Can I lose my Social Security disability benefits?

After you’ve successfully applied for Social Security disability benefits, you may be wondering how long your benefits will last. Generally speaking, you are eligible for disability benefits for as long as you remain disabled. However, there are several situations that can cause you to lose your benefits.

Continuing Disability Review

All recipients of Social Security disability benefits must have their medical condition periodically reviewed. How often this occurs depends on expectations of your recovery.

• If your medical condition is expected to improve, your case will be reviewed within six to 18 months after you start receiving disability benefits.
• If your medical condition may improve, your case will be reviewed approximately every three years.
• If improvement is not expected, your case will not be reviewed for at least seven years.

When you are initially approved for disability benefits, your notice will include when to expect the first review.

What can cause you to lose benefits?

Put simply, if the Social Security Administration decides that there is evidence that you are no longer disabled, your benefits can be discontinued. This happens in one of two ways:

• If you are able to work at a level that the SSA considers “substantial,” this may cause you to lose your disability benefits. The income level that triggers this determination changes each year. For 2021, average earnings of $1,310 or more each month is considered to be substantial. This amount is larger if you are blind ($2,190 or more per month.)
• If your medical condition has improved to the point that you are no longer considered disabled, then your benefits will stop.

Also, keep in mind that these are not the only ways you may lose benefits. For example, if in the course of volunteering you perform work that proves that you are able to work normally, your benefits may be pulled. This also can occur if you work for a friend or family member at a level that you could earn a normal salary, even if you are working for free or are underpaid. If you need more information, you can learn more here.

Additionally:

• If you are incarcerated, you will stop receiving disability benefits on the date of your conviction. If in the future you are released, you may apply to have benefits restarted.
• Once you reach retirement age, you will stop receiving disability benefits. Instead, you will start receiving retirement benefits. Since these are generally equal, the change is only technical.
• If your disability claim is determined to have been fraudulent, then you can lose disability benefits and may face criminal charges. This may occur if you give false information about your identity, your level of disability, your income, or whether you are self-employed. You also may be prosecuted for fraud if you don’t report anything that may affect your eligibility for benefits or if you fraudulently use someone else’s benefits money.

Benefits may be reduced or eliminated if you show a change in assets or income. For example, if you move in with a family member who pays for your expenses or if you acquire valuable property (worth over $2,000) then your benefits may be reduced.

The Ticket to Work Program

If you think you may be able to go back to work but don’t want to risk losing your disability benefits, there is a solution. The SSA allows disability recipients to apply for work incentives that will enable them to attempt to go back into the workforce while keeping their benefits protected in the case that they are forced to stop working again.