Continuation of Medicare—If your Social Security disability benefits stop
because of your earnings, but you are still disabled, your free Medicare Part A
coverage will continue for at least 8½ years after the nine-month trial work
period. After that, you can buy Medicare Part A coverage by paying a monthly
premium.
Work expenses related to your disability—If you work, you may have to pay for
certain items and services that people without disabilities do not pay for. For
example, because of your medical condition, you may need to take a taxi to work
instead of public transportation. SSA may be able to deduct the cost of the taxi
from your monthly earnings before SSA determine if you are still eligible for
benefits.
How your earnings affect your Social Security benefits
During the trial work period, there are no limits on your earnings. During
the 36-month extended period of eligibility you usually can make no more than
$830 a month or your benefits will stop. But, the work expenses you have as a
result of your disability are deducted when SSA count your earnings to see if
they can help you keep more of your benefits. If you have extra work expenses,
your earnings could be substantially higher than $830 before they affect your
benefits. This substantial earnings amount usually increases each year.
SSA deducts work expenses related to your disability from your earnings before
SSA determine if you are still eligible for benefits. These expenses may include
the cost of any item or service you need to work, even if the item or service
also is useful to you in your daily living. Examples include prescription drugs,
transportation to and from work (under certain conditions), a personal attendant
or job coach, a wheelchair or any specialized work equipment.
If you lose your job
If you lose your job during a trial work period, your benefits are not affected.
If you lose your job during the 36-month extended period of eligibility, call
SSA and your benefits will be reinstated as long as you are still disabled.
Special rules for workers who are blind
If you are a blind person and you work while receiving your Social Security
benefits, there are special rules.
You can earn up to $1,380 a month in 2005 before your earnings may affect your
benefits.
If you earn too much to receive disability benefits, you are still eligible for
a disability “freeze.” This means that SSA will not count those years in which
you had little or no earnings because of your disability in figuring your future
benefits.
This can help you because your benefits are based on your highest earnings over
your work life.
SSI work incentives
Continuation of SSI—SSI payments are made to people with disabilities who have
little income or resources. If you work despite your disability, you may
continue to receive payments until your earnings, added with any other income,
exceed the SSI income limits. This limit is different in every state. Even if
your SSI payments stop, your Medicaid coverage usually will continue if your
earnings are less than your state level.
Quick benefit restart—If SSA stopped your payments because of your earnings and
you become unable to work again because of your medical condition, you may ask
SSA to start your payments again. You will not have to file a new disability
application if you make this request within five years after the month your
benefits stopped.
Work expenses related to your disability—As with disability under Social
Security, if you work, you may have to pay for certain items and services that
people without disabilities do not pay for. For example, because of your medical
condition, you may need to take a taxi to work, instead of public
transportation. SSA may be able to deduct the cost of the taxi from your monthly
earnings before SSA determine if you are still eligible for benefits.
Plan for achieving self-support—If you develop a plan for a work goal that will
help you leave the SSI rolls, any money you use for this purpose will not be
counted when SSA figure out how your current income and resources affect your
payment amount. Students with disabilities—SSA do not count up to $1,140 of your
earnings a month in 2005 (maximum of $5,670 for 2005) when SSA compute your SSI
payment amount if you:
Are under age 22;
Are not married;
Are not the head of your own household; and
Go to school or are in a training program on a regular basis.
How your earnings affect your SSI payments
The amount of your SSI payments is based on how much other income you have. When
your other income goes up, your SSI payments usually go down. So when you earn
more than the SSI limit, your payments will stop for those months. But, your
payments will automatically start again for any month your income drops to less
than the SSI limits. Just tell SSA if your earnings are reduced, or if you stop
working.
If your only income besides SSI is the money you make from your job, then SSA do
not count the first $85 of your monthly earnings. SSA deduct from your SSI
payments 50 cents of every dollar you earn after the $85 deduction.
Example: You work and earn $1,000 in December. You receive no other income
besides your earnings and your SSI. SSA would deduct $457.50 from your SSI
payment for December.
$1,000
-$85
$915 divided by 2 = $457.50
You may be eligible for a “plan for achieving self-support” which allows you to
use money and resources for a specific work goal. These funds do not count when
SSA figure out how your current income and resources affect your benefit amount.
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How long your Medicaid will continue
In general, your Medicaid coverage will continue, even after your SSI
payments stop, until your income reaches a certain level. That level varies with
each state and reflects the cost of health care in your state. (SSA can tell you
the Medicaid level for your state.) However, if your health care costs are
higher than this level, you can have more income and keep your Medicaid. In most
states, for your Medicaid to continue, you must:
Need it in order to work;
Be unable to afford similar medical coverage without SSI;
Continue to have a disabling condition; and
Meet all other SSI eligibility requirements.
If you qualify for Medicaid under these rules, SSA will review your case from
time to time to see if you are still disabled or blind and still earn less than
your state’s allowable level.
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Your Ticket to Work
With the Ticket to Work program, SSA send you a “ticket” you can use to
obtain vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals and other employment
support services free of charge. You will not need to undergo medical reviews
while you are using the ticket. You can get more information on the Ticket to
Work program by calling Maximus, Inc., the ticket program manager, at
1-866-968-7842 toll-free (TTY 1-866-833-2967). Or you can call our toll-free
number, 1-800-772-1213 (TTY number 1-800-325-0778) and ask for a copy of Your
Ticket To Work (Publication No. 05-10061).