You can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI):

• Online (which starts the application process immediately instead of having to wait for an appointment)
• By calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) to make an appointment to apply either:
  • Over the phone, or
  • In person at your local Social Security office.

You can apply online yourself, but if you want someone to guide you through the process, make an appointment with Social Security.

Getting Your Application Ready

Get your information ready for the SSDI application:

• Names, addresses, and phone numbers of doctors, therapists, hospitals, clinics, and others who have treated you
• Prescriptions and results of medical tests
• Copies of medical records
• Your Social Security Number and the Social Security Numbers of your spouse and any children under the age of 18
• A certified copy of your birth certificate
• Proof of U.S. citizenship or of legal residency, if you were born outside the U.S., like naturalization papers, your U.S. passport, or your green card
• A certified copy of your military discharge papers (Form DD 214), if you were in the military
  • Tip: If you are a veteran, let Social Security know. Social Security may review your application faster.
• Copies of recent tax records or W-2 forms
• Information on any Workers’ Compensation you’ve gotten
• A list of the jobs you've done for the past 5 years

Social Security provides a detailed checklist of the information you need to complete the application process.

Other Benefits

It takes a while for your SSDI application to be reviewed and, if you qualify, benefits don’t begin until five months after your disability began. If you are approved, you start getting monthly payments, but have to wait another two years before you automatically start getting Medicare health coverage.

While you are waiting for Social Security to review your application and then for Medicare to begin, see what else might help you. At first, try to use your job's sick pay or vacation pay and see if your company has a private short-term or long-term disability insurance plan. Most jobs in California also qualify for State Disability Insurance (SDI), a state program that gives a cash benefit for one year or less to Californians with disabilities who worked before becoming disabled. Learn more about it and how to apply in DB101's California State Disability (SDI) article.

Then, you can apply for other benefits, including:

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a monthly payment for people with disabilities who have low income and low resources. Learn more in DB101’s SSI article.
• Medi-Cal, free health coverage for people with low to moderate income. Learn more in DB101’s Medi-Cal article.
• CalFresh, a monthly cash benefit for people with low income that helps pay for food. Learn more about CalFresh.
• CalWORKs, a monthly cash benefit for families with children that also helps parents find work. Learn more in DB101's CalWORKs article.
• Emergency cash assistance and housing, if you need them.

You can apply for these benefits:

• Online using BenefitsCal.
• In person at your local county social services agency.

If you served in the military and are a veteran, you may also qualify for VA Disability Compensation or VA Pension benefits.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) may take six months or more to decide if you have a disability and should get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Once they've decided, they will send you a disability determination notice, which is a letter that says whether they approved or denied your application.

This letter can be confusing. If you have questions, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) or contact Disability Rights California.

If you disagree with Social Security’s decision, you can file an appeal.

If You Are Approved for SSDI

If you are approved for SSDI:

• SSDI benefits start at least five full months after your disability began. This is called the waiting period.
  • Note: If you are approved for SSDI more than five months after your disability began, you may get a retroactive payment for the months since the five-month waiting period ended. Example: You are approved for SSDI eight months after your disability began, so you get a one-time payment that covers your SSDI benefits for the last three months (since the fifth month after your disability began).
  • Note: There is no waiting period for Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB).
• The amount you get depends on your Social Security earnings record. Generally, the more you worked and paid in Social Security taxes, the more you get in SSDI benefits. For CDB, the amount is based on a parent's work record and for Disabled Widow(er) benefits, it's based on the spouse's work record.
• Your SSDI benefits go into your bank account automatically each month. If you don’t have a bank account, you can get your SSDI benefits put onto a Direct Express debit card that you can use to buy things.
• Your children under age 19 may also qualify to get benefits based on your work record in any month you get SSDI benefits. Your spouse may also get benefits if age 62 or older or if caring for a child under 16. It doesn't matter whether they have disabilities. Learn more about these benefits.
• Medicare health coverage automatically starts after you get SSDI, CDB, or Disabled Widow(er) benefits for two years (24 months). Learn more in DB101's Medicare article.
  • Note: While you are waiting for Medicare coverage to begin, you need other health coverage. One option is Medi-Cal. Learn more in DB101’s Medi-Cal article.

If You Are Denied SSDI Benefits

You may be denied benefits if Social Security says you are not insured or you do not have a disability. If you are not insured, you may still qualify for another Social Security benefit for people with disabilities called Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Learn more in DB101’s SSI article.

