Working and Social Security Disability: Oil & Water that Do Not Mix

Receiving social security disability benefits and working at the same time is a very bad idea. Yet I get a call almost daily from someone who has filed for social security disability, and is working part-time, and was advised at their Social Security office that this was "OK". They often say something like "I was told told I could make up to "$980 a month, and it won't count against me".

Well, as my fellow Texan H. Ross Perot said when he was running for President, "the devil is in the details". Here are those details.

The Social Security Administration follows a 5-step sequential evaluation process. The first question to be asked is whether the claimant is "working". If the answer is "Yes", the claim is automatically denied. If it is "No", the analysis moves to the next step in the 5-step process. "Working" is a defined as "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA) . SGA generally has to earn you in 2009 at least $980 a month. So, when social security tells people that they "can" earn up to $980, all they really mean is that the governmental cannot deny your disability claim at step 1 of the 5-step evaluation process. In other words, they cannot deny your claim by finding that you are working.

The problem with part-time work and taking a social security disability claim before an Administrative Law Judge is that the judge can't help but wonder about the work, especially if you have been working right at the $980 a month figure. It looks like you are gaming the system. The judge cannot help but wonder if you purposely keep your work part-time.

Bottom Line: If you work after you have filed a social security disability claim, do so to see if you can work full-time. Starting part-time is fine, but move quickly to full-time to test your ability. If you can't do it, stop working. Do not work as a means of supplementing what you get from social security disability.