WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:06.320 [Narrator] SSDI and Planning for Work: a  Griffin-Hammis production tailored for Minnesota.   00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:11.200 Do you receive Social Security Disability  Insurance? If so, have you ever wondered what   00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:16.400 would happen if you worked? Well, I'm here to tell  you that you can work, have money, and keep the   00:00:16.400 --> 00:00:20.720 safety nets you need. The key is to make a plan. [Person] Why do I need to make plan?  00:00:20.720 --> 00:00:24.960 [Narrator] Well, making a plan helps you know  ahead of time what will happen with your SSDI   00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:30.480 benefits. First, decide how many hours you can  work and how much you can make an hour so you   00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:34.880 know what your monthly earning goal will be. Then  you'll need to figure out if earning that amount   00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:42.000 will cause any changes to your SSDI. First of all,  SSDI is an all-or-nothing benefit. You either get   00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.960 all of it or none of it. [Person] Whoa. That   00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:49.120 makes me nervous about working. [Narrator] Well, I've got good news for you,   00:00:49.120 --> 00:00:54.960 then. You have choices. Some people plan to get  a job that pays more than their SSDI, so they're   00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:00.800 okay with it stopping. Other people can't work as  much, so their plan is to keep getting SSDI while   00:01:00.800 --> 00:01:06.160 they work. You decide what makes sense for you. [Person] Well, how does Social Security   00:01:06.160 --> 00:01:10.080 decide whether I'll get my SSDI? [Narrator] They compare your work   00:01:10.080 --> 00:01:15.440 to a monthly limit. This limit is called  substantial gainful activity, or SGA for   00:01:15.440 --> 00:01:25.680 short. This helps them decide if your SSDI should  continue or stop. For 2026, SGA is $1690 a month,   00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:34.480 or $2830 for people with blindness. If your work  is below that amount, you get your SSDI. If your   00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:40.880 work is above that amount, you don't get SSDI.  Let's take a look at a couple examples. This is   00:01:40.880 --> 00:01:49.120 Joe. He gets $1000 of SSDI. He could get a job  working 30 hours a week as a bookkeeper making   00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:58.880 $10 an hour. That would mean he earns $1300 a  month. That amount is below the $1690 SGA limit,   00:01:58.880 --> 00:02:08.000 so he would still get his SSDI. In this scenario,  Joe would have $1000 of SSDI, plus $1300 of wages,   00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.960 which is a total of $2300 in monthly income. [Person] That's great.  00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:20.880 [Narrator] Let's look at another example.  This is Belinda. She gets $1100 of SSDI.   00:02:20.880 --> 00:02:26.960 Belinda is finishing a nursing degree and plans  to work 30 hours per week making $27 an hour,   00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:34.400 which would be $3500 a month. She made a plan and  knows this level of work will make her SSDI stop,   00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:43.600 but she's fine with that. She knows that $3500 of  wages is a lot more than $1100 of SSDI. If Belinda   00:02:43.600 --> 00:02:50.800 worked fewer hours to keep her wages below the  $1690 SGA level and kept her SSDI, she would have   00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:59.600 less than $2790 a month altogether. That would  still be much less than the $3500 a month Belinda   00:02:59.600 --> 00:03:05.840 plans to make as a nurse, even after taxes.  So, she doesn't mind her SSDI stopping.   00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:10.760 There are also rules that allow Belinda to keep  Medicare as she earns enough to stop her SSDI.  00:03:10.760 --> 00:03:16.320 [Person] Okay, but what if Belinda suddenly  can't work and needs her SSDI back?  00:03:16.320 --> 00:03:21.360 [Narrator] Well, that's a great question.  The SSDI program has safety nets called   00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:27.160 work incentives. Belinda can use a work  incentive to get her SSDI restarted quickly.  00:03:27.160 --> 00:03:31.600 [Person] Really? So, she has more  money and she can get SSDI back   00:03:31.600 --> 00:03:37.040 if she needs it? I like the sound of that. [Narrator] Yeah, there are a lot of SSDI work   00:03:37.040 --> 00:03:43.760 incentives. Some let you keep SSDI even when you  earn more than SGA. Some work incentives let you   00:03:43.760 --> 00:03:49.600 restart your SSDI quickly if it stops, just like  we saw with Belinda, and other work incentives let   00:03:49.600 --> 00:03:54.320 you keep Medicare even if your SSDI stops. [Person] I think I'm ready to make a   00:03:54.320 --> 00:03:58.160 plan to work. Where do I start? [Narrator] That's another great   00:03:58.160 --> 00:04:04.640 question. There are several different ways  you can get help. Go to mn.db101.org and use   00:04:04.640 --> 00:04:09.040 the Benefits and Work Estimator, or start a  chat by clicking on the chat link at the top   00:04:09.040 --> 00:04:17.360 or bottom of each page. You can also call the  Disability Hub MN for help at 1-866-333-2466.   00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:25.840 You can learn even more about SSDI and work on  mn.db101.org. Read the SSDI and work article,   00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:33.840 or the article called "Finding the Right Job  for You." To see more videos like this one,   00:04:33.840 --> 00:04:41.360 go to mn.db101.org. Knowledge is power.  Take time to learn more about SSDI and work.