Filing an Appeal

If you feel that Social Security's decision is incorrect, you can file an appeal:

• File your appeal quickly. After you get a denial letter, you have 60 days to file an appeal. If you don’t appeal within 60 days, you may not be able to appeal.
  • If you were already getting SSDI and are appealing an overpayment notice, appeal within 30 days to avoid having your benefits withheld while your appeal is reviewed.
  • Note: Social Security figures that you get a letter within five days after they sent it.
• If you are denied SSDI benefits for medical reasons, you can file your appeal online or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) and ask them to send you an appeal form. If you file online, you need to mail or deliver any new information to Social Security about your medical condition, including updates on any treatment, tests, or doctor visits.
• If you are denied SSDI benefits for nonmedical reasons, you can request a review from your local Social Security office or by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or 1-800-325-0778 (TTY).

File an appeal as quickly as possible. Once you file your appeal, it may take months to resolve.

Note: If your application for SSDI benefits is denied and you disagree with the decision, file an appeal. Do not just fill out the application forms again — that would be refiling.

For Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), you must tell Social Security right away if:

• You start or stop work
• You reported your work, but your duties, hours, or pay change; or
• You start paying expenses for work because of your disability.

You also need to let Social Security know if your address changes, if you get any other disability benefits, such as Workers’ Compensation, or if you use any SSDI deductions when figuring out your income. If you don’t report your earnings, you may have to pay back the SSDI benefits you get to Social Security.

To report changes, contact your local Social Security office and ask how and when you should report your earnings. You may be able to report:

• By phone, mail, or in person at your local Social Security office, or
• With the my Social Security online reporting tool.

Note: If you get both SSDI and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, you must report your income to SSDI and SSI separately. Learn more about SSI income reporting in DB101's SSI article.

Social Security Reviews

Social Security does two different types of Continuing Disability Review (CDR) to make sure you still qualify for SSDI benefits:

• A work CDR means Social Security looks at your earnings history. They check things like whether you have earned more than the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level and whether you have documented work incentives, such as IRWEs. Keep records of your work, such as pay stubs, for five or more years, in case Social Security asks to see them.
  • Social Security usually does a work CDR when your earnings go above the Trial Work level, go above the SGA level, or drop below the SGA level.
• A medical CDR means Social Security looks at your medical condition to make sure you still have a disability. You may need to give them medical records or other information.
  • If you have been getting SSDI benefits for two years or more, Social Security will not do a medical CDR just because you work.
  • For as long as you get services from the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) or are actively working with an Employment Network (EN) and making timely progress in the Ticket to Work Program, Social Security will not do a medical CDR.
  • Social Security Section 301 rules mean that if you have been in a work-related program, you might keep getting benefits even if a medical CDR says you no longer have a disability. Work-related programs may include Ticket to Work, VR, agencies that use individualized plans for employment, Plans to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Learn more about Section 301.

Respond right away and do what Social Security asks you to do, otherwise your SSDI payments could stop. If you have trouble filling out a form or getting documentation, ask for help at your local Social Security office or talk to a benefits planner.

Overpayments

If Social Security decides they paid you more than they should have, they’ll send you a letter telling you they’ve made an overpayment and explaining how much money you must pay back.

Deal with an overpayment notice right away. The overpayment letter asks for the money to be returned within 30 days, but Social Security will work out a monthly payment plan with you if you ask. Contact Social Security immediately to talk about your options.

If you think an overpayment wasn’t your fault and you can’t pay it back because you need the money to pay for living expenses, you can ask for a waiver of the overpayment. If Social Security gives you a waiver, you won’t have to repay the overpayment. To get the form you need to ask for a waiver, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or 1-800-325-0778 (TTY) and ask for Form SSA-632.

When you apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Social Security does two tests that look at your work history. If you pass both tests, you are insured by the program. If you do not pass either one of these tests, you are not insured and do not qualify for SSDI, even if you have a disability.

If you are insured and Social Security also says you have a disability, you may qualify for SSDI benefits.The amount you get each month depends on your work history.

Note About CDB for Adults Whose Disabilities Began Before Age 22:

If you are an adult and you have a disability that began before you turned 22, you may be able to get a Social Security benefit called Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB), even if you haven't worked.

