My 29 YO granddaughter has been receiving disability payments since 2010 when left with a severe head trauma from being run over by a drunken driver She is now working part-time since last April. She is limited to working part-time by her cognitive abilities as she doesn't function well after 4 hours on the job. She earns $10.58/hr. Can she remain on disability if she is limited to part-time employment.? We are appealing her case before an ALJ next month.

Hi,

Social Security disability benefits can be suspended or terminated if, after completing a 9 month trial work period, a recipient performs substantial gainful activity (SGA). Social Security goes by the amount of earnings, not by the number of hours worked, when determining if a person receiving disability benefits is performing SGA (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf).

The current 2018 monthly SGA guideline for non-blind individuals is $1180, which is up from $1170 in 2017. If your granddaughter earns $211.60 per week (i.e. $10.58 x 20 hours), then her monthly earnings should average well below the SGA guideline and wouldn't normally have an adverse impact on her Social Security disability benefits.

Best, Jerry