When receiving disability benefits, your Ocala disability attorney will tell you that there are advantages to maintaining an income that is lower than the “trial work period services” amount. According to the rules for the trial work period, a person receiving benefits can earn any amount of money each month over a nine-month period and continue receiving their benefits in full. After nine months of work, the benefits stop.
As an Ocala disability attorney can explain, the idea behind the trial work period is to provide benefits with an opportunity to go back to work on a full-time basis. If, for example, you returned to work for seven months, you would be paid for working and also receive your benefits. If after seven months you come to the decision that you can’t keep working, the benefits will continue, provided your condition or injuries don’t show improvement. Your Ocala disability lawyer will explain how the trial work period functions.
A mistake that an Ocala disability lawyer often sees is when people exhaust their available trial work period time by getting a part-time job while their claims were in process. In some instances, people who were waiting for their claims to be decided didn’t know that they used all of their trial work time by working a part-time job before a decision had been made as to their disability.
If, for example, the amount you earn surpasses the monthly amount allowable (in 2013 it is $750), for a period of nine months from the time you applied with the Social Security Administration (SSA) for disability benefits, your allotment will be extinguished. Your Ocala disability attorney will explain that the work trial period does not have to be in consecutive months and can be used up within a five-year time frame. When the nine months are completed, you will no longer receive benefits.
An Ocala disability attorney will advise you that it is preferable to retain the maximum of trial work period time until you are capable of working full-time again. Using up the trial work period with a part-time job is a mistake. If you want to work, it is wise to keep your income below the current maximum level.
It is important to speak to an experienced Ocala disability attorney at CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC about your case. Call today at 352-304-5300.
