How Much Work Equals “Substantial Gainful Activity?”
Substantial gainful activity (SGA) is the level of work at which Social Security says you don’t need disability benefits. It’s easy to get your claim denied if you’re working much.
Social Security says “substantial” work means you’re doing significant physical or mental tasks. “Gainful” activity is when you’re working for pay or profit—though volunteering can count, too, if the work itself is equivalent to a paid job.
SGA is measured in dollar amounts that you earn:
- $1,470 per month for most workers as of 2023
- $2,460 per month for workers with blindness
If you make more than that, you’ll be denied benefits or lose eligibility. The allowed SGA earnings number typically goes up a bit each year.
The nature of your work also affects whether Social Security determines you are hitting SGA or not. For self-employed people or farm workers, for example, Social Security will assign a value to your work regardless of profits you made.
People with disabilities who work in a “sheltered environment,” meaning a program designed to give them work, may receive more money than the value of their work without being disqualified because Social Security counts the additional amount they made as a form of financial aid.
In deciding disability benefits for people working in sheltered environments, Social Security will separately determine a “reasonable value” of their work.
Income from investments or rent you collect generally doesn’t count toward SGA unless collecting that income involves significant work on your part. And Social Security will often deduct disability-related work expenses (counseling, special transportation, etc.) from its calculation of SGA.
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Ways to Work and Still Have the Option of Disability Benefits
While working usually would threaten your disability benefits, some exceptions do exist:
- Trial Work Period. Social Security allows you to test out whether you can return to work after you’ve already been receiving disability benefits. That way, if you find your health still makes working impossible, your disability benefits continue. You can attempt to work for a total of nine months over a 60-month period and keep your benefits.
- Extended Period of Eligibility. After you’ve used up your trial work time, you can still get disability benefits over a 36-month period in any month that you don’t work enough for SGA.
- Expedited Reinstatement. If your SSDI benefits stop completely because you’re able to perform substantial gainful activity, you could still get your benefits restarted quickly within the next five years if physical or mental conditions once again push you out of work.
It can feel like a cold process, dealing with these legalistic hurdles just to get help because you’re struggling with your health.
The Troutman disability attorneys are here to give you the personal attention you deserve. We believe in building relationships with our clients.
Let us help you get back on solid ground.
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