SSDI Trial Work Period in Maryland: What to Know

SSDI Trial Work Period in Maryland: What to Know

Returning to work after receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits can feel like walking a tightrope. Earn too much, and you risk losing the benefits that sustain you. Earn too little, and you may never regain financial independence. The Trial Work Period (TWP) is the federal program designed to give Maryland SSDI recipients a structured, protected opportunity to test their ability to work without immediately forfeiting their disability benefits. Understanding exactly how this program works—and how to use it strategically—can make a critical difference in your financial stability.

What Is the SSDI Trial Work Period?

The Trial Work Period is a Social Security Administration (SSA) program that allows SSDI recipients to attempt work activity for up to nine months within a rolling 60-month window, without those work efforts triggering a cessation of benefits. During each of those nine months, you continue to receive your full SSDI payment regardless of how much you earn from work.

A month counts as a Trial Work Period service month when your gross earnings exceed a threshold set by the SSA each year. For 2025, that threshold is $1,110 per month. If you are self-employed, the SSA counts a month as a TWP service month if you work more than 80 hours in that month, even if your net profit is below the earnings threshold. These nine months do not need to be consecutive—they accumulate within the 60-month period.

Because SSDI is a federal program administered by the SSA, the rules governing the Trial Work Period apply uniformly in Maryland just as they do in every other state. However, how Maryland residents interact with the local SSA field offices, state vocational rehabilitation services, and other support systems can significantly shape the experience.

How the Trial Work Period Works in Practice

Once you begin working and earning above the monthly service threshold, the SSA begins tracking your TWP months. Here is how the timeline typically unfolds:

• Months 1–9 (Trial Work Period): You receive your full SSDI benefit regardless of earnings. The SSA counts each month above the threshold toward your nine allotted service months.
• Month 10 onward (Extended Period of Eligibility): After exhausting your nine TWP months, a 36-month window called the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) begins. During this phase, you receive benefits in any month your earnings fall below Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)—set at $1,620 per month for non-blind individuals in 2025—and benefits are withheld in months your earnings exceed SGA.
• After the EPE: If you are still working above SGA when the EPE ends, your SSDI eligibility terminates. However, for five years after termination you may request Expedited Reinstatement if you become unable to work again, allowing benefits to restart without a completely new application.

Maryland residents in the Baltimore, Columbia, or Annapolis metropolitan areas may notice variation in processing times at different SSA field offices. If you are approaching the end of your TWP, contact your local Maryland SSA office proactively to confirm that your work activity is being tracked correctly. Errors in SSA records can cause overpayment notices or incorrect benefit terminations that require formal appeals to resolve.

Reporting Your Work Activity in Maryland

One of the most important—and most frequently mishandled—obligations for Maryland SSDI recipients during the Trial Work Period is timely and accurate reporting of work activity. The SSA requires you to report any return to work promptly. Failure to report can result in overpayments that the SSA will demand you repay, sometimes years after the fact.

You should report work activity through the following channels:

• In writing to your local Maryland Social Security field office
• Through your my Social Security online account at ssa.gov
• By calling the SSA's national toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213
• Through the SSA's Ticket to Work program if you are working with an Employment Network or State Vocational Rehabilitation agency

Maryland's Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) is the state vocational rehabilitation agency that can assist SSDI recipients with job training, placement, and support services during the TWP. Engaging with DORS and assigning your Ticket to Work to an approved Employment Network can provide additional work incentive counseling and protects you from continuing disability reviews while your Ticket is in use.

Common Mistakes That Jeopardize Maryland Benefits

The TWP rules contain enough nuance that mistakes are common, even among claimants who are trying to follow the rules correctly. The most damaging errors include:

• Failing to report work activity at all. Some recipients believe that because their earnings are below SGA, they do not need to report anything. This is incorrect. Any work above the TWP service threshold must be reported, even during the protected nine months.
• Misunderstanding what counts as earnings. The SSA counts gross wages, not take-home pay. Employer-paid fringe benefits, bonuses, and certain impairment-related work expenses (IRWE) can affect the calculation. IRWEs—such as medication costs, transportation to a medical provider, or adaptive equipment—can be deducted from gross earnings when determining SGA.
• Assuming all nine months must be used at once. TWP months accumulate over 60 months. A recipient who works for three months, stops due to a health flare, and returns to work two years later may still have TWP months available to use.
• Confusing TWP rules with SSI rules. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has entirely different work incentive rules. If you receive both SSDI and SSI—a common situation for Maryland recipients who qualified for SSI before their SSDI was approved—each program's rules apply separately and simultaneously.

Protecting Your Rights After the Trial Work Period

When the SSA determines that your Trial Work Period has concluded and that your earnings exceed SGA, it will issue a cessation notice. You have the right to appeal this determination. If you file an appeal within 10 days of receiving the notice and request continuation of benefits, your SSDI payments will generally continue while the appeal is pending.

Many cessation decisions in Maryland are overturned at the Reconsideration or Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) hearing level when claimants properly document subsidized work, employer accommodations, or impairment-related work expenses that bring effective earnings below SGA. A calculation error by the SSA—or the failure to account for a deductible IRWE—can incorrectly terminate benefits that should have continued.

If your benefits are terminated after the EPE and you later stop working due to your disability within five years of termination, file for Expedited Reinstatement immediately. This process is significantly faster than filing a brand-new SSDI claim and avoids a second lengthy wait for benefits.

Maryland residents navigating the Trial Work Period face the same federal rules as everyone else, but local resources—including DORS, regional SSA offices, and disability advocacy organizations across Baltimore and beyond—can make the process more manageable. Keeping detailed records of every paycheck, every hour worked, and every communication with the SSA is not optional; it is the foundation of protecting your 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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