Can I get Social Security disability without losing income?
I was recently asked the following question:
I need my job to survive. I can’t quit. I have some vacation days and sick time, but it is not enough to go without pay until they tell me I qualified.
How do I still work and file for SS Disability without loosing any income?
I have previously discussed working while applying for disability benefits. However, this question presents some new issues. Generally, I consider transferring from work to Social Security disability with no loss of income as an unrealistic goal. Here is why:
The processing time on an initial claim is about 4-6 months (in Colorado).
The test of disability under Social Security is an inability to perform work (at a substantial gainful activity level). So, working at SGA, after considering the exceptions) is a problem. Note: if an individual works below SGA level, it would not be a bar to receiving disability benefits. However, any work is still be an issue.
Social Security requires that a disability be expected to last 12 months or longer. This is the “durational requirement.” While Social Security does not require that a person is out of work (or working below the SGA level) for 12 months, Social Security can deny cases if it feels that while a person is currently disabled, but is unlikely to remain disabled for 12 months.
There is also the 5 month waiting period (on SSDI claims), during which SSA withholds the first 5 months of benefits. If the alleged onset date is the last date an individual worked, Social Security would still keep the first 5 months of benefits. So, even if an individual is approved within 30 days of applying, there may still be a waiting period in which no benefits are paid. Note: this only applies in SSDI case (there is no waiting period in SSI cases). However, SSI cases do not pay benefits before the filing date.
If you have read all that and digested the information in the links, you have a pretty good idea of what you are up against.
Social Security Hearings: Competitive and Non-Competitive Work
What does it mean if the Administrative Law Judge or Vocational Expert mentions “non-competitive work” during a Social Security disability hearing?
“Non-competitive” refers to types of work:
Competitive work is, well, just regular work; with no set-asides, no accommodations beyond the norm.
Work that is performed under special circumstances or that is set aside for disabled individuals (for example: work through Goodwill Industries) is typically viewed as “non-competitive.”
SSR 05-02 (a Social Security Ruling) provides guidance about what constitutes “work under special condition.”
How much can I earn and keep my SSI?
This is a particularly tough question. I previously wrote about how earning more than the Substantial Gainful Activity amount may cause your benefits to be stopped in Social Security Disability Insurance cases.
In SSI cases, I just learned that you can earn more than the SGA amount and still keep your SSI benefits.
WARNING: I do not pretend to be a understand SSI benefits calculations. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to check this information with Social Security. Also, any Social Security technicians are more than welcome correct any errors I may make here.
To figure out how much you can …
How Social Security reviews cases: the 5 step sequential evaluation process
I have written about how Social Security defines disability, work, and a substantial gainful activity.
But, how does Social Security really evaluate a case?
Social Security reviews cases using the five-step sequential evaluation process to decide is a person is disabled. Here are the 5 questions that make up the sequential evaluation process:
Does your impairment keep you from being able to perform a substantial gainful activity (SGA), generally full-time, competitive, work?
Is your impairment severe? AND, is your impairment expected to remain severe for at least 12 months?
Does your impairment “meet or equal” one of Social Security’s “Listing of Impairments?” A listing of medical conditions, acceptable medical evidence, and the severity necessary for an impairment to be considered disabling. There are separate listings for adults and for children.
Does your impairment prevents you from being able to perform any job you performed over the last 15 years which was also a substantial gainful activity?
Does your impairment prevent you from being able to perform any other type of work which exists in substantial numbers of the national economy?
Let’s take these one at a time:
How do unemployment benefits affect a Social Security disability claim?
How do unemployment insurance benefits affect a claim for Social Security disability benefits?
Receiving unemployment benefits can be a problem if you have a claim for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) because you are making two inconsistent statements:
To get unemployment benefits, you are claiming that you are able to work, but you cannot find a job.
But, to get Social Security disability benefits, you are claiming that you cannot perform any type of work at a …
Can I work and still receive Social Security disability or SSI benefits?
Updated 01/04/12.
Can a person work and still receive Social Security disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits?
The answer is a qualified “yes.”
Social Security wants people to try to go back to work. But, the regulations surrounding keeping your benefits while you try to go back to work make it tricky.
Are you engaged in a Substantial Gainful Activity?
Generally speaking, the test of disability is whether you can perform a substantial gainful activity (SGA)? That is, are your monthly gross earnings (income before taxes and deduction) equal to, or greater than the Substantial Gainful Activity amounts set by Social Security.
In 2012, if you are making at least $1,010 per month, before taxes, your work is a substantial gainful activity. To see the current SGA amount, or SGA amount for other years, click here.
So, if I my gross income is the SGA amount, or more, I have a problem,
But, if my monthly gross income is less than SGA, Social Security will leave me alone.
That is generally correct and it is a good rule of thumb.
