{"id":31,"date":"2025-04-15T19:03:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T19:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/?p=31"},"modified":"2025-04-15T19:03:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T19:03:16","slug":"can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you&#8217;re applying for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits but are still working \u2014 even part-time \u2014 you may be unknowingly hurting your chances of being approved. While it\u2019s completely understandable that you need to earn income while waiting for a decision, it\u2019s important to understand how <strong>working during your application<\/strong> can affect your claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Working Can Disqualify You from SSD Benefits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To qualify for SSD, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must determine that you are <strong>unable to engage in \u201cSubstantial Gainful Activity\u201d (SGA)<\/strong> due to a medical condition. In other words, they have to believe your <strong>disability prevents you from working<\/strong> in any meaningful way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of 2025, SGA is defined as earning <strong>more than $1,550 per month<\/strong> (or <strong>$2,590 if you\u2019re blind<\/strong>). If you\u2019re earning above this threshold, your claim may be <strong>denied automatically<\/strong>, regardless of how serious your medical condition is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if you&#8217;re earning <strong>less than the SGA amount<\/strong>, your application could still raise red flags if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are <strong>working regularly<\/strong> (even for low pay).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your job duties suggest you\u2019re still capable of physically or mentally demanding tasks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>SSA believes your work activity shows you <strong>could hold a full-time job<\/strong>, if you wanted or needed to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What If You Need to Work to Survive?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We completely understand \u2014 SSD applications can take months, even years, and not everyone can afford to stop working entirely while they wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few things to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>If you&#8217;re working now, it may be better to delay applying<\/strong> until you&#8217;re no longer working. Once you stop working, you can submit a stronger claim showing you are truly unable to perform any gainful activity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>If your job is very limited<\/strong> (e.g., a few hours per week doing light work), it\u2019s possible to apply, but SSA will closely examine what you&#8217;re doing and how much you&#8217;re earning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>If your condition is worsening<\/strong> and you plan to stop working soon, document everything. Medical notes, employer accommodations, and reduced hours can all help support your case when you do file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Exceptions: \u201cUnsuccessful Work Attempts\u201d and Trial Work Periods<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a couple of narrow exceptions that sometimes allow limited work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Unsuccessful Work Attempt:<\/strong><br>If you return to work but your health forces you to stop again within six months, SSA may consider that an \u201cunsuccessful work attempt\u201d and not count it against your claim.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trial Work Period (TWP):<\/strong><br>If you\u2019re already receiving SSD benefits and want to try returning to work, SSA allows a trial period where you can test your ability to work without immediately losing your benefits. But this only applies <strong>after you\u2019ve been approved<\/strong>, not during your initial application.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Applying for SSD benefits while you\u2019re still working is risky \u2014 and in many cases, it leads to denial. To qualify, you must prove that your medical condition prevents you from performing any kind of full-time, sustained work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re unsure whether your current job will impact your case, it\u2019s best to talk with an experienced disability advocate or attorney. They can help you understand your options, time your application correctly, and gather the right evidence to support your claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcbc How Much Can I Work and Still Get SSD?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) Limits \u2013 2025:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You generally <strong>cannot earn more than<\/strong>:<br>\u2022 <strong>$1,550\/month<\/strong> (non-blind applicants)<br>\u2022 <strong>$2,590\/month<\/strong> (if legally blind)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Exceeding this amount usually leads to <strong>automatic denial<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Working Below the Limit?<\/strong><br>Even if you earn less than the SGA amount, SSA may still <strong>deny your claim<\/strong> if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You\u2019re working consistently<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your job shows you can still do substantial work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your condition doesn\u2019t appear disabling based on your duties<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Acceptable Exceptions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Unsuccessful Work Attempt:<\/strong><br>You tried to return to work but had to stop within 6 months due to your disability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Trial Work Period (TWP):<\/strong><br>Only available <strong>after<\/strong> you\u2019ve been approved for SSD \u2014 not during your application.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\u26a0\ufe0f <strong>Important:<\/strong><br>Social Security doesn\u2019t just look at your income \u2014 they look at <strong>what you&#8217;re actually doing<\/strong> at work. Light part-time work may still cause problems for your claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re applying for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits but are still working \u2014 even part-time \u2014 you may be unknowingly hurting your chances of being approved. While it\u2019s completely understandable that you need to earn income while waiting for a decision, it\u2019s important to understand how working during your application can affect your claim. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working? - Disability FAQs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working? - Disability FAQs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you&#8217;re applying for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits but are still working \u2014 even part-time \u2014 you may be unknowingly hurting your chances of being approved. While it\u2019s completely understandable that you need to earn income while waiting for a decision, it\u2019s important to understand how working during your application can affect your claim. [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Disability FAQs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-15T19:03:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/\",\"name\":\"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working? - Disability FAQs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-15T19:03:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#\/schema\/person\/21f083c6bcbba396f1b9f3915567b0f2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/\",\"name\":\"Disability FAQs\",\"description\":\"Frequently Asked Quesitons about Disability Benefits\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#\/schema\/person\/21f083c6bcbba396f1b9f3915567b0f2\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1be1dc63f776d1acfc6ee45c99e933c75b6066eea1ac228b26b4c44c6d3005b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1be1dc63f776d1acfc6ee45c99e933c75b6066eea1ac228b26b4c44c6d3005b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working? - Disability FAQs","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working? - Disability FAQs","og_description":"If you&#8217;re applying for Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits but are still working \u2014 even part-time \u2014 you may be unknowingly hurting your chances of being approved. While it\u2019s completely understandable that you need to earn income while waiting for a decision, it\u2019s important to understand how working during your application can affect your claim. [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/","og_site_name":"Disability FAQs","article_published_time":"2025-04-15T19:03:16+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/","url":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/","name":"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working? - Disability FAQs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-15T19:03:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#\/schema\/person\/21f083c6bcbba396f1b9f3915567b0f2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/can-you-get-social-security-disability-while-still-working\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can You Get Social Security Disability While Still Working?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/","name":"Disability FAQs","description":"Frequently Asked Quesitons about Disability Benefits","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#\/schema\/person\/21f083c6bcbba396f1b9f3915567b0f2","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1be1dc63f776d1acfc6ee45c99e933c75b6066eea1ac228b26b4c44c6d3005b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1be1dc63f776d1acfc6ee45c99e933c75b6066eea1ac228b26b4c44c6d3005b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs"],"url":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/32"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disabilityfaqs.com\/faqs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}