After you qualify for disability benefits from the Social Security Administration, one question you may have about your benefits concerns how long you can stay on SSD. A person can receive SSD benefits as long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements for their disability benefits program.
However, benefits may stop or convert to different benefits depending on the circumstances and the disability benefits program. Understanding how long SSD benefits continue and under what circumstances your benefits may stop can help you make informed decisions about your financial and employment activities while receiving benefits.
Social Security Disability Insurance
The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program provides disability benefits to working individuals who become unable to continue in gainful employment due to a qualifying medical condition. When a person gets approved for SSDI benefits, those benefits can continue as long as the individual remains disabled under the Social Security Administration’s standards and does not return to work to earn more than the threshold for substantial gainful activity.
The SSA may conduct periodic continuing disability reviews for SSDI recipients to determine whether their condition has improved sufficiently for them to return to the workforce based on their current residual functional capacity. People whose symptoms abate enough to allow them to perform past jobs in their work history or other jobs that exist in substantial numbers in the national economy may have their SSDI benefits terminated.
Because SSDI benefits come from the same funding as Social Security retirement benefits, an SSDI recipient’s benefits will automatically convert to ordinary retirement benefits when the recipient reaches full retirement age, entitling them to receive retirement benefits for the remainder of their life.
Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides disability benefits to individuals with limited income and assets. As a result, SSI benefits continue as long as a recipient meets the medical disability and financial eligibility requirements. The Social Security Administration may conduct periodic reviews of an SSI recipient’s medical condition and financial situation to ensure they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. SSI requires recipients to report all income they earn while receiving benefits. Other factors can also change a person’s financial eligibility criteria for SSI benefits, including their living arrangements, marital status, and countable income.
When Benefits May Stop
The Social Security Administration may stop an individual’s disability benefits for various reasons, including:
- Improvement of an individual’s medical condition, giving them the residual functional capacity to enter or return to the workforce
- Incarceration or institutionalization
- Changes in immigration status or deportation (for non-citizens)
- Death
The SSA also stops SSDI and SSI benefits when a person returns to work and earns more than the threshold for substantial gainful activity (SGA) or earns enough countable income to cancel out their SSI benefits. However, the SSA offers SSDI recipients a trial work period. This allows the individual to earn an unlimited amount from work for nine months, during which their SSD benefits continue, allowing them to try to resume working without immediately losing benefits.
When a recipient continues to work after the trial work period ends, the SSA will stop their benefits. However, a person’s SSDI benefits may continue or resume if their earnings fall below the SGA threshold during the extended period of eligibility or if they participate in a vocational rehabilitation program or similar service.
Contact an SSD Attorney Today
When you get approved for Social Security disability benefits, an experienced legal counselor can help you understand how long your benefits may last and what circumstances may result in the termination of your benefits. Contact Crowe & Shanahan today for a free initial consultation with an SSD lawyer to learn more about your rights while receiving disability benefits.