Larry, I've become somewhat knowledgeable about social security but the rules surrounding disability still confuse me. I have a friend who is now 62 and has been on social security disability for two years. He gets about $2300/month. If he wants to get a part-time job can he switch the benefit to regular retirement now and earn up to the earnings limit? He relies on that $2300/month and doesn't want to jeopardize it.

Hi,

Yes, your friend could switch to drawing retirement benefits, but his benefit rate would then be reduced for age. For example, if he reaches age 62 this year and switched from drawing disability to retirement benefits right at age 62 his benefit rate would be reduced by roughly 27%. So, in that case instead of receiving $2300 per month he'd receive more like $1696. The closer to full retirement age (FRA) he is before switching to drawing retirement benefits, the smaller that the percentage reduction would be.

If your friend did switch to drawing retirement benefits, though, then yes he could earn up to the earnings test exempt amount ($17040 in 2018) without losing any of his retirement benefits. But, even if he continues to draw disability benefits (SSDI) he would likely be able to earn as much as $1180 per month without jeopardizing his SSDI eligibility. For more information on working while receiving SSDI, refer to this Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10095.pdf.

Best, Jerry