The short answer is yes—both SSI and SSDI allow you to work while receiving benefits. The longer answer involves understanding exactly how your earnings affect your payments, knowing the key thresholds that trigger changes, and being strategic about protecting both your income and your benefits.
In this article, we'll cover:
- How working affects your SSI benefits
- How working affects your SSDI benefits
- Key income thresholds and what they mean
- Work incentive programs that can help
- Special rules for students and blind individuals
- How to report your earnings properly
Working While on SSI
SSI is designed to provide a financial floor, so the program reduces your benefits as your income increases—but not dollar for dollar. Social Security uses a formula that lets you keep some of what you earn.
Here's how it works: Social Security first excludes the first $20 of any income you receive in a month (this is called the general income exclusion). Then, for earned income specifically, they exclude the first $65 plus half of everything above that. The remaining amount reduces your SSI payment dollar for dollar.
Let's say you earn $500 per month from a part-time job. Social Security would calculate it like this: $500 minus $20 (general exclusion) equals $480. Then $480 minus $65 (earned income exclusion) equals $415. Half of $415 is $207.50. So your SSI payment would be reduced by $207.50, meaning you'd keep about $292.50 of your earnings plus a reduced SSI check. You'd still come out ahead compared to not working.
The key with SSI is that your earnings also need to not push your total resources over the $2,000 limit. If you're earning money but spending it down appropriately, this isn't a problem. But if you're saving your paychecks in a bank account, you could accidentally exceed the resource limit and lose your benefits entirely.
Working While on SSDI
SSDI works differently because it's not needs-based—it's insurance you've earned. The program uses earnings thresholds rather than a sliding scale to determine if you can still be considered disabled.
The most important number to know is the Substantial Gainful Activity limit, or SGA. In 2026, SGA is $1,690 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,830 for blind individuals. If you consistently earn above SGA, Social Security will eventually determine that you're able to engage in substantial work and your benefits will stop.
But "consistently" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. SSDI includes several programs designed to let you test your ability to work without immediately losing benefits.
The Trial Work Period
For SSDI recipients, the Trial Work Period is your safety net for testing employment. You get nine months (they don't have to be consecutive) during which you can earn any amount without losing your SSDI benefits. In 2026, a Trial Work Period month is any month in which you earn more than $1,210.
This means you could theoretically work a high-paying job for nine months, keep all your earnings, and continue receiving full SSDI. The purpose is to let you genuinely test whether you can sustain employment without the fear of immediately losing your safety net.
After you use all nine Trial Work Period months, you enter a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility. During this time, you'll receive SSDI benefits for any month your earnings fall below SGA, but not for months when you earn above SGA. It's like a dimmer switch rather than an on-off switch.
Impairment-Related Work Expenses
Both SSI and SSDI allow you to deduct Impairment-Related Work Expenses, or IRWEs, from your earnings before Social Security counts them. These are costs you incur specifically because of your disability that enable you to work.
IRWEs can include things like medications you take to manage symptoms while working, transportation costs if your disability prevents you from using standard transit, personal care assistance at work, specialized equipment or tools, and medical services directly related to your ability to work.
If you spend $200 per month on disability-related transportation to get to your job, that $200 would be subtracted from your countable earnings. For someone hovering near the SGA limit, IRWEs can make the difference between keeping and losing benefits.
Special Rules for Students
If you're under 22 and regularly attending school, the Student Earned Income Exclusion provides additional protection for SSI recipients. In 2026, you can exclude up to $2,450 per month of earned income (up to a yearly maximum of $9,840) before the regular SSI earned income formula kicks in.
This is a significant benefit for young people with disabilities trying to gain work experience while in school. Combined with the regular exclusions, a student could earn quite a bit while keeping most of their SSI payment intact.
Special Rules for Blind Individuals
People who are legally blind have several advantages when it comes to working. The SGA limit for blind SSDI recipients is $2,830 per month in 2026—over $1,000 higher than the limit for other disabilities. Blind SSI recipients can deduct more types of work expenses, including some that wouldn't qualify as IRWEs for others. Additionally, blind individuals can accumulate more Trial Work Period months and have different rules for how work affects their benefits long-term.
Reporting Your Earnings
Whatever program you're on, reporting your earnings accurately and promptly is essential. Failure to report can result in overpayments that Social Security will claw back, sometimes aggressively.
For SSI, you must report income by the 10th of the month following the month you received it. If you get paid on January 15th, you need to report that income by February 10th. You can report online, by phone, in person, or through mail.
For SSDI, you should report work activity when it begins and provide periodic updates on your earnings. While the rules are less rigid about exact timing, waiting too long can result in significant overpayments that you'll owe back.
Keep pay stubs, track your hours, and document any IRWEs. The more organized you are, the easier it will be to deal with Social Security's questions—and they will have questions.
Making Part-Time Work Actually Work
Working while receiving benefits can improve your financial situation, but it requires careful planning. Know your numbers before you start. Understand exactly how your specific benefit amount will be affected by various earning levels. Track everything in real-time. Don't wait until the end of the month to figure out where you stand. Consider the timing. Sometimes it makes sense to limit hours one month to avoid pushing over a threshold. Factor in all the costs. Transportation, clothing, childcare, and increased fatigue all affect whether working makes financial sense.
Purple helps you stay on top of your finances while working. Our checking account tracks your resources in real-time, so you always know where you stand with SSI limits. Managing benefits and a paycheck shouldn't require a spreadsheet.