Social Security

The TWP allows you to test your ability to work for at least 9 months. During your TWP, you will receive full SSDI benefits regardless of how high your earnings might be as long as you report your work activity and you have a disabling impairment.

Your TWP starts when you begin working and performing “services”. In 2013, we consider your work to be services for the TWP if your gross earnings are more than $750 a month, or if you work more than 80 hours in self-employment in a month. Your TWP cannot begin until the first month you are entitled to SSDI benefits, or the month you file for benefits, whichever is later.

The TWP continues until you accumulate 9 TWP service months (not necessarily consecutive) within a rolling 60-month period.

After you complete your TWP, you begin your Extended Period of Eligibility. During the EPE, we evaluate your work and earnings to decide if you can work at the SGA level (see How Do We Define Disability?).

• You are not eligible for disability benefits or a TWP if you work at the SGA level within 12 months of the start of your impairment(s) and before we approve your claim for disability benefits. This is because your impairment does not meet our definition of disability (see the section on How Do We Define Disability?).



• We can consider medical evidence that might demonstrate your medical recovery at any time. Therefore, it is possible for your benefits to stop due to your medical recovery before the end of your TWP.


• We will not conduct a continuing disability review if you are participating in the Ticket to Work program and you are using your ticket (see the section on Ticket to Work ).


• Unsuccessful Work Attempts (UWA) do not apply during the TWP (see the section on UWA).

Usually, we adjust the dollar amount of TWP “services” each year based on the national average wage index.

The EPE begins the month after the TWP ends, even if you are not working that month. The first 36 months of the EPE is the re-entitlement period.

The first time that you work above SGA in the EPE, we will decide that you no longer meet the requirements for disability due to work, and we say that your disability ”ceased”. We will pay benefits for the month your disability ceased and the following 2 months. We call this the grace period. If your earnings fall below SGA and you are still in the 36-month re-entitlement period, we can restart your benefits without a new application.

If you are not working above SGA and are eligible for a benefit payment for the 37th month of the EPE, you will continue to receive benefits until you:

• Work a month at the SGA level, or



• Medically recover.

No. The EPE applies only to persons who receive SSDI cash benefits.

“Unincurred Business Expenses” are contributions made by others to your self-employment business effort. For example, if the state VR agency gives you a computer for your business, or a friend works for your business as unpaid help, these are “unincurred business expenses”.

We generally follow the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules to figure your net earnings from self-employment. The IRS only allows you to deduct expenses you actually paid or incurred debt. When we make an SGA decision, we also deduct unincurred business expenses from your net earnings because we want an accurate measure of the value of your work.

For an item or service to qualify as an unincurred business expense:

• It must be an item or service that the IRS would allow as a legitimate business expense if you had paid for it.

No. We do not deduct unincurred business expenses from earnings when we figure your SSI payment amount.

Most persons with disabilities who work will continue to receive at least 93 consecutive months of Hospital Insurance (Part A); Supplemental Medical Insurance (Part B), if enrolled; and Prescription Drug coverage (Part D), if enrolled, after the 9-month Trial Work Period. You do not pay a premium for Part A. Although cash benefits may cease due to work, you have the assurance of continued health insurance. (93 months is 7 years and 9 months.)

Yes. After premium-free Medicare coverage ends due to work, you can buy continued Medicare coverage, as long as you remain medically disabled. If you have limited income and resources you may be eligible for state assistance with these costs under various Medicare Savings Programs. Your state Health and Human Services agency makes the determination about whether you qualify for this help.

• You are not yet age 65; and



• You continue to have a disabling impairment; and



• Your Medicare stopped due to work.

Premium Hospital Insurance (Part A) is available at the same monthly cost that uninsured eligible retired beneficiaries pay. If you have less than 30 quarters of coverage, the premium is $441 in 2013. However, you may qualify for a reduction in this premium (see below).

Premium Supplemental Medical Insurance (Part B) is available at $104.90 per month in 2013.

You can buy Part A separately without Part B. You cannot buy Part B unless you also buy Part A. Premium Prescription Drug coverage (Part D) is also available.

You may qualify for a 45 percent reduction in the monthly amount of your premium for Part A. You qualify for the reduced premium of $243 in 2013 if you:

• Have 30 or more quarters of coverage on your earnings record; or



• Have been married for at least 1 year to a worker with 30 or more quarters of coverage; or



• Were married for at least 1 year to a deceased worker with 30 or more quarters of coverage; or



• Are divorced, after at least 10 years of marriage, from a worker who had 30 or more quarters of coverage at the time the divorce became final.

• During your initial enrollment period (the month you are notified about the end of your premium-free health insurance and the following 7 months); or



• During the annual general enrollment period (January 1 through March 31 of each year); or



• • During a special enrollment period. You can enroll at any time while you are working, covered under an employer group health plan, still have a disabling impairment, or during the 8-month period that begins with the first full month after your employment or group health plan coverage ends, whichever occurs first.

For Part D, you may enroll (or change plans) during the annual coordinated election period (October 15 through December 7 each year). The effective date for the enrollment is January 1 of the upcoming year. There also will be special enrollment periods for some situations.

If you purchase Part A and maintain your employer group health plan, Medicare will be your primary payer if you are working. Your group health plan would become a secondary payer.

States are required to pay Part A premiums for some working persons with disabilities. You qualify if you:

• Are eligible to enroll in Hospital Insurance for individuals with disabilities who work; and
  
• Meet certain income and resource standards; and
• Apply for assistance with your state Medicaid agency; and
  
• Are ineligible for Medicare on any other basis.

Your trial work period is a time when you can test your ability to work. During your trial work period, we pay you disability payments no matter how much you earn. Details on the TWP are on, SSDI Only Employment Supports.

How it works:

• Lasts for 9 months


• The 9 months do not have to be in a row


• Must take place within 60 months (5 years)



For 2013, the monthly earnings amount that we use to determine if a month counts as a TWP month is $750 per month. The 2013 self-employment earnings or activity that we use to determine if a month counts as a TWP month is $750 per month or 80 hours per month.

Your extended period of eligibility starts the month after your trial work period ends. Details on the EPE are on, SSDI Only Employment Supports.

How it works:
After your trial work period ends, you get a 36-month extended period of eligibility. Whether we can pay you during this period depends on how much you work and earn.
During your extended period of eligibility:

• We can pay you for any month your work and earnings are not at a substantial gainful activity (SGA) level, and


• We can pay you for the first month that your work and earnings are substantial and for the next 2 months

Your benefits will terminate if your work is substantial in any month after your extended period of eligibility ends.

Expedited Reinstatement is your safety net if your cash benefits end because of your work. If you make less money or you have to stop working because of your disability, we may be able to restart your benefits right away if

• You stop working above the substantial gainful activity level, and


• Your disability is the same as or related to your current disability, and


• You make your request within 5 years of when your benefits end.

Details on EXR are on SSDI and SSI Employment Supports.

If your disability payments stop because of your work, the Medicare coverage you have can continue if your disability still meets our rules. It can continue for at least 93 months after your trial work period ends. Details on Continuation of Medicare Coverage are on SSDI Only Employment Supports.