I obtain full incapacity from Social Safety. I’m 64 and went out on incapacity at 48 years outdated. (I used to be born in 1957.)
Since there’s now a scarcity of labor, I assumed I’d prefer to attempt going again to work. Social Safety has a Ticket to Work program, which provides you a restricted time to attempt working with out dropping your advantages. Is there a draw back in attempting to return to an workplace job? I consider I can work half time and earn lower than $1,000 a month with out disturbing my advantages.
Additionally, proper now, I don’t pay any earnings tax. Would I actually be gaining something if I went again to work simply to have a tax invoice wipe out my earnings?
-L.
Pricey L.,
Getting accredited for Social Safety Incapacity Insurance coverage (SSDI) is such an extended and complicated course of, so I perceive why you wouldn’t need to put your advantages in danger. However I don’t see a lot draw back to what you’re proposing.
The Ticket to Work program offers coaching, profession counseling and assist with discovering a job for individuals who obtain incapacity and need to work once more. You’ll find out extra concerning the companies the packages provided at choosework.ssa.gov.
However you don’t want to make use of Ticket to Work’s companies to qualify for a trial work interval. Mainly, so long as you continue to have a incapacity, Social Safety enables you to check out a brand new job for as much as 9 months with out affecting your advantages. There’s no restrict on how a lot you’ll be able to earn throughout these 9 months.
As of 2022, any month you earn above $970 or work at the least 80 hours for those who’re self-employed would depend as one among your trial months. Social Safety would solely contemplate your incapacity to have ended for those who used up 9 trial months throughout a 60-month interval. However so long as you stored your earnings beneath $970 for any month you’re employed, it wouldn’t depend as a trial month.
When you’ve accomplished a nine-month trial interval, you’ll be able to maintain your incapacity for any month by which you don’t earn sufficient to have what Social Safety calls substantial gainful exercise for the following 36 months. In 2022, you’ll be able to earn as much as $1,350 a month, or $2,260 per thirty days for those who’re blind. There’s no center floor right here, although. In case you’re not blind and also you make $1,351 in a month, you wouldn’t get your incapacity for that month.
Even for those who’d burn up 9 trial months, you’re not placing your long-term advantages in danger due to your age. You’re about two years away from full retirement age, at which level your incapacity profit will convert to your retirement profit. After that, you’ll be able to work as a lot as you need with out impacting your Social Safety. You additionally wouldn’t danger your Medicare, because you’ll be 65 this yr.
A few different advantages to think about: By working, you’d be paying into Social Safety, which might enhance your retirement profit. Additionally, if you earn cash from a job, you’ll be able to contribute to a retirement account, like a 401(ok) or IRA.
The tax a part of the equation complicates issues a bit. When you’d doubtless wind up paying some taxes, I don’t suppose Uncle Sam would take too massive of a chunk. Now we have a progressive tax system that progressively will increase tax charges in line with earnings.
Suppose you might have $20,000 of earnings from Social Safety incapacity, plus $10,000 in wages for the yr, bringing your earnings to $30,000 for the yr. Between federal taxes (which might apply to each your earnings and a part of your Social Safety) and payroll taxes (which might solely apply to your earnings), you’d wind up paying a bit over $1,500.
Finally, it’s your name whether or not getting a job is value owing a bit in taxes. The purpose is, you don’t have to fret about taxes eliminating the advantages of working.
So long as you are feeling like you’ll be able to work with out risking your well being, I’d vote for at the least making use of for just a few jobs to discover your choices. Together with workplace jobs, you may additionally need to have a look at work-from-home jobs since distant work is the brand new regular for therefore many firms.
The present job market presents so many alternatives, significantly for older staff or these with a incapacity who typically face a number of limitations once they search employment. Since you might have choices for working with out risking your advantages, why not take benefit?
Robin Hartill is a licensed monetary planner and a senior author at The PNW. Ship your tough cash inquiries to [email protected].