When making money while receiving Social Security Disability Insurance, keep in mind not all money is considered equal. The source of your income is as important as the amount of income when determining if you're making too much money to receive SSDI.
SSDI is designed to help people who have a disability that's so severe they can no longer be gainfully employed. While accepting SSDI, you can work part-time and still receive partial SSDI benefits as long as your income doesn't exceed $1,010 ($1,690 if you are blind) per month.
The Social Security Administration also has a program called Ticket to Work (TWP) that allows you to work part-time on a trial run for nine months without impact to your benefits, as long as you remain disabled and are earning more than $720 in the trial month period.
After your TWP trial period, you can continue to work and receive partial benefits for up to three years as long as your earnings don't exceed $1,010 ($1,690 if you are blind) per month.
Monies received from outside sources may or may not reduce your monthly benefits, depending on where they come from. Receiving money from private sources will usually not impact your SSDI benefits. Some examples of private sources include: insurance benefits, private pensions and personal injury settlements.
Benefits received from public sources can alter your monthly benefits. One common example is workers' compensation from any government agencies, employers, or insurance companies that your employer uses.
Other public sources include payments from a state, federal, or local government that cover non-work-related medical disabilities.
The following public benefits don't affect SSDI: Veteran’s Administration benefits; state and local government benefits where Social Security taxes were deducted from your earnings; and Supplemental Security Income (although outside money sources can impact those SSI benefits).
If you're receiving monies that will affect your monthly benefits, the SSA has a formula to determine your reduction. All applicable incomes, including your personal SSDI benefits and any benefits payable to family members are added together. If this total is greater than 80% of your average current earnings (as determined by the Social Security Administration) the difference will be deducted from your monthly benefits.
So while it's possible to make too much money to receive SSDI benefits, the amount varies from person to person.
If you've applied for SSDI and been denied, sometimes the SSA could say you're making too much money for SSDI. In that case, it's wise to get a qualified SSDI attorney to put together a strong appeal.
Call us today at 816-842-7100 to speak with an attorney that will fight to get you the compensation you deserve. Or you can click here to email us and schedule your free consultation.