The 2018 SSDI Earnings Limit

In 2018, you could earn up to $1,180 per month and still receive your full SSDI payment. If you earned more than that, Social Security would reduce or stop your benefit for that month. This figure is called Substantial Gainful Activity, or SGA — the earnings threshold that determines whether Social Security considers you to be working at a level that means you no longer need disability benefits.

The $1,180 limit applied to non-blind beneficiaries. If you were blind, the limit was higher: $1,970 per month. These amounts changed every year based on national wage trends, so the 2018 figure is different from what applied in 2017 or 2019.

The limit counted only your work earnings — wages from a job, net income from self-employment, or royalties. It did not count investment income, rental income, or other money that was not earned through work.

Key Takeaways

  • The 2018 SGA limit was $1,180 per month for non-blind beneficiaries and $1,970 per month for blind beneficiaries.
  • Social Security measured your earnings month by month, so you could earn above the limit in some months and below it in others without losing benefits for the entire year.
  • Only work earnings counted toward the limit; investment income, rental income, and other unearned income did not affect your SSDI payment.
  • If you earned above the limit, Social Security reduced your benefit dollar-for-dollar after a small buffer, rather than stopping it entirely.

How Social Security Counted Your Monthly Earnings

Social Security looked at your earnings in each calendar month separately. If you earned $900 in January, you kept your full benefit for January. If you earned $1,500 in February, your benefit was reduced in February only — your January benefit was not affected. This month-by-month approach meant you could have high-earning months and low-earning months in the same year without losing your entire annual benefit.

For self-employed work, Social Security counted your net profit (income minus business expenses), not your gross revenue. If you owned a business and had $3,000 in income but $2,000 in expenses, only the $1,000 net profit counted toward the earnings limit.

Social Security also had a trial work period that let you test your ability to work without when ready losing benefits. During the trial work period, you could earn any amount and still receive your full SSDI payment. The trial work period lasted nine months (not necessarily consecutive) within a rolling 60-month window. After the trial work period ended, the $1,180 limit applied.

What Happened If You Earned Above the Limit

If you earned more than $1,180 in a month, Social Security did not stop your entire benefit. Instead, they reduced it. For every dollar you earned above the limit, your benefit was reduced by 50 cents (after accounting for a small monthly buffer). This meant that even if you earned significantly more than $1,180, you still received some SSDI payment.

The reduction continued until your earnings were high enough that your reduced benefit reached zero. At that point, Social Security stopped your payment for that month. However, once your earnings dropped back below the limit in a future month, your benefit resumed.

Social Security sent you a form each year asking you to report your expected earnings for the coming year. If you reported that you would earn above the limit, they could adjust your payments in advance rather than overpaying you and asking for money back later.

Differences Between 2018 and Other Years

The SGA limit changed annually. In 2017, the limit was $1,170 per month for non-blind beneficiaries. In 2019, it rose to $1,220. The increase reflected changes in the national average wage index — when average wages went up, the SGA limit went up with it.

If you were receiving SSDI in multiple years, you needed to know the correct limit for each year. Earning $1,180 in 2018 was within the limit, but that same amount in 2019 would have been below the limit. The Social Security Administration published the new SGA limit each October for the year ahead, so you could plan your work accordingly.

The blind SGA limit also changed each year. In 2018 it was $1,970, but this figure varied from year to year just as the non-blind limit did.

Work Incentives That Reduced the Impact of Earnings Limits

Social Security offered programs designed to let you work and keep more of your benefits. The Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) let you set aside income and resources for a specific work goal without those amounts counting against your SSDI payment. For example, if you were saving to start a business or pay for job training, you could exclude that money from your earnings calculation.

The Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWE) program let you deduct certain costs from your earnings if those costs were necessary because of your disability. If you paid for a personal assistant, medical equipment, or transportation related to your disability, those expenses could reduce the amount of earnings that counted toward the limit.

The Student Earned Income Exclusion allowed students under age 22 to exclude up to $2,090 per month in earnings (in 2018) from the SGA calculation. This meant a student could earn significantly more than $1,180 and still keep their full benefit, as long as they were in school and under the age limit.

Reporting Your Earnings to Social Security

You were required to report your earnings to Social Security, even if you thought they were below the limit. Social Security used your reports to calculate whether your benefit should be reduced or stopped. If you did not report earnings and Social Security found out later, they could overpay you and ask for the money back.

You could report earnings by phone, mail, or online through your My Social Security account. Social Security also allowed you to report earnings in advance if you knew what you would earn in coming months. Reporting early gave them time to adjust your payments before they were issued, rather than overpaying and creating a debt.

If your earnings changed unexpectedly — for example, if you lost a job or got a raise — you were expected to report the change as soon as possible. Social Security understood that earnings could be unpredictable, especially for self-employed workers, so they did not penalize you for honest reporting of changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the $1,180 limit explore to my spouse's income or my household income?

No. Social Security looked only at your individual earnings, not your spouse's income or your household total. Your spouse's earnings did not affect your SSDI benefit at all. Only your own work income counted toward the $1,180 limit.

What if I earned $1,180 in one month and $500 in the next month?

You would keep your full benefit for the month you earned $500 because you were under the limit. Your benefit would be reduced in the month you earned $1,180 because you were at the limit. Social Security calculated each month separately, so the low-earning month did not offset the high-earning month.

Did bonuses or one-time payments count toward the earnings limit?

Yes. Any payment you received for work — including bonuses, commissions, and lump-sum payments — counted as earnings in the month you received it. If you received a large bonus in one month, that could push your earnings well above the limit for that month and reduce or stop your benefit.

Could I work more hours if I was paid less per hour?

Yes, as long as your total monthly earnings stayed at or below $1,180. Social Security did not limit your hours worked; they limited your dollars earned. You could work 100 hours at minimum wage or 10 hours at a high wage — what mattered was the total amount you earned in the month.

If I was over the earnings limit, did I lose my Medicare coverage?

No. Earning above the SGA limit could reduce or stop your SSDI cash benefit, but it did not automatically end your Medicare coverage. You could continue to receive Medicare even if your benefit was reduced to zero, though the rules around how long this continued varied depending on your situation and when you started receiving SSDI.