Disability and working
 

Hi there everyone!

It's been quite some time since I've been on the forum. I hope you are all doing well and staying cool!


I finally got my disability to kick in last September which has helped me greatly! December and January was scary because of those unknown episodes that happened frequently throughout the day (which I still believe to be seizures), but I finally pulled out of them, for now at least. I've been feeling pretty decent lately and have been missing work.. so I talked to the manager about wanting to try coming back for small shifts.

My boyfriend is opposed to this idea, but is letting it happen with the deal being-if I start to decline I have to stop. Reasonable in my opinion.

So I'm now working (2) 4 hour shifts a week as a delivery driver. The manager said if I start feeling weak or symptomatic, to clock out and go home.

I'm super fortunate to have employers that understand my predicament and back me with everything. They won't even post my number for employees to call me to cover shifts(probably cuz they know I can't say no). I love my job and have missed it so much.

So this week was my first week back! I'm not going to lie, my pain levels are somewhat high by the time I get off, but I go home and nap until my body decides to wake me up.

I'll be making roughly 400-500 a month. As long as it stays in that range, it won't affect my ssdi, right?

I'm hoping so much my body will be able to handle these 2 shifts a week. I don't want to give up my job again. So I'm praying that this will be something my ms will accept and not go crazy on me for.

Good to be back.

:)

For 2014 the income limit for an individual is 2000 a month so it shouldn't impact, however if you are living with your boyfriend and he is assisting with your expenses you could be riding a dangerous line as it should be reported as a joint income even if you aren't married and his income would also be taken into account, if not you should be fine... If you want to double check you can find the info on ssa.gov under oasdi and SSI program rates and limits

Thanks for your response starznight!

I've been living with him and his mom (not something either one of us are proud of, but aiming to get our own place soon) for a couple years now. I pay my own expenses and give his mom 200 a month as rent. I pay for my way. He pays for his. Social security is aware of my living arrangements.. and the lady I talked to the other day at SS said that I would send more work info to them at the end of the month. I hope everything will work out on both sides.. I missed working, but it's something I have to be careful with so I don't send myself into another horrible exacerbation. They gave me ssdi after seeing my most recent mri. Tons more lesions and a semi big hole in my cervical spine. Those don't bother me as much as the brainstem lesions.. that's a very important part of the brain and I hope so much the ms won't continue eating away at that area. Sigh.

I was told by SS attorney that people on disability have a limit of $750 per month of earnings. This has nothing to do with the Trial Work Program.

I believe that amounts that you reference are what is considered "gainful employment" (which is about $1000) and is the amount used BEFORE being approved for disability.

Both amounts to which I have referred apply ONLY to disability, NOT to supplemental program. That has its own set of rules and limits.

Many people confuse the two programs.

Below are excerpts from an article on the internet from Disability Secrets. I was unable to post a link to the article so I am posting direct copy and paste of portions of it here. I hope this is allowed. If not, would an administrator please remove my post if it breaks any of the rules. I hope this helps to answer the question posted and clarifies the responses which may be misleading.

Quote:

Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) is available to individuals who can no longer work due to an established disability (physical or mental). SSDI Income Limits The SSDI program does not put a limit on the amount of assets or unearned income you have (or income that your spouse may earn), unlike the low-income disability program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI). However, the Social Security Administration (SSA) does put a limit on the amount of money that you can earn through work when you receive Social Security disability benefits, because if you can earn an income, you aren't considered disabled. Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) Specifically, if you can engage in what the Social Security Administration (SSA) calls "substantial gainful activity" (SGA), you won't be eligible for benefits. A person who earns more than a certain monthly amount is considered to be engaging in SGA. Federal regulations use the national average wage index to set the income limit for determining the SGA each year. In 2014, the amount is $1,070 for disabled applicants and $1,800 for blind applicants. The rules differ for business owners, since their monthly income may not reflect the work effort they put into their business. No Limits on Unearned Income While a disabled (nonblind) person applying for or receiving SSDI cannot earn more than $1,070 per month by working, a person collecting SSDI can have any amount of income from investments, interest, or a spouse's income. Trial Work Period It sometimes happens that people receiving SSDI improve and want to return to the workforce, but are afraid that they will be unable to keep a job due to their disabilities. To encourage disabled persons to try to return to work, the SSA provides for a trial work period. During the trial work period (TWP), a person receiving SSDI may have unlimited earnings and still receive full benefits without risking termination. The trial work period provides that theperson must provide services for at least nine months out of a rolling 60-month period before a disability is deemed to have ended. What counts as providing services? In 2014, any month in which earnings exceed $770 is considered a month of services for a person's trial work period. (Notice that this amount is different than the SGA amount.) When the person has provided services for nine months, the SSA will evaluate the person's work to see if it has been over the SGA limits. If it is, disability benefits will continue for three months and then stop. But if this happens (SSDI benefits terminate because a person is working), benefits can resume within the next 36 months if the individual fails to earn the monthly SGA amount or becomes unable to work again due to the same disability

Thank you so very much! This was incredibly helpful. Slightly confusing, but helpful! I hope this will all work out.. my ssi is all paid up and now I've just been receiving my ssdi. The sga part is what was kind of confusing to me.

So as long as I keep it at the 770 or under I should be okay? Or does that mean that if I can work for the 9 months my benefits will be threatened?

Sorry for still not having it click all the way.. social security stuff is always so confusing to me..

:o

Yes, it can be very confusing. In my opinion, and that is all it is, my opinion, nothing more, and may not be correct, but I think your SSDI will be unaffected by earning between $400 and $500 per month when possible. I am referring ONLY to social security DISABILITY and NOT to supplemental which has different monetary amounts, limits, inclusions, etc.

I do think that if you were going to be earning more, but still under the $770 limit, it might raise some eyebrows and they may think you are purposely holding your income down. Let's say you were earning $700 per month. That might appear to be an intentional "stay below the limit" earning.

As I said, it is only MY opinion, but I think your earnings of $400 - $500 will not jeopardize your SS disability. They may also look at the number of hours you are working per week to see if you still qualify as disabled.

Hope this helps some.

I am sorry but I disagree with your advice. Maybe you are talking about supplemental income and not disability. I do not know any of the rules for supplemental income.

Thank you, hopeless, for your opinion!

The place that I work at has an awesome opportunity of making money in a short period of time.. I get minimum wage, plus 2.25 for every delivery, plus tips if people would like to do so.

I love my job so very much and wish I could work it full-time. I'd much rather do that than be on ssdi.. but when I was working 20 hrs a week before ssdi, it put me in a horrible place- nystagmus, diplopia, slurred speech, ataxia, aspirating on beverages and saliva, bowel and bladder urgency, extreme fatigue.. gah. I was a mess.

As much as I WANT to say I don't need ssdi, it would be a complete lie.

I really, really dislike ms for the limitations it puts on my life. For the difficulties it throws at me for being only 26. For robbing me of my youth and causing super embarrassing moments that I have no control over (like losing control over my bowels while working 2 years ago, or not getting to the bathroom in time and my bladder losing control).

It has made me grateful for the smallest things in life and has strengthened my soul strongerthan I can ever could have imagined...

Just praying my body won't go back to those days and I can stay working these 2 itty bitty shifts a week.. having some independence again is such a spectacular feeling!

Thanks for all of your help!:hug:

Ayna - It's good to see you posting. I hope everything works out well for you and that you are able to keep working even if it is just a few hours a week.

The rules for SSDI and SSI are different. I don't know the rules but I think if you are making a certain amount of income and are on SSI, your SSI will rollover to SSDI instead. If I remember right, you won't lose your benefits. Once you are deemed disabled by SSA and unable to maintain gainful employment, you remain on either SSI or SSDI. I can honestly say that I am not sure which one I am on but since I get my "check" on the 3rd of the month, I am assuming I am on SSI. I do work a little from home and my income is around $200 a month from that.