To qualify for CDB, one of your parents must:

• Be getting SSDI benefits or Social Security retirement benefits, or
• Have died and worked long enough to qualify you for CDB.

For CDB, you must be 18 years old or older and you must have a disability. Social Security does the same disability determination for CDB that it does for SSDI. As with SSDI, Medicare health coverage begins two years after you start getting CDB benefits.

Learn more about CDB.

Work History Test 1: Have You Worked Recently?

This is also called the Recent Work Test. You need to have worked enough during the last several years and paid Social Security taxes to pass this test. Here’s how it works:

If you don’t pass the Recent Work Test, you are not insured and do not qualify for SSDI benefits.

Work History Test 2: How Long Have You Worked?

This is also called the Duration of Work Test. You need to have worked and paid Social Security taxes a certain number of years during your entire lifetime to pass this test. Here’s how it works:

Note: If you have worked in another country, Social Security may count those years of work. Read more about “totalization” benefits.

Note: If you have served in the military, how your work is counted depends on when you served. Learn more about military service and Social Security.

If you don’t pass the Duration of Work Test, you are not insured and do not qualify for SSDI.

If you pass both work tests and have a disability, you may qualify for SSDI benefits.

In addition to checking whether you are insured, Social Security checks whether you have a disability that meets their criteria. To figure this out, Social Security looks at everything you submit with your SSDI application and follows a five-step process.

If you are insured and Social Security says you have a disability, you may qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits.

Step 1: Are You Working at a Level of Substantial Gainful Activity?

If you are working and your monthly earnings before taxes are taken out are higher than the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level, you don't have a disability according to Social Security and don't qualify for SSDI benefits. In 2024, SGA is $1,550.

If you are not working or if your earnings are less than the SGA level, Social Security moves on to the next step to decide if you have a disability.

SGA and Self-Employment

If you’re self-employed, Social Security uses three special tests to compare your income to SGA, because the amount of money you actually get from your business depends on a lot of things.

If Social Security decides that you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity using all three tests, you may qualify for SSDI.

Note: If you are self-employed and either blind or over age 55, there are special SGA rules. For more information, contact the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Program in your area.

Self-Employed Test 1: Significant Services and Substantial Income

If you do a lot of work that is important for your business and you get a lot of income from the business, Social Security likely decides that you can support yourself (are doing SGA) and do not qualify for SSDI.

According to Social Security, the services you perform are significant if:

• You operate a business (other than a farm) all by yourself, or
• You and at least one other person run the business and you do more than half of the management time. For example, if it takes 60 hours a month to manage your business and you manage it for 45 of those hours, your services are significant.

According to Social Security, your income is substantial if:

• Your net countable income is greater than $1,550 per month. To figure out your net countable income, Social Security usually takes your net profit and reduces it a bit (7.65%), to take into account that self-employed people pay higher Social Security taxes. Then they deduct the value of unpaid help, Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs), and unincurred business expenses from your net income.

If Test 1 shows you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity, Social Security moves on to Test 2.

Self-Employed Test 2: Comparing Work Activity

Social Security looks at things like hours worked, skills needed, responsibilities, and effort involved to see if it counts as SGA.

If the work you do is about the same as the work of people without disabilities who are in similar businesses in your community, Social Security likely decides that you can work enough to support yourself (are doing SGA) and do not qualify for SSDI.

If Test 2 shows you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity, Social Security moves on to Test 3.

Self-Employed Test 3: Worth of Work Activity

Social Security looks at your monthly work. If they think your work is worth more than $1,550 per month for your business, or if you would have had to pay someone else at least $1,550 per month to do that work, Social Security likely decides that you can work enough to support yourself (are doing SGA) and do not qualify for SSDI.

If Test 3 shows that you are not doing Substantial Gainful Activity, Social Security moves on to step 2 of the disability determination process and you may qualify for SSDI.

Step 2: Is Your Condition Severe?

For Social Security to say you have a disability, your condition must be expected to either:

• Significantly limit your ability to perform basic work activities for at least 12 consecutive months, or
• Result in death.

If it does, Social Security moves on to step 3 to decide if you have a disability.

If it does not, you are not considered to have a disability and do not qualify for SSDI benefits. You can appeal this decision.

Step 3: Is Your Condition on Social Security’s List of Impairments?

Social Security has a List of Impairments that automatically mean you have a disability. It includes many mental and physical conditions. If your condition is on the list, Social Security says that you have a disability and skips steps 4 and 5.

