Most people who get disability benefits want to work — and in Minnesota, the good news is that you can!
That's because all public disability benefit programs have special rules, called work incentives, that let you keep your health coverage, have more money, and keep your benefits if you need them while working.
Still, you might be worried about how work will affect your benefits. That's OK. With planning, you can see how work and benefits can go together.
Work and benefits can go together to support your goals. Every benefit in Minnesota has work incentives. These special rules let you get a benefit while working, keep a benefit longer while you work, or get the benefit back quickly if it stops due to work. Most people who get benefits and go to work end up better off financially — even if their benefits go down.
Learn more about managing your benefits while working from Disability Benefits 101 — or watch this short video to understand how you get ahead when you work.
Social Security Disability Insurance, or SSDI, has work incentives that can help you get a job without worrying about your benefits. For example, the Trial Work Period lets you work for 9 months, earn any amount of money and keep your full SSDI benefit. When the Trial Work Period ends, there are work incentives that help you keep SSDI or get it back easily if you work your way off the benefit but need it again.
When you get a job, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) counts less than half of your earnings when they figure out your benefit amount. That means you'll always have more money when you work than you would on SSI alone. You can try out a job, earn more money and even save money while keeping your SSI benefits.
