Going back to work with SSDI - will my future SS retirement benefit decrease if I earn less now?

This is actually a really important question that many SSDI recipients face when considering return to work. The good news is that your retirement benefit calculation will likely NOT be significantly reduced if you return to work. Here's why: When you transition from SSDI to retirement at FRA, the SSA will calculate your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) based on your earnings history, but they actually exclude periods of disability from negatively impacting your calculation. The years you've been on SSDI are essentially treated as if they don't exist for calculation purposes. If you go back to work now, even at a lower salary than your previous career, you're actually adding earnings years that could potentially replace any $0 earning years from before your high-earning career started (like when you were in college or just starting out). Your benefit amount is based on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) from your highest 35 years, and if you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, the missing years are counted as zeros. So adding even modest earnings years can be beneficial if they replace zeros in the calculation.

i was in sorta similar situation bout 3 yrs ago when i went back 2 work after bein on disability. it messed up my benefits BIG TIME. had to fight with ssa for MONTHS to get it fixed. they kept sayin i was over the limit even after i stopped workin

Your question really hits home - I went through something similar. Let me clarify a couple things based on my experience: 1) First, what you're calling "SSRI" is actually just called Social Security retirement benefits or retirement insurance benefits (RIB). I've never heard any SSA rep use the term SSRI. 2) The good news: When you reach FRA, your benefit calculation includes a special "disability freeze" provision that protects you. The years you've been receiving SSDI are excluded from the calculation specifically to prevent your benefit from being reduced because of disability-related earnings loss. 3) If you work now, those new earnings will only be included in your calculation if they help your benefit amount. If they're lower than your earlier years, they won't bring your eventual retirement benefit down. 4) However, you're right to be concerned about losing your current SSDI. That's $32,400 annually you'd be giving up to earn $32,000, which doesn't make financial sense unless there are strong non-financial reasons to work. Have you considered trying the Ticket to Work program first? It gives you a trial work period where you can test your ability to work without immediately losing benefits.

DONT DO IT!!!!! The SSA system is RIGGED against disabled workers! I tried going back to work part time and not only did they cut off my benefits with NO WARNING, they claimed I owed them $14,000 in "overpayments" even though I reported EVERYTHING on time!!! Then I couldn't get my benefits restarted when I had to stop working because my condition got worse. It took TWO YEARS and a lawyer to fix!!!! They SAY they want disabled people to work but its a TRAP!!!! If ur getting $2700/month KEEP IT!!!!!

Have you tried calling SSA directly to ask them about this? That's probably the safest way to get an accurate answer for your specific situation since everybody's earnings record is different. Good luck getting through though! I spent 3 days trying to speak with someone last month and kept getting disconnected after waiting over an hour each time.

To address your follow-up question about whether working part-time would increase your eventual benefit: It depends on your full earnings history. You mentioned having about 15 years of high earnings before disability. If you have fewer than 35 years of total earnings in your history, then yes, adding $32k earnings years would likely increase your eventual retirement benefit compared to staying on SSDI, because they'd replace some $0 years in your calculation. You can create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov and view your complete earnings record. Count how many years you have with earnings. If it's less than 35, then working now could help. Keep in mind that the benefit formula gives more weight to earnings from early in your career (they're indexed for inflation), so even your earnings from the 1980s or 1990s could be worth more in the calculation than you might expect. You might want to ask SSA for a benefit estimate based on both scenarios.

one other thing nobody mentioned... if u go back to work u get medicare for like 8 years after ur benefits stop. thats what my case worker told me. so u dont lose health insurance right away

My sister went through this last year. She had been on SSDI for about 8 years and decided to try working again. The paperwork and reporting requirements were a NIGHTMARE. She had to document everything and still ended up with an overpayment notice. The stress actually made her condition worse and she had to stop working anyway. Just something to consider beyond just the financial aspects.

