Notably, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will conduct regular reviews of your case to determine your continued eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. With this, you may be wondering how you can be continually considered eligible. Read on to discover when your SSDI benefits will stop and how a seasoned New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer at The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur can help prevent this from happening.

What does the SSA’s review for benefits consist of?

Put simply, you may continue to receive SSDI benefits if you have a disability that makes you unable to return to your past work or to otherwise gain substantial employment.

With that, the SSA’s reviews are to ensure that you still meet their definition of a disability, which is “the inability to do any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.”

And so, the length of time between each SSA review is on a case-by-case basis. That is, it will depend on the severity of your disability, the likelihood that your disability will improve, and other factors.

Under what circumstances will my SSDI benefits stop?

Upon their review, the SSA will put a stop to your SSDI benefits if they discover any of the following circumstances:

  • You no longer have a disability: in other words, the SSA no longer considers your disability as severe enough to keep you from returning to your past work or otherwise gaining substantial employment.
  • You have reached the age of retirement: in other words, once you reach the age of 66 or 67, you will have to switch over from SSDI benefits to Social Security retirement benefits.
  • You are earning too much money: in other words, the SSA will consider it a “substantial gainful activity” if you are earning more than $1,350 per month. However, if you are a recipient who is blind, this limit is increased to $2,260 per month.

If your disability or your overall circumstances improve, you must report it to the SSA. You should do so even though such improvements may mean that your SSDI benefits will be terminated. Failure to report any changes may result in serious consequences.

Rest assured, if you are hesitant about your ability to return to work, the SSA will allow you to participate in a Trial Work Period. More specifically, this will allow you to try to work for a limited time without your SSDI benefits being taken away. For more information on this, contact a competent New Jersey SSDI benefits lawyer today.