SSDI Trial Work Period Amount 2025: What the Threshold Means and How It Works
If you're receiving SSDI and thinking about returning to work, the Trial Work Period (TWP) is one of the most important protections built into the program. It lets you test your ability to work without immediately losing your benefits — but the rules hinge on a specific monthly earnings threshold that adjusts each year.
Here's what that number is in 2025 and what it actually means for how the TWP works.
What Is the Trial Work Period?
The Trial Work Period is a Social Security work incentive that gives SSDI recipients up to nine months to attempt working — even at substantial earnings — while still receiving their full monthly benefit. Those nine months don't have to be consecutive. SSA tracks them within a rolling 60-month (five-year) window.
The key mechanism: SSA doesn't count a month toward your TWP unless your earnings hit or exceed the TWP threshold for that month. Months below the threshold don the count — your benefits continue, and that month isn't "used up."
The 2025 Trial Work Period Monthly Amount
For 2025, the Trial Work Period monthly threshold is $1,160.
Any month in which you earn $1,160 or more gross (before taxes) counts as a TWP service month. If you're self-employed, SSA uses a different measure: either earning $1,160 or more, or working more than 80 hours in your business that month — whichever applies first.
💡 This figure adjusts annually based on the national average wage index, so it typically increases slightly from year to year. The 2024 threshold was $1,110, making the 2025 figure a modest step up.
| Year | TWP Monthly Threshold |
|---|---|
| 2023 | $1,050 |
| 2024 | $1,110 |
| 2025 | $1,160 |
How the Nine Months Add Up
Once you accumulate nine TWP months within a 60-month window, the trial work period ends. What happens next matters significantly:
- SSA reviews whether your work activity now constitutes Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA)
- In 2025, the SGA threshold for non-blind individuals is $1,620 per month
- If your earnings are at or above SGA after the TWP ends, SSA can cease your benefits
But there's a buffer: the Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE). For the 36 months following your TWP, if your earnings drop below SGA in any given month, you can receive your SSDI benefit for that month without reapplying. That window provides meaningful protection against income fluctuations.
TWP Months vs. SGA: A Distinction Worth Understanding
These two thresholds are often confused, but they serve different functions:
| Threshold | 2025 Amount | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| TWP Monthly Amount | $1,160 | Counts a month as a "used" TWP month |
| SGA (non-blind) | $1,620 | Determines if benefits stop after TWP ends |
| SGA (blind) | $2,700 | Higher SGA threshold for statutorily blind recipients |
Earning above $1,160 but below $1,620 in a given month? That month counts against your nine TWP months — but wouldn't be enough to trigger a benefit cessation once your TWP is complete. Earning above $1,620 is a different matter entirely once the TWP has been exhausted.
Variables That Shape How the TWP Plays Out
The threshold amount is fixed by SSA, but how the TWP affects your situation depends on several layered factors:
When your TWP started. The 60-month window is rolling, not fixed from your benefit start date. If you worked a few months several years ago, those months may already be partially counted.
How you're paid. Gross wages, net self-employment income, and in-kind compensation are all treated differently. The method SSA uses to count earnings can affect whether a month crosses the threshold.
Whether work-related expenses apply. If you have a disability-related impairment that requires special equipment, transportation, or services to do your job, those costs may be deductible as Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWEs). This can reduce your countable earnings — potentially keeping some months below the $1,160 mark.
Your benefit type. The TWP applies only to SSDI, not to SSI. If you receive both (concurrent benefits), the SSI side follows entirely different rules around income and resources.
Whether you've reported your work to SSA. Failing to report earnings during the TWP can create overpayments — one of the more serious administrative complications SSDI recipients face. SSA expects timely reporting regardless of whether your earnings cross the threshold.
What Happens to Medicare During the TWP
One point many SSDI recipients don't realize: Medicare continues through the TWP and beyond. Even after your cash benefits stop due to SGA-level work, Medicare coverage typically continues for at least 93 months following the end of the TWP — part of what SSA calls the Extended Period of Medicare Coverage. For many people returning to work, this continuation is a significant factor in how they weigh employment decisions.
The Gap Between the Rule and Your Reality 🔍
The 2025 TWP threshold of $1,160 is a concrete, public number — straightforward to look up. What's far less straightforward is how it intersects with your specific work history, how many TWP months you've already used, how your earnings are structured, and whether you're approaching or already past your Extended Period of Eligibility. Those details determine whether the TWP is still fully available to you, partially available, or already behind you.
