Once you are found disabled, typically, your benefits will continue until some condition occurs which causes them to stop. A number of conditions can make this occur, including: returning to work, an improvement in your disabling condition, reaching retirement age, confinement in prison or jail, and/or an increase in assets.
If you return to work on a regular basis (at what Social Security deems a, “substantial gainful level,” your benefits can be stopped. Social Security defines substantial gainful activity as earning more than $1,010 a month. However, there are more factors to be considered. Social Security will also take into consideration the type of work you are doing, whether you need special accommodations in performing this work, or if you are working in a sheltered work environment (where more assistance is needed).
Social Security has designed a set of criteria which allows workers to attempt to return to work without jeopardizing benefits. This is referred to as a trial work period. If you return to work making over $720 a month, Social Security will consider this a trial work period and this period can last for up to nine months without losing your disability benefits. If the work period proves unsuccessful (you have to again stop working), your benefits will continue.
Once you reach retirement age, you will start receiving benefits under the Social Security Retirement program. You cannot receive disability and retirement benefits at the same time.
If Social Security determines that you condition has improved to the point where you no longer meet the eligibility requirements for disability, your benefits can be stopped. Your allowance is periodically reviewed by Social Security over the course of several years. For this reason it is important to continue seeing your doctors and maintaining the records to show continuing disability.
If you are serving time in prison, your disability benefits will be withheld for the time period you are incarcerated. In some specific cases, the type of crime may cause your benefits to be stopped altogether.
Finally, if you are receiving SSI rather than SSDI, your benefits can also be stopped if you exceed the income or asset limit. SSI is a need based disability program and if you have assets over $2000, or personal income of more than $698, you benefits may stop. Income can include spouse’s incomes, free food or shelter, or parental income on behalf of a minor.
