Can You Work While Receiving SSDI Benefits?

Many Arkansas residents receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) wonder whether earning any income will cost them their benefits. The answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has established specific rules that allow beneficiaries to test their ability to work without automatically losing benefits — but crossing certain thresholds can trigger a review or termination of payments. Understanding these rules is critical before you accept a job or start a side business.

Substantial Gainful Activity: The Key Threshold

The SSA uses a concept called Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) to determine whether your work activity disqualifies you from SSDI. For 2025, the SGA limit is $1,550 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,590 per month for those who are blind. If your gross earnings from work exceed SGA, the SSA may determine that you are no longer disabled under their definition.

It is important to understand that SGA applies to earned income — wages or self-employment profit — not to passive income like investments, rental income, or retirement payments. An Arkansas beneficiary receiving rental payments from property they own does not count that income toward SGA. However, if you are actively managing properties as a business, the SSA may count a portion of that activity.

Arkansas does not have its own separate SGA rules. All SSDI recipients in the state are governed by federal SSA guidelines regardless of which county or city they live in.

The Trial Work Period: Your Protected Window

One of the most misunderstood and underutilized protections in SSDI law is the Trial Work Period (TWP). The SSA allows every SSDI recipient to test their ability to work for up to nine months within a rolling 60-month period without losing benefits, regardless of how much you earn during those months.

A month counts as a trial work month in 2025 if you earn more than $1,050 or, if self-employed, work more than 80 hours in the month. These nine months do not need to be consecutive — they simply need to fall within a 60-month window.

During your TWP, you continue receiving your full SSDI payment even if your earnings exceed SGA. The SSA essentially gives you a chance to see whether you can sustain employment before making a determination about your benefits. Once you exhaust your nine trial months, the SSA will begin evaluating whether your work constitutes SGA.

The Extended Period of Eligibility

After your Trial Work Period ends, you enter a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). During this window, you can receive SSDI benefits for any month in which your earnings fall below the SGA limit — even without reapplying. If your income drops below $1,550 in a given month, your benefit is reinstated automatically.

This protection is particularly valuable for Arkansas workers in industries with irregular hours or seasonal fluctuations, such as agriculture, construction, or tourism. If a condition flares up and you reduce your hours below SGA, you do not need to go through a new application and wait period to recover your benefits.

Once the EPE expires, however, the safety net tightens considerably. Returning to SGA after that point means you must file a new SSDI application — though Expedited Reinstatement rules allow a faster process if the disabling condition is the same one that originally qualified you.

Work Incentives That Reduce Your Countable Income

Several SSA programs can help Arkansas SSDI recipients work without triggering loss of benefits by reducing the amount of earnings the SSA counts against your SGA limit:

• Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWEs): Costs you pay out of pocket for items or services that allow you to work — such as prescription medications, medical devices, or specialized transportation — can be deducted from your gross earnings before SGA is calculated.
• Subsidies and Special Conditions: If your employer provides extra supervision, accommodations, or reduced productivity expectations because of your disability, the SSA may reduce the value of your work when calculating SGA.
• Ticket to Work Program: This free SSA program connects SSDI recipients with employment networks and state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Participating in Ticket to Work can temporarily suspend continuing disability reviews while you pursue employment goals.
• Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS): Allows you to set aside income or resources to pursue a specific work goal, such as starting a business or completing job training, without those funds counting against your benefits.

Arkansas beneficiaries should contact the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS), the state's vocational rehabilitation agency, to learn about additional employment support services available at no cost. ARS partners directly with the SSA's Ticket to Work program and can help you build a sustainable return-to-work plan.

Reporting Your Work Activity and Avoiding Overpayments

One of the most serious mistakes an SSDI recipient can make is failing to report work activity to the SSA promptly. You are legally required to report all work activity, including part-time jobs, freelance income, and self-employment, regardless of how little you earn. Failure to report can result in overpayments that the SSA will seek to recover — sometimes years after the fact.

Overpayments are a significant problem nationwide, and Arkansas beneficiaries are not immune. If the SSA determines you were overpaid because you failed to report work activity, you will receive a notice demanding repayment. While you can request a waiver if repayment would cause financial hardship and you were not at fault, these proceedings can be stressful and time-consuming.

The safest practice is to report any new work to your local Social Security field office — the nearest Arkansas offices are located in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, and Fayetteville, among other locations — as well as by phone at 1-800-772-1213. Keep detailed records of your earnings, hours worked, and any disability-related expenses you pay to support your work activity.

If you receive a notice of overpayment or are told your benefits are being terminated because of work activity, you have the right to appeal. Filing a timely appeal can preserve your benefits during the review process. An experienced SSDI attorney can help you navigate the appeals process and present evidence showing that your work does not constitute SGA or that applicable work incentives reduce your countable earnings below the threshold.

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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