Will 10-15 hours at $15/hr jeopardize my daughter's SSDI as a Disabled Adult Child?
My daughter (27) receives SSDI as a Disabled Adult Child - she became disabled before 22 and now receives benefits on her father's record. She's been offered a seasonal retail job for November and December working 10-15 hours weekly at $15/hour, with maybe a few scattered hours in January. That's approximately $600-900 monthly during the busy season. I'm really worried this might mess up her benefits, which are her primary source of income at $1,682 monthly. How close is this to the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit? Do seasonal/temporary jobs get evaluated differently? Would she need to report this immediately? I've heard horror stories about overpayments and benefit terminations, and we absolutely cannot risk her losing those SSDI payments for a temporary position. Thanks for any guidance!
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Sofia Ramirez
Your daughter needs to be very careful here. The 2025 SGA limit is $1,550/month for non-blind individuals. Even though her monthly earnings during Nov-Dec would be under that threshold, SSA sometimes averages earnings across months, especially for seasonal work. She MUST report this employment change to SSA right away - failing to report is what creates those overpayment nightmares you mentioned.
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Dylan Cooper
•Thank you! I didn't realize the SGA was that high now. Does it matter that she'd only be working 2 months out of the year? Would they really average $900 across 12 months? That seems like it would be well under SGA then.
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Dmitry Volkov
My son worked seasonal and SSA took his MONTHLY earnings not yearly averaged!!! He made $1200 for december (holiday retail) and nothing for january and they NEVER questioned it or reduced his payment. just my experience tho
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StarSeeker
•This is partially correct but somewhat misleading. SSA typically looks at monthly earnings for SGA determination, but they can apply an averaging method for sporadic or seasonal work. However, two months of work below SGA levels is unlikely to trigger benefit issues if properly reported.
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Ava Martinez
Don't forget to factor in the trial work period! She gets 9 months where she can earn above SGA and still keep benefits. Those months don't even have to be consecutive. Worth looking into!
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Miguel Ortiz
•The Trial Work Period (TWP) is actually a bit more complicated for DAC (Disabled Adult Child) beneficiaries. Unlike regular SSDI recipients, DAC beneficiaries have special rules because their benefits are based on a parent's record. If a DAC performs SGA after the TWP, they can permanently lose entitlement to benefits on their parent's record. This is why the original poster is right to be cautious. For 2025, any month where she earns over $1,110 would count as a TWP month. At 15 hours × $15/hour × 4 weeks, she could hit $900 in a month, which is under the TWP threshold but getting close. She should track her hours carefully to stay under both the TWP monthly threshold ($1,110) and the SGA threshold ($1,550).
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Zainab Omar
I spent 2 HOURS on hold with Social Security yesterday trying to ask almost this EXACT question for my brother!!! Got disconnected TWICE and never got through to anyone!!! This system is BROKEN and they expect disabled people to just figure it out???
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Connor Murphy
•I feel your frustration! I had the same experience last month trying to sort out my son's SSDI reporting requirements. After three disconnected calls, I finally discovered Claimyr.com - it got me through to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Completely changed my experience getting answers about my son's work limits. The agent I spoke with confirmed that seasonal work under SGA limits is generally fine as long as it's reported promptly.
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StarSeeker
Here's what your daughter needs to know: 1. For DAC beneficiaries, any work should be reported to SSA immediately (within 10 days of starting) 2. At $15/hr for 10-15 hours weekly, she'll earn $600-900 monthly, which is below both the 2025 TWP threshold ($1,110/month) and the SGA limit ($1,550/month) 3. Two months of seasonal work with earnings below these thresholds shouldn't jeopardize benefits if properly reported 4. She should keep detailed records of hours worked and pay received 5. Request a receipt whenever reporting work activity to SSA (Form SSA-5000) The greater risk would be if this seasonal job turns into regular employment exceeding SGA levels, or if she works significantly more hours than anticipated during the holiday season.
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Dylan Cooper
•This is INCREDIBLY helpful, thank you so much! I'll make sure we report it immediately and keep detailed records. The job is definitely just seasonal - the manager made that clear during the interview. I feel much better knowing she can earn a little extra for the holidays without risking her primary benefits.
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Dmitry Volkov
what about the $$ limit for the YEAR??? isnt there some total yearly amount too??
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Miguel Ortiz
•There's no annual earnings limit for SSDI benefits specifically - it's evaluated monthly against the SGA threshold. You might be thinking of SSI (Supplemental Security Income), which is different and does have resource limits and reduces benefits based on monthly income. Or possibly the annual earnings test for early retirement benefits (before FRA), which is a completely different program.
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Ava Martinez
My cousins daughter had almost EXACT same situation last year!!! She worked at Macy's for holiday season (like 12 hrs a week) and SSA never even questioned it. BUT she did submit her paystubs every month to be safe!
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Sofia Ramirez
One thing to be aware of: if your daughter has any work-related expenses that are necessary because of her disability (special transportation, assistive devices, medication she wouldn't otherwise need, etc.), these can be deducted as Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) when calculating SGA. This could give her more breathing room if she ever approaches the SGA threshold.
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Dylan Cooper
•That's good to know! She does take an Uber to work since she can't drive due to her disability. I didn't realize those costs could be deducted from her earnings calculation.
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Yara Sayegh
I think everyone is overthinking this. Its just a seasonal job way under SGA. Report it and dont worry.
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Zainab Omar
Did anyone mention EXTENDED PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY??? After the 9 TWP months there's 36 MORE months where benefits can restart without a new application if earnings drop below SGA!!! The SSA website is SO CONFUSING about this!!!
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Miguel Ortiz
•You're right about the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE), but for this specific situation with temporary seasonal work below both TWP and SGA thresholds, the OP's daughter likely won't need to worry about EPE details yet. It's good information to have if she decides to work more regularly in the future though.
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