Thinking About Work After A Disability? 5 Ways To Protect Your SSDI Benefits

During National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, learn how Social Security work incentives and the Ticket To Work Program can help you plan a return to work

If you receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and are thinking about returning to work, one question may be holding you back: What happens to my benefits if the job doesn’t work out?

October is a good time to find the answer. It’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy chose “Celebrating Value and Talent” as this year’s theme, recognizing the skills and contributions workers with disabilities bring to American workplaces.

There is still ground to cover. Among people ages 16 to 64, just 38.1% of people with a disability were employed in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (BLS notes its 2025 annual figures exclude October, when survey data was not collected during the federal government shutdown.)

During an Oct. 21 interview on SiriusXM’s The David Webb Show, LeighAnn Jarry, vice president of Allsup Employment Services (AES), discussed how concerns about losing disability benefits can keep people from exploring employment. Those concerns are understandable. Knowing how Social Security’s work incentives function can help you plan for how a job may affect your benefits.

Here are five work incentives and supports worth knowing with NDEAM observances in October, and how AES can help you put them to work.

1. Trial Work Period: Test A Job While Receiving Benefits

The Trial Work Period lets eligible SSDI beneficiaries work for nine months while generally continuing to receive full SSDI benefits, regardless of earnings, as long as they report their work and continue to meet Social Security’s disability requirements.

In 2026, any month you earn more than $1,210 before taxes counts as a trial work month. That amount rises to $1,270 in 2027. The nine months do not have to be consecutive. Social Security counts them within a rolling 60-month period, which gives you room to explore work while managing your health.

2. Extended Period Of Eligibility: 36 More Months Of Protection

After the trial work period, a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility begins. During this time, Social Security generally pays SSDI benefits for months when your work and earnings are below the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level, provided you continue to meet other eligibility requirements. In 2026, the SGA level is $1,690 a month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 a month for people who are blind. In 2027, those amounts rise to $1,770 and $2,950.

Social Security looks at countable earnings, which may be lower than your gross wages. For example, certain Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) can be subtracted when Social Security decides whether your work is at the SGA level.

Once your Extended Period of Eligibility begins, Social Security still pays benefits for the first month your work and earnings reach the SGA level and for the next two months. After that, benefits are not paid for months at the SGA level. If your earnings later drop below SGA during the 36 months, Social Security can restart your benefits without a new application.

3. Medicare: Coverage Can Continue For Years

If your SSDI payments stop because of work, you may be able to keep your Medicare coverage for at least 93 months (seven years and nine months) after your Trial Work Period ends, as long as you continue to meet Social Security’s disability requirements. Medicare Part A hospital insurance has no premium during that time. If you are enrolled in Part B, which helps cover doctor visits, outpatient care and preventive services, or Part D, which helps cover prescription drugs, you are still responsible for any applicable premiums.

4. Expedited Reinstatement: A Faster Path Back If You Can’t Keep Working

Setbacks happen. If your SSDI benefits ended because of work and earnings, and the same or a related medical condition prevents you from working at the SGA level, you may qualify to request Expedited Reinstatement within five years of the month your benefits stopped.

While Social Security reviews your request, you may receive up to six months of provisional cash benefits without filing a new disability application. You may also be eligible for Medicare or Medicaid during that period.

5. Ticket To Work: Free Support To Put It All Together

Knowing the rules is one thing. Applying them while you start a new job is another. That’s where the Ticket To Work Program can help. The program is free and voluntary, and available to SSDI beneficiaries ages 18 through 64.

The four work incentives above are part of Social Security’s program. AES vocational experts can help you understand how each one applies to your situation and plan your next steps around them.

Ticket To Work also adds a protection of its own: While you use your Ticket and meet the program’s timely progress requirements, Social Security will not start a medical continuing disability review. You still need to report your work and earnings to Social Security, and AES can help you with those wage reports.

When you assign your Ticket to an Employment Network like AES, you get personalized employment support at no cost to you. Learn more in a separate article about what support you can expect from AES.

AES can help you:

• Complete your Individual Work Plan and submit Ticket to Work forms to Social Security
• Find work that fits your experience, skills and current abilities
• Understand Social Security’s work incentives, learn how to report earnings and navigate rules that may help you maintain SSDI and Medicare benefits while working
• Stay on track through regular check-ins

Celebrating Value And Talent Includes Employers

NDEAM in October is also a reminder that the workplace has a role to play.

People with disabilities bring valuable skills, experience and perspectives to their jobs. Providing workplace accommodations often costs less than employers expect. In a Job Accommodation Network survey of employers from 2019 through 2024, 61% of those who shared cost information said the accommodation they made cost nothing. Another 33% reported a one-time cost, with a median of $300.

AES also works with employers interested in connecting with qualified job seekers with disabilities.

Your Next Steps

1. Review Your Previous Work Activity. Talk with AES about your work history and return-to-work plans. AES can help you confirm with Social Security whether you have already used any trial work months.
2. Understand How Earnings Could Affect Your Benefits. Ask AES about the work incentives that apply to you and how your anticipated earnings may affect SSDI and Medicare.
3. Get Support With Employment Planning And Reporting. Connect with AES to assign your Ticket and build your Individual Work Plan. Once you start working, AES can help you report your earnings to Social Security. Keep copies of your pay stubs and other employment records.

Make This NDEAM Your Starting Point

Returning to work is a big decision, and you don’t have to make it alone. This October, as the nation celebrates the value and talent of workers with disabilities, take the first step toward your own goals. Request a free call from AES or call (866) 540-5105.

To hear more from LeighAnn Jarry, listen to her full interview on The David Webb Show visit: AES on NDEAM