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Can I Work and Apply for Disability?
Before the SSA looks at how your medical condition impairs your ability to work, the SSA will look whether you are currently working and how much money you are making.
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To be eligible for disability, you can't be able to do, or be doing, substantial gainful activity.
How much you can work depends on whether you collect SSDI or SSI benefits.
If the SSA considers you disabled (medically eligible for disability), the SSA allows you to make a small amount of income and still get disability benefits.
Questions About Working and Disability
You do have to quit work if you make over a certain amount of money -- and it's advisable in most cases regardless of how much money you make.
If you are working in the months before you apply for Social Security, it may not count against you if your work qualifies as an unsuccessful work attempt.
The SSA will find out if you're working and will charge you for overpayments for the time you worked.
The SSA looks at hours worked only if you're a self-employed business owner.
You don't have to be disabled for any length of time before you apply for disability benefits, but there is a five-month waiting period to receive SSDI payments.
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