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QUestion about SSDI, SGA, and self-employment

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S

StanislavJ

Guest
What is the name of your state? FLORIDA.

One can still qualify for SSDI as long as their amount of SGA (Substantial Gainful Activity) income does not exceed $810 per month.

Simple question.....is this an absolute monthly figure, or an average over a period? I ask specifically in regard to self-employment. Say a benefit recipient does some small amount of home business activity (like selling stuff on eBay), but their monthly income from this activity varies widely -- they may earn $300 one month, and $1000 the next.

So, does even a single month over the $810 limit disqualify a person? Or, in the case of self-employment, would they look at the average monthly income over a time frame? It would seem quite unfair for someone earning a few hundred dollars a month selling eBay gewgaws to be disqualified because they happen to have one unusually good month, no? :)
 


ellencee

Senior Member
StanislavJ
You may have a simple question but the answer is not simple. SGA is combined, or averaged, over a nine-month period of time, not a consecutive nine months but any nine months in a five-year period. If you earn $300 this month, and $1700 next month, you just used two of the nine months in your trial work period. Additionally, no matter how much you earn, if SSA determines that your income producing efforts equal 20 or more hours a week of work or active participation in income production, the months in which your efforts are 20+ hours per week are also part of your nine month trial work period.

With an ebay business, it would be easy for SSA to determine that you are spending 20 or more hours per week actively participating in income production; the amount of money that you earn will not be considered in determining whether or not you are capable of working and thus should not be receiving SSDI benefits.

Tread carefully.

EC
 

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