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I am receiving disability benefits, but want to try going back to work – will I lose my Social Security Disability benefits?
Sometimes our clients want to try to return to work, but are fearful that they will lose their disability benefits and have to go through the long, tedious application process all over again. Because SSA wants to help disabled people to return to gainful employment, it offers incentives for people receiving disability benefits to test out their ability to return to work without risking the loss of their hard-earned benefits.
One such incentive is known as the “trial work period,” or TWP. Under Social Security’s regulations, you continue to receive your full disability benefits and Medicare during your nine-month TWP. After you have worked for 9 months within a 60-month period, your trial work period will end, and you will not receive a benefit thereafter for any month in which you earn more than the applicable SGA amount. Social Security sets a threshold amount of earnings known as the “TWP services amount” ($700 per month for 2009; $720 per month in 2010). Any month in which you earn over the TWP amount will be counted towards your nine-month TWP. You only get one TWP, so it is important to use it when you are fairly confident that you will be able to return to work. In addition, it is important to note that the TWP months do not have to be consecutive to in order to “use up” your TWP.
Another incentive comes into play after your TWP ends, however. For 36 months after the end of your TWP, you are eligible for what is known as your Extended Period of Eligibility (“EPE”). During the EPE, which lasts for 36 months, you will receive disability benefits for any month you earn less than the “substantial gainful activity” amount (which is $980 for 2009, and $1,000 for 2010) without having to file a new application.
Even after your benefits cease after your EPE end, you still won’t necessarily have to “start from scratch” if stop working (or your income drops below SGA level) because of your disability. In this situation, you can apply for “Expedited Reinstatement” if you apply during the 60-month period after your benefits cease.