There are all sorts of rules related to work activity when it comes to a Social Security disability case. The key factors of a work situation that many people do not realize relate to amount of income and sustainability of a fulltime job. Even people who are impaired can work somewhat, but their impairments usually don’t allow them to maintain fulltime work and sustain that work. The amount of income someone earns from work-related activities is another important factor, regardless of how many hour someone works. One of Social Security’s most important rules is the Trial Work Period. Below is information from Social Security and it is pretty much everything you need to know about the Trial Work rules.
What Is The Purpose Of The Trial Work Period?
A trial work period provides an incentive for personal rehabilitation efforts for you as a disabled worker, disabled widow(er), or childhood disability beneficiary (who is still disabled) to return to work. It allows you to test your ability to work for up to nine months within a 60-consecutive-month period without your earnings for those months affecting your benefits.
Does The Trial Work Period Affect Benefit Rights?
If your disability does not improve and you continue to report your work activity, your rights to trial work period benefits are not affected.
Does The Work You Do During The Trial Work Period Determine The End Of Your Disability?
Any work and earnings during the nine-month trial work period is disregarded in determining whether your disability ended during the trial work period.
Can Your Benefits End Before The Trial Work Period Ends?
The trial work period does not prevent the consideration of any medical evidence that demonstrates your recovery before the ninth-month period. If your condition has improved, it is possible for your benefits to end before you complete your ninth month of trial work.
How Many Trial Work Periods Are Allowed?
Only one trial work period is allowed in any one period of disability.
When Is Your Work During The Trial Work Period Not Counted As A Month Of Service?
For calendar year 2018, use the following guidelines to determine if your work during a trial work period does not count as a “month of service” for trial work period purposes:
Your earnings from employment are $850 or less in a month; or
Your earnings from self-employment activity are $850 or less in a month and you spend 80 hours or less in self-employment activity.
The dollar amount is adjusted each year based on the national average wage.
When Are Benefits In The Trial Work Period Not Payable?
If you are convicted by a Federal Court of fraudulently concealing work activity that occurred during the TWP, you are not eligible to receive payment for any TWP months that occur in or after March 2004 and before the date of the conviction. If payments for those TWP months have already been paid to you, you will be liable for repayment.
