Understanding Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) is essential when discussing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). SGA can significantly affect a person’s eligibility for disability benefits.
Substantial Gainful Activity is work performed or intended for profit, SGA describes a level of work activity and earnings. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses substantial gainful activity as the minimum monthly wage requirement to determine who is eligible for disability benefits. The SSA sets a higher threshold for people who are statutorily blind and annually increases the dollar amount to account for inflation (or rising prices).
Understanding Substantial Gainful Activity
The monthly earning threshold that qualifies a person for Social Security disability insurance payments is substantial gainful activity (SGA). When determining whether a person classifies as disabled for any of its benefits programs, the SSA primarily analyzes the SGA amount.
Disability payments are available to those who cannot perform jobs that pay at least the monthly SGA minimum. For its programs, the SSA does not approve disabled individuals capable of engaging in occupations that pay more than the threshold.
There are different threshold amounts are utilized to determine the SGA amount for people who are blind and those who are not blind. The SGA amount is greater for those who match the SSA’s statutory definition of blindness than those who do not.
Thus, those who are blind can often make more money each month before losing their eligibility for disability payments.
Monthly Income Limit
The SSA set the non-blind SGA amount for 2022 at $ 1,350 per month. It means that any person capable of working and making $1,350 or more per month will not be eligible for disability compensation.
The SGA threshold for blind people was set by the SSA at $2,260 in 2022. The threshold amounts for 2023 are $1,470 for non-blind people and $2,460 for people who are blind. The threshold for the upcoming year of 2024 is set for $1,550 for non-blind people and $2,590 for people who are blind.
The threshold for SGA changes yearly, so make sure to review the Social Security Administration to ensure you are not going over the SGA amount.
Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA)
A 5.9% cost-of-living adjustment was given to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients in January 2022. The COLA increase for 2023 was a historic 8.7%. The COLA essentially increases monthly SSDI payments to account for inflation-driven price increases.
A disabled worker who received $1,282 per month before the 2022 COLA received $1,358 monthly after the COLA, albeit the exact amount depended on the individual’s circumstances. After the January 2023 COLA, that same SSI beneficiary received $1,476 per month.
SSDI vs. SSI: Comparison
The SSA pays benefits to people with a disability through both of these programs. People who have made payroll deduction contributions to the Social Security, are unable to work due to a disability, and have accumulated enough work credits should be eligible for SSDI.
On the other hand, whether they have ever worked, disabled people who meet a specified set of financial eligibility conditions can apply for Supplemental Security Income. The SSA uses the SGA threshold to establish the amount of benefits people should receive.
The SSA does not employ SGA thresholds in its first determination of eligibility for SSI disability payments for blind people.
Once the SSA approves a person’s application for disability benefits, they are allowed to keep receiving benefits until they can work again and earn more than the SGA amount per month. It encourages people with disabilities to look for productive employment and, if possible, return to the workforce in a different position.
What Is Considered Substantial Gainful Activity?
The Social Security Administration uses SGA to establish the threshold for someone to qualify for disability payments. The SGA amount for persons with disabilities other than blindness is $1,470 per month in 2023. For persons who are blind, the amount of earnings that indicate SGA is $2,460 per month in 2023.
What Is Not Considered SGA?
The Social Security Administration does not take into account income from non-work sources, such as interest income, investment income, or gifts, when determining Substantial Gainful Activity .
The following are some instances of what the SSA typically deems to be insignificant gainful activity:
- Self-care
- Hobbies
- Unpaid Trainings
- Therapy
- School
- Attending school and engaging in social and or physical treatment
It’s important to understand that the SSA will still view these activities as supporting evidence of your disability, even though they won’t establish SGA for initial eligibility criteria. The SSA may use this information while determining your employment capacity if you can perform some activities outside of work.
What if You Make More Than Substantial Gainful Activity?
You won’t get a benefit check for that month if your income exceeds the threshold level for substantial gainful activity. You will keep receiving benefits once your income falls below the SGA income threshold.
The SSA does not have clear guidelines to distinguish what types of volunteer work are considered SGA, but some volunteer circumstances are likely to convince the SSA that a person is capable of working a full-time job.
Here are several volunteer opportunities that could show the SSA that you are qualified to work at the SGA level:
- If you were to be paid for your volunteer work, your salary would be higher than the SGA level
- You volunteer for more than a few hours each week
- If your volunteer activities’ physical or mental requirements indicate that you might be able to work at the SGA level
- You volunteer at a company that a relative owns
The Domestic Volunteer Service Act
Work performed as a volunteer for any organizations that are subject to the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 is never regarded as SGA. The programs that are covered are listed below:
- University of Volunteers in Service to America: The year of action
- Programs for Special Volunteers
- Program for Retired Senior Volunteers
- Program for Foster Grandparents
- Active Corps of Executives and the Service Corps of Retired Executives
Conclusion
A key factor in assessing eligibility for disability payments under the Social Security Administration is substantial gainful activity.
For those who are blind and those who are not, the SGA amount varies, and the SSA adjusts it every year. At the same time, specific conditions allow the inclusion of volunteer work to not be counted as SGA. Non-job-related income is not considered. Individuals seeking disability benefits should understand the SGA thresholds in order to navigate the SSA systems efficiently.
