Working While on SSDI: What Nebraska Recipients Must Know

Many Social Security Disability Insurance recipients worry that earning any income will immediately cost them their benefits. The reality is more nuanced. The Social Security Administration has built specific work incentive programs into the SSDI system that allow recipients to test their ability to work without automatically losing coverage. Understanding these rules is essential for any Nebraska resident receiving disability benefits.

The Trial Work Period: Your Protected Window to Test Employment

The most important protection available to SSDI recipients who want to return to work is the Trial Work Period (TWP). During this period, you can work and receive your full SSDI benefit regardless of how much you earn, as long as you continue to have a disabling condition.

The Trial Work Period consists of nine months within a rolling 60-month window. In 2025, any month in which you earn more than $1,110 counts as a trial work month. These nine months do not need to be consecutive — they accumulate over any five-year period.

For Nebraska workers returning to employment, this means you have a meaningful opportunity to test competitive employment without fear of immediate benefit termination. A Nebraska resident who returns to part-time warehouse work, for example, can continue receiving full SSDI payments during those nine trial months while assessing whether the work is sustainable given their medical condition.

Substantial Gainful Activity and What Happens After the Trial Period

Once your nine Trial Work Period months are exhausted, the SSA evaluates whether your earnings rise to the level of Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). For 2025, the SGA threshold is $1,550 per month for non-blind recipients and $2,590 per month for blind recipients.

If your earnings exceed SGA after the Trial Work Period ends, the SSA will generally determine that you are no longer disabled for benefit purposes and will terminate your payments. However, this is not an immediate cliff — you still have protections:

• Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE): Following the Trial Work Period, you enter a 36-month window during which benefits can be reinstated any month your earnings fall below SGA without filing a new application.
• Expedited Reinstatement: If your benefits terminate and your condition worsens within five years, you may request reinstatement without starting the full application process over.

Nebraska recipients should track their monthly earnings carefully and report work activity to the SSA promptly. Failure to report can result in overpayment demands that can be difficult to resolve.

Work Incentives That Reduce Countable Earnings

The SSA does not simply count your gross paycheck against the SGA threshold. Several deductions and incentives can reduce what the agency considers your countable income:

• Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWEs): Costs directly related to your disability that allow you to work — such as medications, specialized equipment, or transportation due to mobility limitations — can be deducted from your earnings before the SGA calculation. A Nebraska recipient with diabetes who pays for insulin and testing supplies necessary to maintain work capacity may deduct those costs.
• Subsidies and Special Conditions: If your employer provides extra supervision, modified duties, or other accommodations that reduce your actual productivity, the SSA may discount the earnings attributable to that support.
• Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS): SSDI recipients can set aside income or resources for a specific work goal — such as education, vocational training, or starting a small business — under an SSA-approved PASS plan. Those set-aside amounts are excluded from the SGA calculation.
• Ticket to Work: Nebraska residents can use this free SSA program to access employment services, vocational rehabilitation, and job placement assistance without triggering a continuing disability review simply by participating.

Medicare Continuation and Nebraska Medicaid Protections

One of the most significant concerns for SSDI recipients considering employment is health insurance. Losing Medicare coverage can be as devastating as losing the monthly cash benefit for recipients managing serious medical conditions. Fortunately, the law provides extended protection.

After your Trial Work Period ends, Medicare coverage continues for at least 93 months (approximately 7.75 years) even if your cash benefits terminate due to substantial earnings. This extended Medicare continuation means that Nebraska recipients who return to work in jobs that do not provide adequate health insurance have a lengthy transition window before their coverage ends.

Nebraska also participates in the Medicaid Buy-In Program for workers with disabilities. This program allows Nebraskans with disabilities who are employed to purchase Medicaid coverage at a sliding-scale premium based on income, providing an additional safety net as SSDI recipients transition toward greater workforce participation. Contact the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for current eligibility thresholds and enrollment procedures.

Reporting Requirements and Avoiding Overpayments

Nebraska SSDI recipients who work have an absolute obligation to report earnings to the Social Security Administration in a timely manner. The SSA requires that you report any work activity, including self-employment, seasonal work, and part-time jobs, even if you believe your earnings are below the SGA threshold.

Overpayments are one of the most common and consequential problems SSDI recipients face when they work. If the SSA determines you received benefits during a period when you were ineligible, it will issue a demand for repayment that can reach tens of thousands of dollars. While recipients can request a waiver of overpayment recovery — particularly when the overpayment was not their fault and recovery would cause financial hardship — these waiver processes are time-consuming and uncertain in outcome.

The safest practice is to report earnings monthly by calling the SSA directly, using your my Social Security online account, or submitting documentation in writing with confirmation. Keep copies of all correspondence and maintain records of your monthly earnings, hours worked, and any disability-related expenses.

Nebraska residents who are self-employed face additional complexity. The SSA applies a separate test for self-employed individuals that examines both net earnings and the nature and value of services performed. Self-employment income is not automatically compared to the SGA threshold in the same way as W-2 wages — the SSA may attribute a higher value to your services than what you actually received if your labor benefited your business.

Working while receiving SSDI benefits is legally permissible and, in many cases, encouraged through the SSA's work incentive framework. The key is understanding exactly where your earnings stand relative to program thresholds and reporting accurately and promptly. Nebraska recipients who approach work carefully — tracking each trial work month, documenting disability-related expenses, and communicating proactively with the SSA — can explore employment without unnecessarily jeopardizing their benefits.

Need Help? If you have questions about your case, call or text 833-657-4812 for a free consultation with an experienced attorney.

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