Many social security claimants ask whether they can work and apply for social security disability. Claimants also ask what is substantial gainful activity or SGA? You should consult an attorney or a lawyer about this question. That said, the social security administration provides guidance on their website regarding what is considered substantial gainful activity. There are important caveats with respect to what substantial gainful activity is. Your attorney, lawyer, or representative can make arguments about unsuccessful work attempts, for example. There is additional nuance to this rule such as situations where an individual is engaged in work activity but is not being compensated for it. For example, small business owners might be engaged in full-time work, but be under the substantial gainful activity Below is the social security website’s guidance with respect to substantial gainful activity:
| “To be eligible for disability benefits, a person must be unable to engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA). A person who is earning more than a certain monthly amount (net of impairment-related work expenses) is ordinarily considered to be engaging in SGA. The amount of monthly earnings considered as SGA depends on the nature of a person’s disability. The Social Security Act specifies a higher SGA amount for statutorily blind individuals; Federal regulations specify a lower SGA amount for non-blind individuals. Both SGA amounts generally change with changes in the national average wage index. Amounts for 2022 Trial work period |
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| a $500 amount applied in the first half of 1999. |
Amounts for 2022
The monthly SGA amount for statutorily blind individuals for 2022 is $2260. For non-blind individuals, the monthly SGA amount for 2022 is $1350. SGA for the blind does not apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, while SGA for the non-blind disabled applies to Social Security and SSI benefits. See historical series of SGA amounts below.
Trial work period
After a person becomes eligible for Social Security disability benefits, the person may attempt to return to the work force. As an incentive, we provide a trial work period in which a beneficiary may have earnings and still collect benefits. The trial work period does not apply to SSI benefits. The monthly amount of earnings that trigger a trial work period are lower than the monthly SGA amounts shown below.” Credit to https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/sga.html. The link to this page is provided here.