As discussed in the opening post of this series, Social Security Disability applications undergo a five-step evaluation to determine benefit eligibility. This post focuses on Step 1 of that process. After the non-medical requirement screening is complete, the first question Social Security considers is whether the applicant is performing “substantial gainful activity.”
What is Substantial Gainful Activity?
Substantial Gainful Activity, or “SGA,” is a monthly wage amount that Social Security considers to be an earnings threshold for disability applicants. The amount of permissible monthly earnings depends on whether the applicant is blind or not-blind. The amount also changes annually. For example, in 2024, the monthly SGA amount for statutorily blind individuals is $2,590, and for non-blind individuals, the monthly SGA amount is $1,550. Note that these are gross amounts (before taxes).
Generally speaking, if a person is actively working and earning wages that exceed the monthly SGA amount, s/he will automatically be considered “not disabled” and denied benefits without further inquiry. Similarly, if a person was previously working and earning wages that exceed SGA, they will be denied through the date of employment. For example, if an applicant believes they became disabled on October 1, but they continued working and earning SGA through November 30, that person may be ineligible for benefits until December 1, the day after they stopped earning SGA.
What if I am earning over SGA but want to apply for benefits?
If you are working, earning more than SGA, and have been doing so for a period of at least six months, you will likely need to reduce your earnings, or stop work entirely, before you apply for benefits. If you do not adjust your work and earnings to below SGA level before (or very, very quickly after) applying for benefits, you should expect to be denied because of your work and earnings. But receiving a denial due to work and earnings does not mean you cannot appeal or reapply for benefits, as long as you adjust your work and earnings as necessary. If you are currently working over SGA and want to apply for benefits, whether to reduce or stop work to pursue SSDI benefits is a personal and strategic question that should be discussed with an attorney.
What if I am currently in the application process and I want to try going back to work (over SGA), but I am not confident that returning to work will be sustainable?
You may be able to try going back to work while your application is pending, earn over SGA level, and not automatically lose your disability claim. Again, whether to work while your disability application is pending is an important discussion to have with your attorney, and the issue should not be taken lightly.
If you determine in consultation with counsel that it makes sense for you to try to go back to work, you may be doing so under the rule for “Unsuccessful Work Attempt,” or UWA. This rule is designed to allow applicants to try returning to work during the (typically very long) application process without fear of those efforts being held against them later, and without needing to restart the application process if a work attempt is unsustainable. Generally, the requirements for a UWA are as follows:
- A “significant break” from your prior work in the form of separation from employment (for 30 consecutive days or more), significant reduction in earnings (below SGA) (for 30 consecutive days or more), or change in type of work due to your disabling impairments;
- New work earning at or above SGA that lasts for a period of six months or less; and
- This new work ends with separation from employment or significant reduction in earnings (below SGA) due to your disabling impairments.
If you earn over SGA level for a period of six months or more, you may need to discuss amending your alleged disability onset date with your attorney.
This UWA rule can also apply to past employment when establishing an alleged disability onset date. For example, consider the following hypothetical: a person is terminated from Employer A due to reasons related to disability and is unemployed for a period of at least 30 days, then works for Employer B but is terminated less than 6 months later for reasons related to disability. This hypothetical person may still be able to claim disability onset from the time of separation from Employer A, even if they earned SGA wages from Employer B. If this person worked for Employer B for a period of more than six months, they would likely need to amend their alleged disability onset to after their separation from Employer B.
What if I am self-employed? Does this rule still apply to me?
Yes, the SGA rule also applies to self-employed individuals. However, the determination of whether the applicant is working at SGA level is not quite as straight forward as with a traditional employee for whom Social Security can simply look at gross wages. For self-employed persons hours worked, business and operations expenses due, and net income earned each month may be inconsistent. Because of this complication, Social Security has developed three tests to apply when evaluating if a self-employed person is performing SGA. These tests seek to account for factors including industry, nature, and size of a business. While these tests are complicated, they effectively boil down to evaluating whether the applicant is exerting sufficient hours, skill, and energy to meet a set of work-related duties or responsibilities such that, if s/he were an employee rather than self-employed, s/he would be earning SGA level wages. Self-employment is a known area of complexity for SSDI applicants, and you should consult with an attorney if you are or have a history of self-employment.
What if I am already receiving benefits? Can I still work and earn wages below SGA level?
Please note that SGA only applies during the application stage. Once an applicant is approved for and is receiving SSDI benefits, different rules apply regarding whether you may work and how much you may earn. This post-approval rule is called “Trial Work Period,” or “TWP,” and the monthly amount is lower than SGA.