Hi, I’m Sharon Christie your nurse attorney for Social Security Disability Benefits. I want to talk to you today about how part-time work affects your application for Social Security Disability Benefits. so let’s start by talking about what Social Security says the term disabled means.

According to Social Security, you’re disabled if you have severe limitations from your medical problems that prevents you from doing what Social Security causes substantial gainful activity. What this really means is that you are so limited by your health conditions that you’re not able to do any type of work on an eight-hour day five day a week basis or on a competitive basis. Now Social Security also defines this gainful activity term in terms of money so if you’re working part-time and you’re earning 1130 dollars a month or more before taxes then Social Security says you’re not disabled because that’s the amount they assign to substantial gainful activity.

Now, what does that mean? If you are working part-time I have many people who call me and think that they may qualify for disability or are wondering if they may qualify for disability and they’re working part-time. Well first you have to look at is how much money do you earn. Because even if you’re only working say ten hours a week but you’re earning one thousand one hundred and thirty dollars or more per month then Social Security is going to say you’re not disabled because they define that as substantial gainful activity.

But let’s say you weren’t.  Less money than that how does your part-time work affect your disability application? Well, it certainly is going to make it more complicated because Social Security determines whether you are capable of working at a substantial gainful activity level and that’s not determined simply by the fact that you are not working at all or that you’re working a little bit you’re earning less than that 1130 dollars a month.

Social Security looks very closely at your medical evidence your medical records to look at see what kind of limitations do you have and how severe they are and then Social Security makes a determination about whether they think you’re capable of working or not. So I can tell you that part-time work definitely complicates cases but each case is different on its own facts so you have to look very carefully at how much work are you doing how much work you’re really capable of doing.

Are you really at your maximum limit or could you be doing more those are some of the things that the Social Security Administration will consider.