I am 65 and 5 months old on Social Security disability does it go back to regular Social Security Now I want to go back to work and the job I'm doing wants to give me a waiver I do not know what that means can I work full-time up to 32,000 a year or part-time 1200 a month I need to know thank

Hi. Normally you can't earn more than the amount Social Security classifies as substantial gainful activity (SGA) and still be able to collect Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. The current monthly SGA amount is $1310 for non-blind individuals and $2190 for blind workers. However, if you haven't worked since your benefits started then you'd still have a 9 month trial work period (TWP) available. During a TWP, a person can still draw SSDI benefits for 9 month no matter how much they're earning.

Furthermore, SSDI benefits are paid for at least a grace period of 3 months after their TWP ends. So, if you haven't previously worked since you started on SSDI you could start work now and still qualify for SSDI benefits for at least the first 12 months that you're working.

No matter what, though, once you reach your full retirement age (FRA) your SSDI benefits will convert to regular Social Security retirement benefits with no limit on how much you can then earn. If you were born in 1956 then your FRA is age 66 & 4 months, so since that's less than 12 months from now as long as you haven't previously used any of your TWP you could start work now without any interruption in your benefits.

If you do return to work before reaching FRA, though, be sure to notify Social Security and keep your pay slips so that you can prove when your work started.

Best, Jerry