After being off work for a while on Social Security Disability (SSD), you may feel well enough to give working a try again. Yet, as you may be unsure if you can, you do not want to risk losing your SSD only to go through the whole claim process again.
Fortunately, you do not need to. You can take advantage of the permitted trial work periods.
How long do I have to make my mind up?
You can try working for a maximum of nine months before deciding whether you can continue or not. You do not have to use your nine months in one go either. If you realize you are not ready after a month, you can return to subsisting off your benefits, knowing you still have eight months of trial period to use in the future. The total allowable period to use your nine months is 60 months.
What if I only earn a small amount?
You only need to tell the SSA you have taken a trial month once you earn $970 in that month. If you earn less, it does not count as one of your nine allowable trial months.
What if I earn a lot?
Regardless of how much you earn in a trial month, you still receive the total amount of SSD benefits you are entitled to for the month. You do need to tell the SSA how much you earn, though.
If you are still unsure or believe the SSA is wrongly marking your trial months, consider legal help to ease your doubts and ensure you do not lose out on SSD entitlement.