[Narrator] SSDI and Planning for Work: a Griffin-Hammis production tailored for Minnesota.
Do you receive Social Security Disability Insurance? If so, have you ever wondered what
would happen if you worked? Well, I'm here to tell you that you can work, have money, and keep the
safety nets you need. The key is to make a plan. [Person] Why do I need to make plan?
[Narrator] Well, making a plan helps you know ahead of time what will happen with your SSDI
benefits. First, decide how many hours you can work and how much you can make an hour so you
know what your monthly earning goal will be. Then you'll need to figure out if earning that amount
will cause any changes to your SSDI. First of all, SSDI is an all-or-nothing benefit. You either get
all of it or none of it. [Person] Whoa. That
makes me nervous about working. [Narrator] Well, I've got good news for you,
then. You have choices. Some people plan to get a job that pays more than their SSDI, so they're
okay with it stopping. Other people can't work as much, so their plan is to keep getting SSDI while
they work. You decide what makes sense for you. [Person] Well, how does Social Security
decide whether I'll get my SSDI? [Narrator] They compare your work
to a monthly limit. This limit is called substantial gainful activity, or SGA for
short. This helps them decide if your SSDI should continue or stop. For 2026, SGA is $1690 a month,
or $2830 for people with blindness. If your work is below that amount, you get your SSDI. If your
work is above that amount, you don't get SSDI. Let's take a look at a couple examples. This is
Joe. He gets $1000 of SSDI. He could get a job working 30 hours a week as a bookkeeper making
$10 an hour. That would mean he earns $1300 a month. That amount is below the $1690 SGA limit,
so he would still get his SSDI. In this scenario, Joe would have $1000 of SSDI, plus $1300 of wages,
which is a total of $2300 in monthly income. [Person] That's great.
[Narrator] Let's look at another example. This is Belinda. She gets $1100 of SSDI.
Belinda is finishing a nursing degree and plans to work 30 hours per week making $27 an hour,
which would be $3500 a month. She made a plan and knows this level of work will make her SSDI stop,
but she's fine with that. She knows that $3500 of wages is a lot more than $1100 of SSDI. If Belinda
worked fewer hours to keep her wages below the $1690 SGA level and kept her SSDI, she would have
less than $2790 a month altogether. That would still be much less than the $3500 a month Belinda
plans to make as a nurse, even after taxes. So, she doesn't mind her SSDI stopping.
There are also rules that allow Belinda to keep Medicare as she earns enough to stop her SSDI.
[Person] Okay, but what if Belinda suddenly can't work and needs her SSDI back?
[Narrator] Well, that's a great question. The SSDI program has safety nets called
work incentives. Belinda can use a work incentive to get her SSDI restarted quickly.
[Person] Really? So, she has more money and she can get SSDI back
if she needs it? I like the sound of that. [Narrator] Yeah, there are a lot of SSDI work
incentives. Some let you keep SSDI even when you earn more than SGA. Some work incentives let you
restart your SSDI quickly if it stops, just like we saw with Belinda, and other work incentives let
you keep Medicare even if your SSDI stops. [Person] I think I'm ready to make a
plan to work. Where do I start? [Narrator] That's another great
question. There are several different ways you can get help. Go to mn.db101.org and use
the Benefits and Work Estimator, or start a chat by clicking on the chat link at the top
or bottom of each page. You can also call the Disability Hub MN for help at 1-866-333-2466.
You can learn even more about SSDI and work on mn.db101.org. Read the SSDI and work article,
or the article called "Finding the Right Job for You." To see more videos like this one,
go to mn.db101.org. Knowledge is power. Take time to learn more about SSDI and work.