Should people who collect Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) be allowed to work? It is a question that is brought up often, as people look for ways to alleviate potential issues with funding.
Keep in mind, to collect SSDI, you must show that your disabilities leave you unable to work. Additionally, you must show that your disabilities are expected to last for longer than a year. Therefore, if you have the ability to perform work, technically, you should not collect SSDI.
Some disability experts argue that the way the system is currently setup actively dissuades people from attempting to find work if they are disabled, even if they could potentially find a job in the right environment.
Recently, a piece in the Huffington Post titled “Modernize Disability Benefits So People With Disabilities Can Work”, argued that people should be able to look for work if they are on SSDI, and go back to the program quickly if they lose their job because their disabilities are too overwhelming.
“While keeping a solid safety net for those who need it, we should enable people with disabilities to work, and have procedures in place to allow them back on SSI or SSDI quickly if they lose their jobs,” the author, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi writes. “We need to do some short term fixes to deal with the insolvency of SSDI. However, the long term solution is to stop punishing people with disabilities who dare get jobs and become taxpayers.”
Currently, the Social Security Administration allows recipients to work during trial periods without losing benefit eligibility. The trial periods allow people to work for up to nine months over a 60-month period without losing benefits. However, many people believe this is not enough time to determine if someone can work.
How Can I Obtain Social Security Benefits?
For information about applying for disability benefits, you can visit our Social Security FAQ page. It would be nice if there were further measures in place that could help beneficiaries look for work fitting their needs, should they have the desire to attempt to return to the workforce.
Remember, if you engage in “substantial gainful activity” (SGA), the SSA will not consider you disabled. Contact us today if you have questions about a disability application or appeal.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security disability lawyers
