Three tests in sequence
Work affects a disability benefit through a sequence, and confusing the stages produces most of the bad advice on the subject. First comes the trial work period, which measures whether you are testing your capacity to work. Then comes substantial gainful activity, which measures whether you are actually earning at a level that shows you can. Finally comes the extended period of eligibility, a 36-month window during which benefits can be stopped and restarted without a new application.
Each stage has its own dollar threshold, and the thresholds serve different purposes. A month at $1,500 in 2027 is a trial work month for a non-blind claimant but is below SGA, so benefits continue. A month at $1,900 is both.
2026 and 2027 amounts
| Provision | 2026 | 2027 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| TWP monthly amount | $1,210 | $1,270 | +$60 |
| SGA, non-blind | $1,690 | $1,770 | +$80 |
| SGA, blind | $2,830 | $2,950 | +$120 |
| Months in a TWP | 9 | 9 | None |
| EPE length | 36 months | 36 months | None |
How the trial work period runs
The nine months are cumulative within a rolling 60-month period, not nine consecutive months. Work can stop and start. A month counts when gross earnings exceed $1,270 in 2027, or when a self-employed claimant works more than 80 hours in the business. Several low-earning months can be consumed quickly by a single part-time schedule.
During the trial work period, benefits are paid in full regardless of earnings, and work activity alone cannot end the benefit. A medical cessation is still possible on its own grounds, which is a separate determination.
After the trial work period
Once nine months are used, SGA becomes the test. The first month in which earnings reach $1,770 ends the benefit, typically with payment continuing through a grace period. The extended period of eligibility then runs 36 months, during which a month below SGA restores the payment without a new application.
Blind claimants operate under the $2,950 threshold, which is high enough that many never reach SGA at all. The trade-off is that the higher SGA does not raise the SSI income limits, so a blind recipient of both programs is still subject to the SSI income test.
Two administrative details decide outcomes more often than the dollar thresholds. The first is reporting: SSA learns of earnings from the beneficiary, and unreported work surfaces later as an overpayment with a demand letter. The second is that the count runs on calendar months, so even a few weeks of work consumes a trial work month.
The SSI side has no trial work period at all. Instead, the federal benefit rate is reduced by countable income, and earned income exclusions do the work that SGA does for SSDI. A person receiving both benefits can lose SSI long before SSDI is affected, because the SSI income test bites at a far lower earnings level.
One more asymmetry is worth noting. SGA applies to gross wages for employees and to net earnings for the self-employed, so a contractor with $2,200 of monthly gross receipts and $600 of expenses may stay under the threshold while an employee earning $1,800 does not.