I am on SSA Treas 310 since sept 2015. I receive $908.60 a month . I am disabled and i believe I am on SS disability??
I was told I can work as long as I make no more than $1,100/mo? I'm going to be 65 in Nov. Is there any way to get this amount increased as I cannot work ..at least not right now. Disability is very confusing, please advise. Thank you, Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I'm not sure what "SSA Treas 310" refers to, so my answer assumes that what you're drawing is Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits. It's true that you could work without losing your SSDI benefits as long as your earnings are below what Social Security considers to be substantial gainful activity (SGA). But, the actual monthly SGA amount in 2020 is $1260, not $1100.

SSDI benefit rates are based on your earnings history, so other than for Social Security cost of living increases the amount that you're receiving likely won't change if you don't return to work. And, even if you did return to part-time work it probably wouldn't make much, if any, difference in your benefit rate. If you became disabled at around age 60, your SSDI rate would be based on an average of roughly your highest 33 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings. Additional years of earnings would only raise your rate if the earnings are higher than one of your previous highest 33 earnings years.

Your SSDI benefits will automatically convert to regular Social Security retirement benefits once you reach full retirement age (FRA), but your benefit rate will almost certainly stay the same when that happens. The only difference would be that once you reach FRA there will no longer be any limit on how much you can earn and still be able to collect your benefits.

Best, Jerry