If your condition is not on the list, Social Security decides if your condition is as severe as a condition that is on the list. If it is, Social Security says that you have a disability and skips steps 4 and 5.

If your condition is not as severe, Social Security moves on to steps 4 and 5 to decide if you have a disability.

Step 4: Can You Do the Same Work You Did Before?

If your condition doesn’t stop you from doing the work you did before, Social Security says you do not have a disability and do not qualify for SSDI benefits.

If your condition does stop you from doing the same work you did before, Social Security moves on to the fifth step to decide if you have a disability.

Step 5: Can You Do Any Other Type of Work?

If you can’t do the work you used to do, Social Security looks at your age, education, skills, and condition to see if there is other work you could do.

If your condition doesn’t stop you from doing other work and earning at the SGA level, you aren’t considered to have a disability and don't qualify for SSDI benefits.

If your condition does stop you from doing other work and earning at the SGA level, Social Security says that you have a disability, as long as your disability met the other four criteria.

If you are insured and have a disability, you may qualify for SSDI benefits.

If you get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, it’s because your disability stops you from working and earning enough to cover your expenses. However, you might want to give work a chance. That’s why SSDI has rules that can help you work without having to worry that you’ll lose the benefits you need.

For most people, SSDI’s work incentives are a three-stage process that starts when your SSDI benefits begin:

1. During the Trial Work Period (TWP), you can work and get SSDI benefits at the same time, no matter how much you earn.
2. After the Trial Work Period, the three-year Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) lets you work and get benefits for every month that your countable earnings are below the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level ($1,550 in 2024; $2,590 if you’re blind). At the end of your EPE, you will keep getting benefits as long as your countable earnings are below the SGA level. However, once your earnings go over the SGA level, your SSDI benefits will stop.
3. For the first five years after you stop getting benefits, Expedited Reinstatement (EXR) means that if your countable earned income drops below the SGA level, you may be able to quickly get back on SSDI benefits without having to completely reapply.

These three stages let you get a job and see how it goes. If it goes well, you’re in a better financial situation than before. If it doesn’t go well, you keep getting SSDI benefits and are in the same situation as you were before you tried working.

DB101’s SSDI Work Rules Focus is a detailed example story showing SSDI’s work incentives.

On SSDI? Get a quick estimate of how working may affect your income

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Trial Work Period (TWP)

After your SSDI benefits begin, you automatically enter your Trial Work Period (TWP). During your TWP, it doesn’t matter how much you make at work; you still get your full SSDI benefits. The TWP ends when you use nine Trial Work months within five years.

Here’s how it works:

Each month your gross earnings (earnings before taxes) are over the Trial Work level ($1,110 in 2024) is called a Trial Work month. (The Trial Work level changes every year.) During your Trial Work months, you continue to get full SSDI benefits.

If you earn less in a month than the Trial Work level, you also get your full SSDI benefits, but you do not use up a Trial Work month.

Your Trial Work Period (TWP) ends when you use up all nine Trial Work months within a five-year period of time. It doesn’t matter if your Trial Work months are in a row or spread out over the five years:

• Your TWP could be as short as nine months if you earn more than the Trial Work level for nine months in a row.
• If you don't use up nine Trial Work months in five years, your TWP continues until you use up nine within a five-year period. Trial Work months from more than five years ago aren't counted.

Tip: Keep track of your earnings each month and note if they are over the Trial Work level. You can also check with Social Security or a benefits planner to see how many Trial Work months you've used. You may have used them up in the past without realizing it.

Count Your SSDI Trial Work Months:

Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)

Once you use up all nine Trial Work months during a five-year window, your Trial Work Period is over and your three-year Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) begins.

During your EPE, you still get SSDI benefits for any month in which your countable earned income (your gross monthly earnings minus sick leave pay, vacation pay, and other deductions) are below the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level ($1,550 per month in 2024; $2,590 if you’re blind).

Here’s how it works:

The first time your countable earned income goes over the SGA level during the EPE, there’s a three-month Grace Period. For three months, you keep getting SSDI benefits no matter how much you make. After your Grace Period, you do not get SSDI benefits for any month in which you earn more than the SGA level.

If your countable earned income drops back under the SGA level, you can call Social Security and get your benefits reinstated. During the EPE, you can keep getting SSDI benefits for any month during which your earnings are below the SGA level.

