Generally, if you have qualified for a benefits program such as Social Security disability insurance (SSDI), you will continue to receive benefits as long as you meet Social Security’s definition of disabled. If you are asking how long your SSDI benefits may last, please read on, then contact an experienced New Jersey SSD attorney today. Some questions you may have include:
How long can you receive SSDI benefits in New Jersey?
So long as your disability prevents you from working, you can keep collecting SSDI benefits. On a periodic basis, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will conduct reviews of your case in order to ascertain your continued eligibility for benefits. The length of time between each continuing disability review will depend on the severity of your condition and the likelihood that your impairment will improve. If your condition changes in any way, you must report it to the SSA, even if those changes would result in the loss of your disability benefits.
When will SSDI benefits stop in New Jersey?
The SSA will stop paying disability benefits if you:
- Are no longer disabled: If your disability changes such that the SSA no longer considers it as severe or debilitating enough to keep you from working, they will end your benefits.
- Have reached retirement age: Upon reaching the full retirement age, i.e. between sixty-six and sixty-seven depending on your birth year, your SSDI benefits will end and you will begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits instead.
- Are earning too much money: The SSA has limits on the amount of income you can earn when receiving SSDI benefits. If you earn over $1,350 per month, the SSA will consider that “substantial gainful activity” (SGA) and terminate your benefits. However, blind SSDI recipients may earn up to $2,260 per month.
To encourage recipients to return to work, the SSA will allow you to try to work for a limited time without taking away your SSDI benefits.
What does Social Security’s Trial Work Period entail?
Typically, a trial work period lasts for nine months, during which time you can make as much income as you want without losing your benefits. Once you have worked for nine months in a rolling sixty-month period, the SSA will closely examine the income you make in your tenth month of working to determine if it constitutes substantial gainful activity. If it does not, you may continue receiving benefits for another thirty-six months in any month where your income does not reach the limit and you are still disabled.
The SSA usually does not suddenly terminate benefits, but you should speak with Sheryl Gandel Mazur, Esq. before you take any other actions.
Contact a skilled New Jersey SSD Lawyer Today
With over thirty years of experience serving the entire state, our firm has the ability to help you with any SSD matter. Contact The Law Offices of Sheryl Gandel Mazur for a free case evaluation.
