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To Questions About Your Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income Benefits

How Does Returning To Work Affect Your SSD Benefits?

Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits are a financial lifeline for those unable to work due to a disability. However, not all disabilities are permanent. If your condition has improved, and you’d like to try returning to work, there are a few things to keep in mind. You don’t want to risk losing your benefits prematurely.

At Shawn Taylor, PLLC, a disability law firm in Charleston, we can help you navigate the decision to return to work and walk you through how it may affect your SSD benefits. Our lawyer, Shawn Taylor, is intimately familiar with all the nuances of SSD law. He can help you make the right choice for your situation.

SSD Work Incentives

The Social Security Administration offers incentives that allow people to explore working without the risk of losing their benefits. These incentives include:

Trial Work Period

The Trial Work Period (TWP) is essential for individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. It allows beneficiaries to work for up to nine months over five years without jeopardizing their benefits. The nine months do not have to be consecutive, giving beneficiaries the flexibility to test their ability to return to work while maintaining financial security. During the TWP, you can earn any income without impacting your benefits. You can work for nine months during each five-year period that you’re on benefits without losing those benefits. You can stagger the nine months.

Extended Period Of Eligibility

Following the TWP, beneficiaries enter an Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) lasting 36 months. During this time, SSDI benefits continue in any month where the beneficiary’s earnings fall below a defined threshold, often referred to as Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). If earnings exceed the SGA level, benefits will cease, but the EPE helps to ensure that should earnings drop below this level, benefits are automatically reinstated without a new application. Once the trial work period is over, you’re entitled to a three-year period where you remain eligible for benefits during each month when your income is below a certain limit.

Expedited Reinstatement Of Benefits

The Expedited Reinstatement (EXR) provision provides an additional five-year period after the EPE, during which former beneficiaries can quickly regain SSDI benefits if they cannot maintain sufficient income. If an individual’s earnings drop below the SGA level or they can no longer work due to their disability, they can request to have their benefits reinstated without having to reapply from scratch. It’s also important to note that SSD rules allow recipients to work and receive benefits so long as their income is below a certain limit. If your earnings don’t amount to “substantial gainful activity,” they won’t impact your benefits.

Ticket To Work Program

The Social Security Administration also offers a free career development program for SSD recipients. Through the program, you can access vocational rehabilitation services, get help finding a job, and pursue job training and educational opportunities.

The Ticket to Work Program is available to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients between 18 and 64 years old. Participants who would benefit most from the program are:

People interested in improving their skills, gaining education or getting vocational training
Those looking for job placement assistance or help navigating the job market
Individuals who want to transition from relying on SSDI or SSI benefits to achieving financial stability through employment

The Ticket to Work Program is voluntary and free, allowing recipients to participate at their own pace. This program aims to help SSDI and SSI beneficiaries become financially independent by supporting their efforts to gain and retain employment.

It provides participants with essential services, including career counseling, job placement and skills training, designed to empower individuals to enter or re-enter the workforce.

Find Out More About Returning To Work

SSD benefits don’t have to keep you sidelined from working. If you have questions about returning to work, talk to West Virginia attorney Shawn Taylor about your options. Call 304-932-4619 or send our firm an email to learn more during a free 30-minute consultation. We serve clients in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.