The most important factor in getting approved for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) is being able to show that you aren't capable of working, and that you haven't worked since you applied for benefits.
An unsuccessful work attempt is when you take a job and try to work but you are ultimately let go or have to quit because of your disability. "Unsuccessful work attempt" (UWA) is the term used by disability lawyers and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to mean a permitted "excuse" for why an applicant was working if they were applying for Social Security disability. (Social Security doesn't give benefits to anyone who is working at or above the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level, which is $1,470 in 2023.)
Specifically, an unsuccessful work attempt is an attempt to go back to work that fails within six months because of your disability. If you can get Social Security to characterize a period of work as an unsuccessful work attempt, that work can be disregarded, meaning it won't count against you. This opens the way for you to be found eligible for disability benefits during the time period when you were trying to work.
If you worked for months or years and never stopped working because of your disabling symptoms until the date you claim you became disabled on your disability application, your work cannot be counted as a UWA. To count as an unsuccessful work attempt, you must have stopped working for some period of time before starting your new work attempt (the one you want to count as a UWA). In other words, there must have been a significant break in the continuity of your work before the unsuccessful work attempt.
Specifically, to qualify as having a UWA, you must have stopped working for at least 30 days because of your impairments. And you must have stopped working because either you were forced to change to another type of work (or another employer) because of your impairment or because special working conditions related to your impairment were removed (see below).
Alternatively, you could qualify for a UWA if you reduced your hours for 30 days or more because of your impairments, so that you were earning below the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level for 30 days.
If you worked for less than six months and then left work or reduced your work below the SGA level because of your medical impairment, the work effort can be treated as an unsuccessful work attempt.
Your impairment must have caused you to leave because:
"Special conditions" are accommodations an employer makes so that you can do your job, and include (but are not limited to):
Work efforts at the SGA level for over six months can no longer be treated as unsuccessful work attempts regardless of why the work ended (or was reduced below the SGA level).
The date a disability applicant stopped working due to disability is called the disability onset date. Unsuccessful work attempts can be used to determine an applicant's onset date.
Here's how:
In some cases, pre-approval work activity can count as a trial work period rather than an unsuccessful work attempt. This can happen if you've been disabled for more than a year but haven't received a decision from Social Security when you try going back to work. For more information, see our article on whether you can work before you are approved for benefits.
An unsuccessful work attempt is not, as is commonly believed, part of the trial work period rules, which is for people who are already receiving benefits while attempting to go back to work. A period of work after someone starts receiving disability benefits is subject to the trial work period rules and would not be treated as an unsuccessful work attempt.
An unsuccessful work attempt generally occurs before you're approved for benefits, not after. (With one complicated caveat: an unsuccessful work attempt can apply to work you performed after your benefits ended because you worked too much but before seeking an expedited reinstatement of your benefits.)
If you've been denied Social Security disability benefits because of working at the SGA level, and you want to assert that your work was an unsuccessful work attempt, you'll probably need the help of a disability lawyer to argue your case at a hearing. Find a disability attorney who can help you.
Updated March 17, 2023
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