How much you can earn during a Trial Work Period in 2025
During a Trial Work Period (TWP), you can earn any amount without losing your SSDI cash benefit. The Social Security Administration does not count your earnings against you during these nine months, regardless of how much you make. This is the core rule that makes the TWP different from other work incentives.
What matters instead is whether you perform substantial gainful activity (SGA). In 2025, SGA is defined as earning $1,550 per month or more if you are blind, or $1,470 per month or more if you are not blind. If you stay below these thresholds, a month counts as a Trial Work Period month. If you exceed them, the month still counts toward your nine-month total, but it signals to SSA that you may be moving toward work capacity.
The nine months do not have to be consecutive. SSA counts any nine months in a rolling 60-month period in which you performed SGA. You control the timing — you can work heavily some months and lightly others, and only the months above the SGA threshold count down your nine-month clock.
Key Takeaways
- You keep your full SSDI payment during all nine Trial Work Period months, no matter how much you earn.
- A month counts toward your nine-month total only if you earn $1,470 per month or more (or $1,550 if blind) — the 2025 SGA threshold.
- The nine months do not need to be consecutive and can be spread across a 60-month window, giving you flexibility to control when they count.
- After your nine Trial Work Period months end, you enter the Extended may be able to access Period, during which you keep your benefit in any month you earn below the SGA threshold.
The 2025 SGA threshold and what counts as earnings
The $1,470 monthly threshold for non-blind beneficiaries is the figure SSA uses to decide whether a month counts as a Trial Work Period month. This amount changes each year based on the national average wage index. In 2024, the threshold was $1,410; in 2025, it rose to $1,470. SSA publishes the new figure each October or November for the following year.
Earnings include wages from an employer, net income from self-employment, and certain other forms of compensation. SSA counts gross wages before taxes. If you are self-employed, they count your net profit after business expenses but before income tax. Royalties, rental income, and certain sheltered workshop payments also count, though the rules vary by program type.
What does not count: impairment-related work expenses (IRWE), plans to achieve self-support (PASS), subsidies from an employer, and certain unpaid work. If your employer pays part of your wage as a subsidy because of your disability, SSA subtracts that subsidy from your gross wage before comparing it to the threshold. This can keep a month from counting even if your total compensation exceeds $1,470.
How the nine months work in practice
Imagine you return to work in March 2025 and earn $1,600 that month. March counts as Trial Work Period month 1. You keep your full SSDI payment. In April, you earn $800 — below the threshold — so April does not count. In May, you earn $2,000; that is Trial Work Period month 2. You continue this way, and only months in which you earn $1,470 or more count down your nine-month total.
You do not have to report earnings every month. SSA typically learns about your work through wage reports from your employer or through your own reports. If you are self-employed, you report net earnings on your tax return, which SSA eventually receives. During the Trial Work Period, you should report earnings to SSA, but the amount does not affect your benefit — only whether the month counts toward the nine.
Once you have used all nine months, you move into the Extended may be able to access Period, which lasts 36 months. During Extended may be able to access, you keep your benefit in any month you earn below the SGA threshold ($1,470 in 2025), but you lose it in any month you earn $1,470 or more. This is a crucial difference: the TWP is a free pass; Extended may be able to access is conditional on staying below the threshold.
What happens if you exceed the SGA threshold
If you earn $1,470 or more in a month during Extended may be able to access or after it ends, SSA may find that you have engaged in SGA and may end your SSDI benefits. This does not happen when ready — SSA reviews your work history and circumstances — but it is the mechanism by which work can cause you to lose your benefit.
During the Trial Work Period itself, exceeding the threshold does not cost you your benefit. The month counts, and you keep your payment. But SSA uses these high-earning months as evidence that you may be capable of substantial work, which can influence decisions later.
If you are concerned that your earnings are approaching or exceeding the threshold, contact your local SSA office or call 1-800-772-1213. SSA work incentives specialists can review your situation and explain how your specific earnings will affect your benefit status.
Self-employment and the SGA threshold
If you are self-employed, SSA counts your net profit — revenue minus ordinary and necessary business expenses — against the SGA threshold. You report this on your tax return, and SSA receives it through IRS records or through your own reports to SSA.
Self-employed beneficiaries often have more flexibility in timing because net profit is calculated annually and reported once a year. However, SSA can also look at monthly income if you report it. If your business is new or irregular, SSA may ask for documentation of income and expenses to verify your net profit.
If you own a business and your net profit exceeds the SGA threshold, that month counts as a Trial Work Period month. If you reinvest profits into the business rather than taking them as personal income, SSA still counts the net profit, not the amount you withdraw.
Trial Work Period and Medicare coverage
Your Trial Work Period does not affect your Medicare coverage. You remain may have access to to Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) throughout the TWP and into Extended may be able to access, even if your earnings are very high. This is one of the most valuable aspects of the TWP — you can test your work capacity without losing health insurance.
After Extended may be able to access ends, you can purchase Medicare coverage for a limited time under the Medicare Continuation Coverage (MCC) provision, which allows you to buy Part A and Part B for up to eight and a half years after your benefit ends due to work. The cost is the standard premium plus a small administrative fee.
Reporting earnings to SSA during the Trial Work Period
You are not required to report earnings during the Trial Work Period, but SSA recommends it. If you do not report and SSA later discovers unreported earnings, there is no penalty — the TWP rules still explore. However, reporting keeps your file accurate and prevents confusion later.
You can report earnings by phone (1-800-772-1213), in person at your local SSA office, or through your my Social Security account online. SSA will ask for your gross monthly earnings and the dates you worked. Keep pay stubs or business records to back up what you report.
If you are unsure whether a particular type of income counts, ask SSA before reporting it. Some forms of compensation — such as certain disability-related subsidies or unpaid volunteer work — may not count, and SSA can clarify your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I earn more than $1,470 in a single month without losing my benefit?
Yes, during your Trial Work Period. You keep your full SSDI payment no matter how much you earn in any of the nine months. After the TWP ends and you enter Extended may be able to access, you lose your benefit in any month you earn $1,470 or more.
Do the nine Trial Work Period months have to be in a row?
No. They can be spread across any 60-month period. You control which months count by managing your earnings. A month counts only if you earn $1,470 or more, so you can work lightly some months and heavily others.
What if my employer pays part of my wage as a disability subsidy?
SSA subtracts the subsidy from your gross wage before comparing it to the $1,470 threshold. If your gross wage is $1,800 but your employer subsidizes $400 of it, SSA counts only $1,400 toward the threshold, and that month does not count as a Trial Work Period month.
Will my Trial Work Period earnings affect my Medicare coverage?
No. You keep Medicare Part A and Part B throughout the Trial Work Period and Extended may be able to access, regardless of how much you earn. After Extended may be able to access ends, you can buy Medicare Continuation Coverage for up to eight and a half years.
What happens after my nine Trial Work Period months are over?
You enter the 36-month Extended may be able to access Period. During this time, you keep your benefit in any month you earn below $1,470, but you lose it in any month you earn $1,470 or more. After Extended may be able to access ends, your benefit may end if you continue to earn above the SGA threshold.