Social Security disabled and want to work?

Question

I am currently on Social Security....Disability. I know that I am allowed to make up to $900 a month and still receive benefits but......I have a chance to work 10 hours a week....not substantial activity and no where near the $900 a month limit. I would like people who are currently on SSDI and working to let me know if this at ANY way will make SS investigate me and forfeit my benefits? I am not even sure I can do the job but would like to try. I know SS encourages people to work....but do not want to chance losing my benefits. I need reassurance from people who have done this with no problem.....or any SSDI experts.....thank you in advance.

Answer 1

I do it all the time. SS never has a problem with it. Heck they encourage it.

Been doing it for 10 years.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

First, Social Security is Government Insurance, just like any other Insurance Company. They can & Have cut benefits from people who went back to work. What you need to do First, is talk to a Lawyer who specializes in SSI & SSDI cases. There are Rules to this Game, & you have to play by their Rules. Second, they have programs where you can Lock into your Benefits, if you find that you can't do the work, then your Benefits will resume. They also have many different Programs to retrain you to go back to work. They will even pay for you to go to school to learn a new line of work if you can't do any heavy manual labor anymore.
Please, for your safety, do what I suggested in the above paragraph First, before you take what somebody else say's that they have or haven't been doing. Social Security is coming down hard on people who are Commiting Fruad.
As for your $900 limit, yes you can. Anything over that limit they start deducting a dollar per dollar. You are in a position to better yourself. If I were you, I would be taking full advantage of all the Benefits that are available to further your Future Career. Don't be in a rush to go back to work unless it is a Job that will make you a Productive Member of Society.

Answer 4

There is what is called a trial work period. It is 9 months. (not in a row- 9 months total) You can go over your $900 a month for 9 months and nothing happens to your benefits. SS wants you to work. They want you to get off benefits. But they also don't want you on and off and on and off. That costs them money too.

The next 3 months you are no longer considered on trial work, but it is a grace period to get yourself together before they cut your check.

Just because they cut your check, does not mean you lose Medicare. That can continue another 18 months.

10 hours a week! Go for it. What you get make in enhanced self-esteem will be far more than the money you make.

Answer 5

Son don't take SSA word for anything. Be very careful. I am deaf. I have too many friends who have done what they thought would improve their life, make SSA proud of them, and followed every rule exactly they thought and are now being sued for over payments. The problem is the SSA doesn't even run itself. One worker says one thing, the next another. One worker is friendly, and the next rude and abrupt. With deaf they will say you don't need an interpreter for a routine meeting. Then five years later they will find a mistake based on communication and it is never their fault. Always the deaf persons. They are not really there to help us in fifty percent of the cases of employees. They are a big, heartless, government agency with fifty percent of the staff professional bureaucrats trying to get ahead by destroying disabled persons lives.

Answer 6

It seems to me as if you've got a good thing going, don't mess it up. If I was on the SS Board, & someone began to work, only a little, I would drop his benefits by a little; as he worked more, I would drop it even more; then, if he was to lose that job & couldnot get another one, TOUGH; for I would know that he was still abled to get some other kind of a job, & would NOT raise his benefits.

Answer 7

Okay--here's the general rules--and how to make sure you don't trip over soething:

First: good news--don't worry. Read the following and you will not put your benefits at risk.

a) as long as you don't make over that $900 in a month (thaat is PER MONTH, NOT ANAVERAGE) nothing happens to your eligibility.
b) if you start making over $900 a month, even if it is not every month--you can do this for up to 9 months (total, they don't have to be consecutive months) and still nothing happens.
C)However, if you hthen go over the limit--the "clock starts running." After three more months of earning over the limit, your benefits would stop--but can be restarted later if your income falls.

NOw--here's what you need to do:

You are supposed to keep the Social Security Administration informed of your work activities. To do this, go to ssa.gov and get the contact number (it's toll-free) and call them up. Tell them what you are planning and ask them to advise you, send any brochoures they have,etc. You may also want to make an appointment with one of their counsellors to discuss your plans and make sure you are not skipping any rules or requirements. The information people at that toll-free number can tell you how to do this.

As long as you follow theabove guidelines (plus anything else they tell you) you are safe. They can--and normally will--review your case from time to time-but they cannot cut off your benefits as long as your income does not exceed the limits I listed and you follow the rules. In fact, Social Security has a number of programs and options to assist you in working--you may turn out to be eligible for some of them--so get alll the information you can and ask lots of questions.

So--relax! You're safe--go for it! :)

Answer 8

The only red flag that might get their attention is your savings. I know with SSI the maximum you can save is 2000. give them a call and ask what the cap is. the issue with saving money brings into question why then you have need but if SSDI is based on eligibility, there probably isn't a cap - if it's based on need - there will be.

Answer 9

You are right in that you already stated and know you salary cap. When you exceed your cap of $900.00 they will start taking from your monthly SSDI income. Since you will fall way below that number you are safe. I was working a job recently and was doing 11 hours a week and was not harassed or invesstigated.....

Answer 10

I agree with the other poster. Please check with the right people on something such as this. It would be awful if you lost your benefits. The Social Security office will answer all your questions. They are not out to get us, they want to help us. You can even talk to them over the phone.