Understanding Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)

Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is the key benchmark SSA uses to determine whether you are capable of work. If your countable earnings exceed these thresholds, SSA may conclude you’re not disabled—or that your benefits should stop or pause.

• In 2025, the SGA limit is $1,620 per month for most individuals.
• If you are legally blind, the limit rises to $2,700 per month.

Earning above these limits—even part-time—can jeopardize your eligibility unless proper reporting and income deductions are recognized.

Trial Work Period (TWP) Explained

The SSA offers a Trial Work Period (TWP) to allow beneficiaries to test work without immediate loss of benefits. During the TWP:

• You can earn above SGA and still receive full SSDI benefits.
• In 2025, any month you earn more than $1,110 counts as a TWP month.
• You get up to nine such months within a rolling 60-month window.

Even high earnings during a TWP month won’t affect SSDI eligibility—as long as they’re reported accurately, and the month counts toward one of your nine trial months.

Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)

Once the Trial Work Period ends, you enter a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE):

• You continue to receive SSDI in months when your countable earnings are under the SGA limit.
• If earnings go over SGA in a month, benefits may be suspended, not terminated.
• Benefits resume automatically if your earnings drop below the SGA level in later months—provided you remain within the EPE window.

What Income Counts Toward SGA?

Countable income includes:

• Wages from employment
• Net self-employment profit
• Tips, bonuses, and commissions

However, certain deductions may lower your countable earnings:

• Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWEs) like adaptive devices, transportation, or medications essential for working
• Wage subsidies or accommodations from employers that compensate for reduced productivity
• These must be clearly documented to reduce your countable income under SSA guidelines.

Income That Does Not Count Toward SSDI Limits

Certain types of income are excluded from SGA calculations:

• Unearned income such as retirement, disability insurance, veteran benefits, or passive investment income
• Gifts or child support, depending on how they’re classified
• Income from self-employment that is passive (no active involvement)

Even though these don’t disqualify you, tracking all sources of income remains important to your financial record and SSDI status.

Rules for Self-Employed Beneficiaries

SSA evaluates self-employment differently. They use:

• Comparability of work: Is your current activity similar in skill and responsibility to past jobs you did?
• Worth-of-work test: Is the value of your labor to your trade or the public more than what SSA considers acceptable?
• Proper documentation—like timesheets, ledgers, and profit/loss records—is critical to prove limitations despite working.

Unsuccessful Work Attempts (UWA)

If you try working and it ends within six months due to your medical condition or loss of required accommodations, SSA may consider it an Unsuccessful Work Attempt (UWA). Earnings during that attempt may not count against you, if properly documented with medical and employer statements explaining why the effort was unsuccessful.

Reporting Requirements in Alabama

To keep benefits safe, you must diligently report:

• Monthly earnings—even if under SGA
• Job changes, new duties, or hours worked
• IRWEs or employer accommodations
• Self-employment updates, including profit changes

Best practice: report earnings within 10 days after month end, and keep detailed records and pay stubs.

How to Avoid Benefit Disruptions

• Aim to keep monthly earned income under $1,620, except during TWP months.
• Track and understand TWP months to avoid overuse.
• Document qualifying work-related expenses for IRWE deductions.
• Always report work activity—even minor shifts in hours can matter.
• Use resources like Ticket to Work for employment guidance while on SSDI.