Hello everyone,

I have been on SSDI since 2009. At that time they said that based on my condition they would do a CDR in 5-7 years. Last month without really even trying I found a part time job that pays well below the SGA. Before taking the job though I thought I better check with the SSA so I called the 800 number and spoke with a lady who said it was fine if I worked but that I would not be allowed to earn over $1070 or else I would lose my benefits, plus she said I would have to call them and report the name of the employer, hours worked, pay scale, and save all my paystubs.

After this call, within 48 hours I received a CDR short form in the mail asking the standard six questions. I freaked out, I haven't even taken the job yet! Plus I have not worked even one day since going on SSDI, I was just calling to ask general questions about the process and if it was even okay to work part time while on SSDI.

My question is this: if everything goes okay and my disability payments continue after this CDR should I try to take this part time job? Or will me even working below the SGA trigger another CDR maybe a full blown 10 page one? What is going on with this situation? I thought it was okay to work part time if you are able and it is below the SGA. Was this just a coincidence? Now I'm too afraid to try and work even part time for fear of losing my benefits. What should I do? I was thinking maybe after the letter arrives saying the benefits would continue (decision in 90 days right?) then I could take the job.

What is going on? Can anyone illuminate this situation for me? I would really appreciate it! Thanks in advance!

It might have been a coincidence or you possibly triggered a CDR. My guess is if you triggered it, you would have received the long form though. Some swear that calling SS is like poking a bear and that once approved you should avoid calling them... One other thought, have you discussed that you're job seeking with anyone? Someone could have reported you to SS questioning if you should be entitled to benefits.

Will working any amount trigger the long form after answering yes that you have worked? I believe yes from all that I've read.

If you want to test your ability to return to the workforce, than I suggest researching TTW. It will make you exempt from a medical CDR during the period you are participating.

So long as you will be making under $770, the current amount for the Trial Work period, you'd probably be unlikely to lose benefits, assuming your health has not improved and your treatment continues actively.

You might receive a response within 90 days, but you also might receive the long form and/or not know for several months. You must notify SS once you start working anyway, so waiting until after you receive notice that benefits will continue will not completely remove you from their radar.

If you are capable of working above the SGA level, I would recommend doing so for a multitude of reasons. If your health worsens, you will be able to be reinstated.

Thank you for the response. Do you mean sign up for TTW, then if I earn under $770 the benefits should continue? Or do you mean just notify them that I am working part time and earn under $770 and the benefits will continue? Won't any kind of work even under $770 be like "poking a bear?' Thanks again for any clarification you can give.

You must sign up for TTW if you want the protections it entails. If you have no intention to try and return to work full time, TTW might not be appropriate for you though.

You don't need to sign up for TTW to have the protection of the Trial Work Period. If you make under $770 you'll probably be fine, but there is no guarantee. (Once you make over $770 than that month counts as one of your 9 months allowed for your TWP.) Some attorneys tell their clients never attempt to work even part time. Personally, I think the rewards of returning to work would out weigh the risks, but you'll need to make that decision for yourself.

To clarify you must notify SS if you begin working, regardless of the amount. SS will do a cross reference check and figure it out eventually anyway.

Here are a few good links for you. http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...fits-stop.html (IMO, you should ignore the part of needing an attorney for a CDR unless your benefits are terminated.)

What if someone makes substantially lower than the $770, say $300 or $400, for an extended period of time. Will SSA try to kick you off after a couple of years? It would seem to me that SSA views the TTW and the TWP programs as a program for people trying to reenter the workforce, not as a way for someone to fly under the radar in order to supplement their SSDI. Won't SSA say hey if you can make $400 a month for years on end then you are probably not disabled, you are just gaming the system. Many people on SSDI can usually do enough to earn a few hundred dollars a month if they wanted to but the problem is working full time, over a long period of time and in a very competitive job market. Does anyone have any statistics or real life stories to support the what REALLY happens to people who work at a low level of income for a long period of time?

That is the point of TTW and TWP - to transition back into the work force and no longer qualify for SSDI benefits. To give someone time to test his or her ability to sustain a job. You are right that neither were designed as a way of supplementing SSDI and if a person CHOOSES to earn under the SGA amount, that is not proof that they are unable to work and earn over SGA. It would then come down to the medical evidence and the amount of improvement the evidence shows.

There are many sheltered workshop employees (think Goodwill Industries) who only hire the disabled and are allowed to pay on the basis of productivity rather than minimum wage. Many of those employees work for years and years and still get SSI or SSDI. No statistics. No stories about some middle income level employee.

The TWP is not a program, it's a policy. http://www.ssa.gov/redbook/eng/ssdi-...ports.htm#a0=0

If a person is artificially keeping their earnings low to not trigger a TWP, they may be exposed during a medical CDR, or they may not. Incidental reporting for those that have had their benefits terminated have mostly reported working consistently, and near the SGA level.

For anyone capable of even working part time, it would make sense to concentrate on higher skilled/better paying opportunities--since the TTW program will allow for training and/or education. The market would seemingly tolerate the potential employee's requirements to adapt the more rare their skill set.

Five years after 2009 would be 2014 so it sounds like your CDR is right on time which coincidentally corresponds with the phone call you made. I am about 99% certain that the two incidents have nothing to do with each other.