One of the biggest fears people on disability have is that working—even a little—will cause them to lose their benefits. The reality is more encouraging than most people think. Both SSI and SSDI have rules that allow you to work part-time and still receive benefits, and in many cases, working can actually increase your total income. The key is understanding the rules so you can make informed decisions.
In this article, we'll cover:
- How part-time work affects SSDI benefits
- How part-time work affects SSI benefits
- Important income limits and thresholds for 2026
- Work incentive programs that protect your benefits
- How working affects your healthcare coverage
- Tips for starting a part-time job while on disability
Working Part-Time While Receiving SSDI
If you receive SSDI, the main threshold you need to know about is the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit. In 2026, SGA is $1,690 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 per month for blind individuals. As long as your gross earnings stay below SGA, your SSDI benefits generally won't be affected after your Trial Work Period.
But before SGA even comes into play, SSDI offers a Trial Work Period (TWP) that lets you test your ability to work without any risk to your benefits. During the TWP, you can earn any amount and still receive your full SSDI payment. In 2026, any month you earn more than $1,210 counts as a trial work month, and you get nine trial work months within a rolling 60-month window. This means you could potentially work for nine months—earning as much as you want—while keeping your full SSDI check.
After your Trial Work Period ends, you enter a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). During this time, you'll receive your SSDI payment for any month your earnings fall below SGA, and your benefits will stop for any month you earn above SGA. But even if your benefits stop, they can be restarted during the EPE without a new application—just by having a month where earnings drop below SGA.
Working Part-Time While Receiving SSI
SSI handles part-time work differently, and in many ways, more favorably for low-level earners. Instead of a hard cutoff like SGA, SSI uses a gradual formula to reduce your payment as your income increases. The formula works like this: Social Security excludes the first $65 of earned income, then reduces your SSI payment by $1 for every $2 you earn after that.
This means that for every dollar you earn from work, you only lose 50 cents in SSI—so working always leaves you with more total income than not working. For example, if you earn $500 per month from a part-time job, Social Security would exclude $65 and count $217.50 against your SSI (half of $435). Your SSI payment would decrease by $217.50, but you'd still come out ahead by $282.50 compared to not working at all.
The $994 maximum SSI payment in 2026 is reduced as your earned income increases, and your SSI payment reaches zero once your countable earned income is high enough. But remember—you'd be earning more from work than you're losing in SSI, so your total income is still higher.
One important caveat for SSI recipients: your earnings are considered a resource once they hit your bank account. If your earnings push your bank balance above the $2,000 resource limit ($3,000 for couples), you could lose SSI eligibility even though the earnings themselves are allowed. Managing the timing of your spending is important to avoid this.
Work Incentive Programs
Social Security offers several work incentive programs designed to make it easier and less risky to try working. Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) lets you deduct the cost of disability-related expenses you need in order to work—like medication, specialized transportation, or assistive devices—from your earnings before SGA is calculated. This can keep you below the SGA threshold even if your gross pay is above it.
Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) allows SSI recipients to set aside income and resources toward a work goal, such as starting a business or getting education and training. The income and resources set aside under an approved PASS plan don't count toward SSI's limits.
The Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) allows SSI recipients under age 22 who are regularly attending school to exclude up to $2,450 per month (up to $9,840 per year) in 2026 from their earnings when calculating SSI. This is a significant exclusion that makes part-time work much more financially beneficial for younger recipients.
Ticket to Work is a free voluntary program that provides career counseling, job placement, and vocational rehabilitation services to disability recipients who want to work. Participating in Ticket to Work can also provide some protection from medical Continuing Disability Reviews while you're making progress toward your employment goals.
How Working Affects Your Healthcare
Many people are more worried about losing healthcare coverage than losing cash benefits, and that's understandable. The good news is that both SSI and SSDI have protections in place.
For SSDI recipients, Medicare continues for at least 93 months (nearly 8 years) after your Trial Work Period ends, even if your SSDI cash benefits stop due to earnings above SGA. This gives you a substantial runway to establish yourself in the workforce while maintaining healthcare coverage.
For SSI recipients, most states offer 1619(b) Medicaid coverage, which allows you to keep Medicaid even if your earnings push your SSI cash payment to zero. You remain eligible as long as you still have a qualifying disability, need Medicaid to work, and your earnings are below your state's 1619(b) threshold—which is often much higher than you'd expect.
Tips for Starting Part-Time Work
If you're thinking about working, start by understanding which benefit you receive (SSI, SSDI, or both) and the specific rules that apply. Consider starting small—a few hours a week—to test how work affects both your health and your benefits. Keep meticulous records of your earnings and report them to Social Security promptly.
Connect with a Benefits Counselor through your local Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program. These counselors are specifically trained to help disability recipients understand how working will affect their benefits, and the service is free. They can help you run the numbers and create a plan before you start working.
Finally, don't let fear stop you from exploring work opportunities. The rules are designed to encourage work, and in most cases, you'll be financially better off working part-time than not working at all.
Working part-time while on disability benefits means keeping careful track of your income and resources. Purple's checking account makes it easy to monitor your finances and stay compliant with SSI and SSDI rules.