What Happens If You Earn Over the SSDI Limit After Approval?

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Earnings After the Extended Period of Eligibility

Benefits don’t end for everybody at the end of the three-year EPE. If you still meet the SSA’s rules and earn less than SGA, you can remain entitled for benefits. If you can work and earn more than SGA, your SSDI entitlement will most likely be terminated.

Work Expenses and Employer Support Can Reduce Countable Earnings

If you get extra help or support at work or need certain items to work with your condition, the SSA may reduce your countable income. The next two sections explain what may lower your countable earnings before they’re measured against SGA limits.

Impairment-Related Work Expenses

Impairment-related work expenses (IRWEs) are costs for items or services you need to work with your impairment. Transportation to work, special software, medical devices, and expenses for a service animal are examples of IRWEs. 

Expenses must be approved by the SSA. If you’re unsure about an expense related to your condition, talk to a Ticket to Work career counselor. The Ticket to Work program exists to help people receiving disability benefits get jobs, information, and support.  

Subsidies and Special Conditions

SSA also considers whether your wages fully reflect the value of the work performed. An employer may pay more than the actual value of your work if you get extra support. That’s called a subsidy. Extra breaks, assistance, supervision, or reduced job duties are examples of subsidies.

Example: An employee might receive a regular wage while requiring substantially more supervision than other employees performing the same work. The SSA evaluates the circumstances when determining the value of that person’s work.

A special condition is support provided by an entity other than your employer like vocational rehabilitation or a state agency.

Medicare Continues After SSDI Payments Stop Because of Work

After SSDI termination because you can do SGA, you don’t lose Medicare coverage right away. You get Medicare for at least 93 consecutive months after benefits end. If you turn 65 during this time, you get Medicare coverage because of your age. Learn how Medicare works with SSDI.

Expedited Reinstatement After SSDI Ends Because of Work

If your condition flares or returns in the five years after SSDI benefits are terminated because of work and you can’t do SGA again, you can request an expedited reinstatement (EXR). With EXR, you don’t have to reapply for benefits, and you may get temporary benefits while your case is reviewed.

EXR only applies when the condition you originally received SSDI for affects your ability to work again. If you develop a new condition that limits work, you must reapply for disability benefits.

Reporting Work and Understanding Possible Overpayments

When you work and get SSDI, you must report changes in work activity like starting or stopping work, changes in earnings, changes in hours or duties, self-employment activity, and qualifying work expenses or special work conditions when applicable. Keep records to help document your work activity.

Helpful records include:

• Pay stubs, timesheets, and invoices
• Records of changes to your hours, duties, employer, or pay
• Receipts for qualifying impairment-related work expenses
• Documentation of subsidies or special work conditions
• Confirmation that you reported your wages to SSA

Report your work activity to the SSA at the end of each month. Respond to SSA requests for additional work information promptly.

Overpayments

An SSDI overpayment can happen if the SSA decides you received benefits you weren’t entitled to or when you report on time because of administration delays. Even when you report work-related changes promptly, an SSDI overpayment is possible. 

If you were overpaid, the SSA sends a notice of how much you weren’t entitled to and your repayment options. See your repayment options here.

SSDI and SSI Use Different Work Rules

The TWP and EPE discussed in this article are SSDI work incentives. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) uses different income and work rules. SSI is a need-based program for people with limited income and resources who are 65 or older or have a qualifying disability or blindness. 

If you work while receiving SSI, the SSA excludes the first $65 of earned income and half of the amount over $65. Other work incentives, such as qualifying IRWEs, may reduce your countable income further.

If your earnings become too high for an SSI payment, you may still qualify for Medicaid if you continue to have a disability, need Medicaid to work, and your earnings stay below the applicable limit. 

If you receive both SSDI and SSI, the same work income affects each benefit differently.

What to Do If Your Earnings Increased While Receiving SSDI

If your earnings increased, first find out which SSDI work-incentive stage you’re in and which return-to-work rules apply. This tells you which earnings limit applies.

Then compare your monthly earnings with the SSDI work limit that applies to your stage. If you’re unsure which stage or limit applies, contact the SSA or Ticket to Work staff.

Not getting SSDI benefits yet? Advocate can help. Our disability specialists can check your eligibility, help you apply, or help you appeal a denial. We don’t provide medical or legal advice, but we know how to build a strong disability claim.