SSDI and turning 65 - Can my husband work part-time without losing disability benefits?

When your husband turns 65, his SSDI benefits will automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the amount stays exactly the same. The big difference is that once he reaches his Full Retirement Age (which is 66 and 4 months if he's turning 65 this year), the earnings limit goes away completely! Until he reaches FRA though, he's still subject to the annual earnings limit of $22,320 for 2025. If he earns over that before reaching his FRA, SSA will deduct $1 for every $2 he earns above the limit. I went through this exact transition last year and was so relieved when I finally hit my FRA and could work as much as I wanted without worrying about losing benefits.

my cousin did this last year and SSA took away half his check because he made too much!!! be REALLY careful and call them first before he takes ANY job

Your husband can absolutely work part-time while on SSDI, but there are strict limits. In 2025, the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit is $1,550 per month for disabled individuals. If he earns more than that, SSA considers him not disabled. HOWEVER, once he transitions to retirement benefits at 65, the SGA limit no longer applies - instead the annual earnings test applies until he reaches his Full Retirement Age, as the previous commenter mentioned. Make sure he reports any work activity to SSA before starting the job. The rules are complex and the penalties for not reporting can be severe.

I tried calling SSA about something similar and spent THREE DAYS trying to get through. Kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Definitely worth it because the agent explained exactly how the transition from disability to retirement works and what the earnings limits would be for my specific situation. You really need to talk to SSA directly about this because everyone's situation is different.

No offense but you're all giving her the WRONG information! SSDI does NOT automatically convert to retirement at 65 anymore - it converts at your Full Retirement Age which is 66+ for most people now. And SSDI isn't affected by any earnings test - it's affected by the SGA limit which is totally different!!!!!

My sister went thru this last yr. She was getting disability and started working at walmart like 20 hrs/week when she was 64. She made sure to earn less than whatever the monthly limit was (i think it was like $1400 or somethin). When she hit 66 last month she said she can now work as much as she wants and it doesnt affect her checks at all! She said there's like a grace period where they dont count some months too but I dont remember the details.

I'm going through this exact transition now! Just turned 65 in January and was on SSDI for 7 years. Here's what I learned: 1. My SSDI will automatically convert to retirement benefits when I reach my Full Retirement Age (66+8mo for me) 2. Until then, I'm still considered disabled and still follow SSDI rules 3. I can work under the Trial Work Period rules which means I get 9 months where I can earn over the SGA and still receive full benefits 4. After those 9 TWP months are used up, if I earn over SGA ($1,550/mo in 2025), I'll lose benefits for those months 5. There's also a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility that comes into play The whole system is INSANELY complicated. Definitely call and speak to an SSA rep about your specific situation.

To answer your follow-up question - yes, if your husband worked for 3 months in 2023 and earned over $1,110 in each of those months (the TWP threshold for 2023), then he has likely used 3 of his 9 Trial Work Period months. The TWP months don't need to be consecutive, and they never expire. For 2025, any month he earns over $1,190 would count as another TWP month. After all 9 TWP months are used, the rules become more restrictive, and he would enter the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). Keep in mind that once he reaches his Full Retirement Age (FRA), all these SSDI rules go away, and he can earn unlimited income without affecting his benefits.

I just wanted to correct something in my earlier comment. I was thinking of the retirement earnings test rather than SSDI rules. For SSDI recipients who haven't reached Full Retirement Age yet, the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) limit applies, which is $1,550/month in 2025. For someone transitioning from SSDI to retirement benefits, it gets complicated because different rules apply at different points. Your husband should definitely contact SSA directly before starting any work.

Thank you all for your helpful responses! I'm going to help my husband contact SSA directly to get clarity on his specific situation - especially about those Trial Work Period months he might have already used. It sounds like he can work part-time as long as he stays under the monthly SGA limit for now, and then different rules will apply once he converts to retirement benefits. I appreciate everyone's insights!

Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - make sure your husband keeps detailed records of any earnings if he does start working part-time. SSA can ask for documentation going back years, and having pay stubs, work schedules, and earnings records organized will save you both a lot of headaches if they ever do a review. I learned this the hard way when they did a work activity review on my benefits and I had to scramble to find old paperwork. Good luck with everything!

I'm currently going through a similar situation with my mom who's 64 and on SSDI. One thing I'd recommend is asking SSA specifically about the "Ticket to Work" program when you call them. It's designed to help people on disability explore work options without immediately losing benefits, and they provide vocational rehabilitation services too. My mom's caseworker mentioned it might be a good bridge option while she's still under the SGA limits before transitioning to retirement benefits. The program also has work incentives that can provide some additional protection during the transition period. Definitely worth asking about alongside all the other great advice here!

I went through this exact transition with my dad last year when he turned 65. One thing that really helped was calling SSA and asking them to send a written summary of his specific situation - they can provide a personalized breakdown of how the transition will work for him, including any Trial Work Period months he's already used and exactly when his Full Retirement Age will be. The phone rep was able to look up his work history and tell us exactly how much he could earn without affecting benefits. Also, if your husband does start working, make sure the employer knows about his situation so they can help track hours and earnings to stay under the limits. The hardware store job sounds perfect since it's with friends who would probably be understanding about keeping his schedule flexible!

I just wanted to share my experience as someone who recently went through this transition at 65. The most important thing I learned is that you absolutely need to report ANY work activity to SSA BEFORE your husband starts working, not after. Even if he thinks he'll stay well under the limits, unexpected overtime or a busy week could push him over without realizing it. Also, something nobody mentioned yet - if your husband has any other income sources (like a small pension, rental income, etc.), make sure SSA knows about those too when calculating his situation. They look at all income sources when determining work capacity. One last tip: when you do call SSA, ask to speak with a disability specialist rather than general customer service. They're much more knowledgeable about the complex rules around SSDI-to-retirement transitions and Trial Work Periods. The regular reps often give conflicting information about these specialized situations. Your husband is smart to want to ease back into work gradually - that hardware store job sounds like it could be perfect for testing the waters!