However, and this is a big however, this is not the end of the analysis. There are exceptions to allow your benefits to continue if you are earning more than SGA and exceptions that might stop your benefits even if you are earning less than SGA.
If you are receiving Supplemental Security Income, you can earn more than the SGA amount and still receive your SSI benefits. But, that is an article in itself.
Trial work period and Social Security disability benefits
Social Security encourages you to try to go back to work to see if you can do it. A Trial Work Period (TWP) lets you work and still be considered disabled by Social Security.
A beneficiary receiving Social Security disability benefits may test his or her ability to work and still be considered disabled. We do not consider services performed during the trial work period as showing that the disability has ended until services have been performed in at least 9 months (not necessarily consecutive) in a rolling 60-month period.
To sum up, a Trial Work Period lets you work and still be considered disabled by Social Security. Not only that, but Social Security does not count all the months you work, just the ones where you earn more than a threshold Trial Work Period amount:
2012 - $720 per month.
2011 - $720 per month.
2010 - $720 per month.
2009 - $700 per month.
2008 - $690 per month.
2007 - $630 per month.
Should I work while waiting for my Social Security hearing?
The long wait for a Social Security hearing is a massive financial drain for most people. With no money coming in, or just minimal state aid, a lot of people wonder how to pay for rent, utilities, and groceries.
A number of my clients have asked me if they can try to get a job.
Attorney Jonathan Ginsberg tackles this common question:
Social Security vocational expert voodoo
I was recently asked the following:
I had my hearing today. The judge had a vocational rep come in to testify. He said I had two job options.
… I live in a small town that probably does not offer the two jobs the vocational expert said I could do.
Can the judge deny me for being able to do jobs that don’t exist in my town?
First, keep in mind that the Vocational Expert testifies about two things:
Job Titles. These are the kinds of jobs you can still perform despite your limitations. Examples of jobs the vocational expert may cite are: call out operator, surveillance systems monitor, information clerk, cashier, stocker, etc.
Incidence of jobs. This is the number of jobs for each job title.
Second, Social Security considers jobs on a national and regional level. The region is the state a person lives in.
If there are a significant number of jobs which you can still do at a substantial gainful activity level in the regional economy, then you can be denied.
Social Security disability: what if your doctor does not believe in you?
Your doctor’s opinion of your disability is critical evidence in your Social Security disability case. If your doctor does not believe in you, you and your lawyer are facing an uphill battle.
Chances are, Social Security either sent you to one of their doctors for a consultative examination, or had your medical records reviewed by a Social Security doctor. If Social Security denied your claim, their doctors probably did not think you were disabled.
So, here is the problem: if the Social Security doctor says you are not disabled and your doctor does not believe in your disability, you may not have the evidence you need to prove your …
What if I am earning more than the Substantial Gainful Activity amount?
A number of people responded to my prior post about “substantial gainful activity” amounts. To briefly review: the general rule is that you cannot earn more than the substantial gainful activity amounts to be found disabled.
What do I do if I am earning more than the substantial gainful activity amount? Does than mean I cannot get Social Security disability benefits?!?
Not necessarily. Earnings above SGA amounts are an important factor. But, there are exceptions (including sheltered work, subsidies, unsuccessful work attempts, impairment related work expenses, and trial work periods) that may allow …
Does Social Security consider all work a Substantial Gainful Activity?
Social Security defines disability as the inability to engage in a “substantial gainful activity” (SGA).
A simplified way of putting this is to say that in order to be found disabled, you have to show that you are unable to work. BUT, this can be misleading. Not all work qualifies as a substantial gainful activity.
So, how do you know if your work is a substantial gainful activity?
The easiest test is earnings.
In 2012, if your gross earnings, that is, before taxes or any other deductions, are $1,010 or more per month as an employee, that is probably a substantial gainful activity. Keep in mind that the …
How Social Security considers your ability to work in a disability case
Under Social Security regulations, disability is the inability to engage in a “substantial gainful activity.” This means that to win a Social Security disability case, you have to show that your impairments prevent you from being able to work.
More specifically, you have to show that you are unable to perform the duties of any work you have performed over the past 15 years AND that you are unable to perform the duties of any other work that exists in substantial numbers in the national economy. Note: these are steps 4 and 5 of the …
Social Security basics: what is a “disability?”
In order to qualify for disability benefits under Social Security you have to be found disabled.
Well, thank you Captain Obvious.
Ok. But, what does it mean to be disabled? Is it enough to have a medical impairment? Is the diagnosis, itself, enough?
In short, no. Under Social Security regulations, it is not enough to have a medical condition. Your impairment(s) have to be severe enough to prevent you from being able to engage in a “Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA).” In most cases, a Substantial Gainful Activity translates to full-time, competitive, employment.
The touchstone of a …