It just seems crazy to me that the system is set up so that if you try to be productive and work, you might end up worse off financially. Shouldn't there be some kind of gradual reduction instead of this cliff where you lose everything once you hit that SGA limit? The whole thing discourages people from trying to work at all.

I understand your frustration with the system - it does seem counterintuitive that there's such a sharp cutoff. However, there are actually some work incentives that can help create a more gradual transition, though they're not well-publicized. For example, if you have work-related expenses due to your disability (like special equipment, transportation, medications needed for work), these can be deducted from your earnings when SSA determines if you've exceeded SGA. There's also the Unsuccessful Work Attempt provision if you have to stop working within 6 months due to your disability. The Extended Period of Eligibility is another safety net - even after your benefits stop due to work, you can get them restarted immediately if you can't continue working within 36 months, without having to reapply. I agree the system could be more intuitive, but these provisions do exist to help people transition back to work without falling off a complete cliff. The key is understanding them beforehand, which unfortunately requires either really digging into SSA resources or working with a benefits counselor.

As someone who went through a similar transition, I wanted to share my experience and some practical advice. I was on SSDI for 12 years before returning to work at age 55, and the financial impact wasn't as scary as I initially thought. First, definitely get a personalized benefit estimate from SSA before making any decisions. When I called, they were able to run projections showing my retirement benefit under different scenarios - staying on SSDI vs. working at various income levels. This gave me concrete numbers instead of just worrying about unknowns. In your case, with only 22 years of earnings history (as you mentioned in a comment), those additional 9 years of $32K earnings will almost certainly INCREASE your eventual retirement benefit compared to staying on SSDI. Even though $32K is much less than your previous salary, it's replacing zero-earning years in your calculation. One thing that really helped me was working with a WIPA counselor (as someone else mentioned). They helped me understand all the work incentives I qualified for, including IRWE deductions that let me count some of my medical expenses against my earnings when determining SGA. The psychological benefit of working again was huge for me too - having purpose and contributing again was worth a lot beyond just the financial calculations. But definitely go in with your eyes open about the reporting requirements and have a good relationship with your local SSA office. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I'm new to this community but have been researching SSDI work options for my own situation. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful! One thing I wanted to add that I learned from a disability attorney consultation - there's also something called "Expedited Reinstatement" (EXR) that can be a safety net if you try working and it doesn't work out. Basically, if your benefits end due to work and then you become unable to work again within 5 years, you can request to have your benefits reinstated without going through the full application process again. You get up to 6 months of provisional benefits while they review your request, which can provide some financial security during the transition back if needed. It's not automatic - you still have to prove your condition prevents substantial work - but it's much faster than starting over completely. @Zainab Ahmed - Given your situation with 22 years of earnings history, it really does sound like adding those work years would help your retirement calculation. But definitely get those projections from SSA first so you can make the decision with actual numbers rather than estimates. The peace of mind from having concrete data is worth the effort of getting through to them (maybe try that Claimyr service someone mentioned!).

I wanted to share some additional resources that might help with your decision-making process. The Social Security Administration has a publication called "Working While Disabled — How We Can Help" (Publication No. 05-10095) that explains all the work incentives in detail. You can find it on their website or request a copy. Also, many states have Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) programs that work alongside WIPA counselors to provide comprehensive benefits planning. These services are free and specifically designed to help people in your exact situation model different scenarios and understand the financial impact of returning to work. One practical tip: if you do decide to pursue this opportunity, consider asking your brother-in-law if there's flexibility in the start date. This would give you time to get those SSA benefit projections, connect with a WIPA counselor, and maybe even do a trial work period to test things out before fully committing. The fact that this is a family business might also work in your favor - they're more likely to be understanding if you need accommodations or a gradual ramp-up period, and they'd probably be willing to work with you on reporting requirements to SSA. Your situation with 22 years of earnings really does put you in a good position where additional work years are likely to help rather than hurt your eventual retirement benefit. But getting those official projections will give you the confidence to move forward (or not) based on real numbers.