Working While on SSDI: What Montana Recipients Must Know

Receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) does not mean you are permanently barred from working. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has built several programs and rules that allow beneficiaries to test their ability to return to work without immediately losing their benefits. Understanding these rules is critical for Montana residents who want to explore employment while protecting the disability coverage they earned.

The Substantial Gainful Activity Threshold

The cornerstone of SSA's work rules is the concept of Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). If you perform work that earns above the SGA threshold, SSA considers you capable of supporting yourself and may terminate your SSDI benefits. For 2025, the SGA limit is $1,620 per month for non-blind individuals and $2,700 per month for those who are blind.

These are gross earnings figures, not take-home pay. If your employer pays you $1,700 per month before taxes, you have exceeded SGA even if your paycheck reflects less after withholding. Montana residents working seasonal or part-time jobs in agriculture, tourism, or the energy sector should be especially careful to track monthly earnings, since income in these industries can fluctuate significantly and unexpectedly push above the threshold.

It is also worth knowing that SSA can consider impairment-related work expenses (IRWEs) when calculating your countable earnings. If you pay out of pocket for items such as prescription medications, assistive devices, or specialized transportation needed to perform your job, those costs may be deducted from your gross earnings before applying the SGA test. Keep receipts and document every disability-related work expense.

The Trial Work Period: Nine Months to Test Your Ability

When you first return to work after being approved for SSDI, SSA provides a Trial Work Period (TWP) — one of the most valuable protections available to beneficiaries. During the TWP, you can work and receive your full SSDI payment regardless of how much you earn, as long as you continue to report your work activity to SSA.

The TWP consists of nine months, though those months do not need to be consecutive. SSA counts any month in which your earnings exceed a set monthly threshold — $1,110 in 2025 — as a TWP month. Once you have used all nine months within a rolling 60-month period, the TWP ends and SSA will evaluate whether your earnings exceed SGA.

For Montana workers, this is an important window. If you land a job in Billings or Missoula and your wages climb above SGA, the TWP gives you time to determine whether you can sustain employment before your benefits are at risk. Use this period intentionally — inform your employer about any accommodations you need and honestly assess whether the work is sustainable given your medical condition.

The Extended Period of Eligibility

After your Trial Work Period ends, you enter a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). During this window, SSA will pay your full SSDI benefit for any month your earnings fall below SGA. If you earn above SGA in a given month, you will not receive a benefit for that month. If your earnings later drop below SGA — due to a layoff, a flare-up of your condition, or reduced hours — your benefits automatically restart without requiring a new application.

This protection is especially meaningful in Montana, where employment in industries like construction, ranching, and hospitality tends to be cyclical. A beneficiary who earns above SGA during a busy summer season but falls below SGA during the winter may still receive benefits during the slower months, provided they remain within the EPE window.

Once the 36-month EPE expires, a single month of SGA-level earnings can result in benefit termination. At that point, reinstating benefits requires going through Expedited Reinstatement — a separate process with its own deadlines and requirements.

The Ticket to Work Program

SSA's Ticket to Work program is a voluntary initiative designed to help SSDI recipients transition back into the workforce with additional support. By assigning your Ticket to an approved Employment Network or your state's vocational rehabilitation agency, you can access job training, career counseling, and placement services — often at no cost.

Montana's vocational rehabilitation services, administered through the Department of Public Health and Human Services, can provide job skills assessments, assistive technology, and employer outreach for eligible individuals. Participating in Ticket to Work also provides a safeguard: SSA generally suspends continuing disability reviews while your Ticket is in use and you are making timely progress toward employment goals.

Enrollment in Ticket to Work does not guarantee that your benefits will be protected indefinitely, but it does give you structured support and a level of SSA oversight that can be less adversarial than navigating the system alone.

Your Reporting Obligations in Montana

Regardless of which work incentive programs apply to your situation, you have a legal obligation to report all work activity to SSA promptly. Failure to report can result in overpayments — meaning SSA paid you benefits it was not required to pay — and you will be required to repay those amounts. In egregious cases, SSA may also refer matters for investigation of fraud.

When you begin working, notify SSA by:

• Calling the SSA national line at 1-800-772-1213
• Visiting the SSA field office in Billings, Great Falls, Missoula, or another Montana location
• Using your my Social Security online account to report wages
• Mailing written notice to your local SSA office

Report your work start date, your employer's name and address, and your expected monthly earnings. Then continue to report your actual wages each month — do not wait until the end of the year. SSA processes monthly wage reports and adjusting in real time prevents large overpayments from accumulating.

If you receive an overpayment notice, do not ignore it. You have the right to request a waiver of the overpayment if you believe you were not at fault and repayment would cause financial hardship. You can also appeal SSA's determination that an overpayment occurred at all. Both options require timely action, typically within 60 days of receiving the notice.

When Your Medical Condition Gets Worse

One concern many Montana SSDI recipients have about working is what happens if they try employment and their health declines. The good news is that attempting to work does not automatically signal to SSA that you are no longer disabled. The agency looks at sustained work activity over time, not isolated attempts.

If your condition worsens and you have to stop working, document everything: physician visits, hospitalizations, changes in medication, and any statements from your employer about attendance or performance issues related to your disability. This documentation can be critical if SSA ever initiates a Continuing Disability Review or if you need to demonstrate that your work attempt was unsuccessful.

Montana residents in rural areas often face additional challenges accessing medical care to document their condition — telehealth appointments and records from visiting specialists should be preserved with the same diligence as in-person visits.

Need Help? If you have questions about your case, call or text 833-657-4812 for a free consultation with an experienced attorney.

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