To be eligible for Social Security Disability benefits, a person must be unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” (SGA). This term refers to any work that pays a certain amount and requires a significant amount of time and effort. This article will explore substantial gainful activity and how it affects disability claims in 2024.
What Is Substantial Gainful Activity?
Substantial gainful activity (SGA) is defined by the Social Security Administration (SSA) as work that involves significant physical or mental activity, is performed for pay or profit, and is done with regularity and continuity.
The SSA reevaluates the SGA level and adjusts it for inflation each year. SGA is important because it determines whether a person’s earnings are high enough to disqualify them from receiving disability benefits.
If an individual can perform SGA, they are considered to be able to engage in substantial gainful activity and, therefore, are not eligible for disability benefits. If an individual earns less than the SGA level, then the SSA will move on to the next step in the evaluation process to determine if they have a disabling condition that meets the requirements for disability benefits.
SGA Amounts for 2024
The monthly earnings amount considered SGA depends on a person’s disability. The Social Security Act specifies a higher SGA amount for statutorily blind individuals; Federal regulations specify a lower SGA amount for non-blind individuals. Both SGA amounts generally change with changes in the national average wage index.
The monthly SGA amount for statutorily blind individuals for 2024 is $2,590. For non-blind individuals, the monthly SGA amount for 2024 is $1,550. SGA for the blind does not apply to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, while SGA for the non-blind disabled applies to Social Security and SSI benefits.
The Trial Work Period (TWP)
Special rules allow you to work temporarily without losing your monthly Social Security disability benefits. For example, Social Security’s trial work period (TWP) allows you to test your ability to work for at least nine months without losing benefits. The Social Security Administration will not consider work done during this period as proof that the disability has ended until at least nine months of work have been done in sixty months. In 2024, any month where earnings go over $1,110 counts as a month of work for the trial period. The trial work period doesn’t apply to SSI benefits.
The Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)
The Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE) gives you an extra three years (36 months) of protection after you complete a trial work period. The EPE allows 36 months for beneficiaries to be eligible for benefits again if benefits ended due to SGA and their work activity falls below the SGA level. After this period, the EPE continues until the beneficiary performs SGA. The EPE does not apply if benefits ended due to medical improvement.