At the end of the three-year EPE, if your earnings are below the SGA level, you keep getting SSDI benefits. If your earnings are over the SGA level, your SSDI benefits may end. If you earn more than the SGA level one month and your earned income drops below the SGA level the next month, you may no longer be able to get SSDI benefits reinstated automatically.

Deductions

When Social Security compares your earnings to the SGA level, they don't count all of your gross monthly earnings. Instead, they look at your countable monthly earnings, which can include some deductions. These deductions can help you keep your countable earnings below the SGA level when you apply for benefits, during the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE), and during Expedited Reinstatement (EXR), letting you work and get SSDI benefits.

Note: You cannot use these deductions during the Trial Work Period.

Two of the most common deductions are Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs) and subsidized earnings:

Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs)

IRWEs are costs related to a medical condition that you have to pay to do your job. IRWEs must be expenses that you pay for, not your health insurance or anyone else. Keep your receipts for all expenses you think are IRWEs. You need to include them with your pay stub or other earnings information when you report your earnings to Social Security.

Examples of IRWEs include money you spend on:

• Personal Care Assistance (PCA) services that you use on the job
• Special equipment related to your disability that you buy for your job
• Copayments for prescription drugs that you need to be able to work

IRWEs are approved by the local Social Security office on a case-by-case basis. If you have any questions about IRWEs or about how to tell Social Security about them, talk with a benefits planner.

Estimate Your Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs):

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Subsidized Earnings

An employer may pay workers with disabilities more in wages than their work is actually worth. When this happens, the extra pay is counted as a subsidy, not as earnings.

Jamie's gross earnings for the month are $1,690. She spends $50 each month on personal care assistance at her job, which counts as an IRWE. She also gets $200 in subsidized earnings from her employer, who is paying her as much as he paid her before her disability started, even though she doesn’t get as much work done as she used to.

Social Security calculates her monthly earnings like this:

SSDI Countable Earnings with IRWEs and Wage Subsidy:

Jamie's Gross Earnings	$1,690
Minus Jamie's Impairment Related Work Expenses	- $50
Minus Jamie's Wage Subsidy	- $200
Jamie's SSDI Countable Earnings
SGA (non-blind)	$1,550
(Over SGA)	0.00
(Under SGA)	0.00

Jamie's countable monthly earnings after the deductions are less than the SGA level ($1,550), so she gets SSDI benefits.

If you think you may be getting a subsidy, talk to a benefits planner to learn how to report it to Social Security.

Your SSDI Countable Earnings:

Your Gross Earnings	$
Minus Your Impairment Related Work Expenses	- $
Minus Your Wage Subsidy	- $
Your SSDI Countable Earnings
SGA (non-blind)	$1,550
(Over SGA)	0.00
(Under SGA)	0.00

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Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)

After you complete your Trial Work Period (TWP) and Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE), you stop getting SSDI benefits if your countable earnings are at the SGA level or higher.

However, Expedited Reinstatement (EXR) means you may be able to get your SSDI benefits restarted quickly if your countable earned income drops back below the SGA level:

If you used to get SSDI benefits and your benefits ended within the last five years, EXR means you can get up to six months of temporary SSDI cash benefits if your countable earned income drops below the SGA level ($1,550 in 2024; $2,590 if you’re blind). During EXR, you can deduct Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs) and employer subsidies from your gross monthly earnings to help you qualify for SSDI benefits.

During the six months of temporary benefits, Social Security does a review to see if you have medically improved. If Social Security decides that you still have a disability, you keep getting benefits and don't have to reapply for SSDI. If they decide that you don't have a disability anymore, your SSDI benefits stop.

Ruth's Story

For three years, Ruth had been getting $1,100 per month in SSDI benefits. When she was offered a part-time job with a flexible schedule, Ruth spoke with a benefits planner so that she'd understand how the job would affect her benefits.

Ruth explained that she'd be earning $1,300 in some months, less in others, depending on her schedule. The representative explained that while $1,300 was higher than SSDI's Trial Work month level ($1,110 in 2024), that wasn't a problem: Ruth could earn more than the Trial Work Month level nine times in five years (sixty months) and keep getting SSDI benefits no matter how much she earned. During this five-year Trial Work Period (TWP), it didn't matter whether the nine Trial Work months were in a row or spread out.

