Disability can you work

Meet the Editors. You can work as long as your countable income doesn't go above the SSI income limit. Your countable income is made up of the following: wages you are paid from your job some of which is excluded the value of free food and shelter provided for you support money from family or friends though not all of your spouse's earnings are counted against you , and payments from other sources, like veterans benefits or unemployment.

Earned Income Exclusion Earned income means money you are paid from working. Take our disability quiz to help you determine whether you qualify for benefits. Disability Law. Social Security Disability. Long-Term Disability. Veterans Disability. State Short-Term Disability.

Hiring a Disability Lawyer. Disability for Specific Illnesses. Long-Term Care. Nolo's Guide to Social Security Disability. See All Disability Law Articles. Talk to a Disability Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Zip Code. How it Works Briefly tell us about your case Provide your contact information Choose attorneys to contact you.

These are special programs that allow disability recipients to transition back into the workforce. The best time to attempt one of these programs will vary based on conditions unique to each case. These programs come in many forms. For example, you may be able to receive disability payments by participating in a vocational rehabilitation program. This is for recipients who medically recover and go back to work but still receive payments to help them become self-supporting.

During these instances, those impairment-related work expenses would be deducted from your pay, such as needing more supervision, needing more time to complete tasks, and completing less work overall compared to other workers at the same pay level. Can you work part time on Social Security Disability? Does my part-time job exceed the SGA limit? Professional services. There is an additional provision found in some "own occ" policies that further limits a person's ability to work while collecting LTD:.

If your own occupation involves performing professional services and requires a professional or occupational license, your own occupation shall be as broad as the scope of your license. This provision means that your own occupation will be defined as any job requiring your same license. In theory, this provision could allow an insurance company to deny LTD benefits to a surgeon who develops a hand tremor, if the insurer can demonstrate that the individual could perform any other job requiring a medical license, such as a medical school professor.

How broadly this relatively new provision will be interpreted by insurers and the courts remains to be seen, but keep it in mind if you're considering returning to work in a position similar to your previous one. The bottom line is that under many "own occ" policies, disabled individuals can work in another profession without affecting their receipt of LTD benefits too much. The contract provisions mentioned above have been introduced only recently into a small number of policies.

If you're considering going back to work, review the terms of your policy or consult with your attorney to ensure that you continue to receive your full long-term disability benefits without interruption. Many disability policies transition from "own occ" to the less generous "any occ" standard after a period of 24 months.

The extent to which you can return to work under an "any occ" policy depends on the specifics of your plan, but typically the more you're earning in your new job, the more your LTD check will be reduced. Many policies provide for residual or partial disability payments, which allow someone capable of only part-time work to receive ongoing benefits. You'll be expected to provide your LTD insurer with proof of your earnings and hours worked on a monthly basis.

Finally, many "any occ" policies offer rehabilitation incentives designed to help disabled individuals get back to work. If you're collecting long-term disability benefits and thinking about going back to work, make sure you read your long-term disability policy carefully to understand how working will affect your monthly check.

Contact your LTD claims administrator or, even better, a long-term disability attorney if you have questions about your policy. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site.