Ruth decided to take the job, because the Trial Work Period meant she could try out working and still get her full SSDI benefit. After nine months earning more than the Trial Work level, Ruth's Trial Work Period ended. She called up her benefits counselor, who told her that the next three years (36 months) were her Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). For three years, she'd keep getting an SSDI benefit whenever her monthly earnings were less than $1,550 (the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level for people who aren't blind).

Ruth was happy in her job and started working more hours, so that she now made $2,300 per month, enough to live on even if she stopped getting SSDI. There was actually a three-month Grace Period when Ruth made more than the SGA level and kept getting SSDI, but after that her benefits stopped in any month she earned more than $1,550.

Work went well and Ruth stopped getting SSDI benefits for seven months, but then her health got worse and she had to cut back on her hours. For the next four months, she made $1,300 per month. She reported the change in income to her local Social Security office and her SSDI benefits started up again, because she was still in the Extended Period of Eligibility and was making less than the SGA level ($1,550).

After the four months, Ruth was feeling better and increased her hours so that she was earning $2,300 per month again. At that point, her SSDI benefits stopped, because Ruth was making more than the SGA level.

Kevin’s Story

Kevin was 38 years old when a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

He had about $10,000 in savings when he returned home from the hospital and he knew that money would not last forever. He also knew he’d be unable to return to his old job as an auto mechanic. The Human Resources department at his job told him about State Disability Insurance (SDI), but Kevin didn't have any long-term disability insurance to help pay the bills after his SDI ended.

Fortunately, Kevin had learned about Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in the hospital. SSDI is a program that gives income to people who are no longer able to work because of a disability.

SSDI has a three-step application process:

1. Kevin applies online and provides Social Security with all documentation about his earned income, work history, and disability.
2. Social Security checks Kevin’s work history to see if he’d worked long enough while paying Social Security taxes to qualify for SSDI benefits.
3. Social Security checks Kevin’s condition to see whether he had a disability.

SSDI Eligibility

Kevin was pretty sure he’d qualify for SSDI because:

• He wasn’t working, so he had no earnings and was below the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level.
• His disabling condition was severe and expected to last more than a year.
• His disabling condition was on Social Security’s List of Impairments.
• He’d been working and paying Social Security taxes for more than 15 years.

Approval

Kevin applied for SSDI benefits and two months later, he got a letter in the mail. He’d been approved for $1,500 per month in SSDI benefits.

Because of SSDI’s five-month waiting period before benefits begin, Kevin had to wait another three months for his first SSDI benefits payment. When SSDI began, it was a great relief: The monthly SSDI payment was a huge help with rent, groceries, and other expenses.

Two Years Later

Two years after SSDI began, Kevin automatically started getting Medicare health coverage, which helped pay his medical expenses. Around the same time, Kevin started thinking about going back to work, but he was worried about a couple of things:

• First, he didn't know if he'd be able to work again. Being an auto mechanic was out, but he hoped there were other options.
• Second, he didn't understand how work and a higher income might affect his SSDI benefits. What if his job didn't work out? Would he have to reapply for SSDI?

Kevin talked to a benefits planner to get some answers.

SSDI Work Incentives

To Kevin’s relief, he learned that Social Security offers many incentives to help people work.

First, every SSDI beneficiary gets a nine-month Trial Work Period (TWP). During the TWP, Kevin could try out working and keep getting his full SSDI benefits, no matter how much he made.

If he used up the Trial Work Period, Kevin would get a three-year Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). During the EPE, the first three months he had earnings over the SGA level ($1,550 per month in 2024), he'd still get SSDI benefits. After this three-month grace period, he would still get SSDI benefits in any month where his monthly earnings were at the SGA level or less, but wouldn't get benefits when his earnings were higher than SGA.

After the EPE ended, Kevin would keep getting SSDI if his earnings were below the SGA level. If his earnings went over the SGA level, his SSDI benefits would end, but he would have a five-year period of Expedited Reinstatement. During this time, he could apply for reinstatement of benefits if he needed it and get up to six months of temporary SSDI benefits. During the six months, Social Security would do a medical review to see if Kevin still met their disability requirements. If so, he would continue getting SSDI benefits without having to reapply.

These rules made it easy for Kevin to give work a try. He got a job as a sales representative for an auto parts manufacturer and it turned out to be a great fit; he became one of the top salesmen in his city! SSDI helped him while he couldn't work, and the program’s work incentives gave him the confidence to try working again.