The 2015 Trial Work Period: Nine Months of Unrestricted Earnings

In 2015, the Trial Work Period (TWP) allowed SSDI beneficiaries to work and earn any amount of money for nine consecutive months without losing their cash benefit. The nine-month window was the same in 2015 as it is today — what changed over time was the definition of what counted as a "work month" and how Social Security tracked your progress through the period.

During those nine months in 2015, you kept your full SSDI payment regardless of how much you earned. There was no income limit, no reduction formula, and no monthly earnings threshold that would cause your check to stop. The only requirement was that you report your work activity to Social Security so they could count down the months correctly.

After the nine months ended, the Extended may be able to access Period (EEP) began — a 36-month window during which your benefit would stop in any month you earned over the substantial gainful activity (SGA) threshold. In 2015, that threshold was $1,090 per month for non-blind workers. This meant the TWP was genuinely a risk-free testing ground before facing the earnings limit.

Key Takeaways

  • The nine-month Trial Work Period in 2015 had no earnings limit — you could earn any amount and keep your full SSDI check.
  • Social Security counted a month as a work month only if you earned $200 or more (in 2015), so part-time or sporadic work might not count toward your nine months.
  • You had to report your work to Social Security; they did not automatically know you were working, and failing to report could delay your TWP countdown.
  • After the nine months ended, the Extended may be able to access Period began, and your benefit would stop in any month you earned over $1,090.

How a Work Month Was Counted in 2015

Social Security did not count every month you worked as a "work month" toward your nine-month TWP. Instead, a month counted only if you earned $200 or more during that calendar month. This $200 threshold was set by federal regulation and did not change year to year in the way the SGA amount did.

The practical effect was that you could work part-time or irregularly during your TWP without burning through your nine months quickly. If you earned $150 in January, that month did not count. If you earned $250 in February, it did count. This rule made the TWP more flexible than it might appear on the surface — you could test work at a low intensity for months without using up your protected period.

The $200 threshold applied whether you were self-employed or a wage earner. For self-employed individuals, Social Security looked at your net profit (income minus business expenses) to determine whether you had crossed the threshold in a given month.

The Substantial Gainful Activity Threshold in 2015

Once your nine-month TWP ended, your SSDI benefit would stop in any month you earned $1,090 or more. This was the SGA threshold for non-blind workers in 2015. The threshold was adjusted annually for wage inflation, so the 2015 figure was slightly higher than 2014 and slightly lower than 2016.

Blind workers had a separate, higher SGA threshold — $1,820 per month in 2015. This distinction reflected the policy assumption that blind individuals often faced higher work-related expenses and should be permitted to earn more before their benefit stopped.

The SGA threshold applied during the Extended may be able to access Period (the 36 months after your TWP ended) and during the Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) phase if you used that work incentive. It did not explore during the TWP itself, which was the entire point of the protected period.

Reporting Your Work to Social Security in 2015

You were required to tell Social Security that you were working, but the agency did not automatically find out. Social Security did not receive reports from your employer or the IRS in real time. If you did not report your work, Social Security would not count your work months, and your TWP would not advance.

In 2015, you could report work by calling your local Social Security office, mailing a form, or visiting in person. There was no online work reporting system at that time. Many beneficiaries reported work when they received their annual Continuing Disability Review (CDR) form, which asked about work activity. Others reported proactively to make sure their TWP was being tracked correctly.

Failing to report work created a real risk: if Social Security later discovered you had worked during months you had not reported, they might recalculate your TWP retroactively, which could change when your Extended may be able to access Period began and when your benefit would stop. It was always safer to report than to hope Social Security would not notice.

The Extended may be able to access Period Following the TWP

After your nine work months ended, you entered the Extended may be able to access Period — a 36-month grace period during which you could still receive your SSDI benefit in months when you earned under $1,090. This was not a second protected period; it was a transition period with an earnings limit.

During the EEP, if you earned $1,090 or more in a calendar month, your SSDI check for that month would not be paid. If you earned $500, you kept your full check. If you earned $1,500, you received nothing that month. There was no partial payment or reduction — it was an all-or-nothing threshold.

The EEP lasted 36 months from the end of your TWP, regardless of whether you actually worked during those 36 months. If you stopped working entirely after your TWP ended, you would still have the full 36-month EEP window before facing the regular SSDI work rules (which included the Substantial Gainful Activity test and the ability to use work incentives like IRWE).

Work Incentives Available Alongside the TWP in 2015

The Trial Work Period was one of several work incentives available to SSDI beneficiaries in 2015. You could also use Impairment-Related Work Expenses (IRWE) to deduct certain disability-related costs from your earnings before Social Security calculated whether you had crossed the SGA threshold. This meant you could earn more than $1,090 and still have your benefit continue, as long as your earnings minus your IRWE did not exceed SGA.

Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS) was another option, allowing you to set aside income and resources for a specific work goal without those amounts counting against your benefit. PASS was particularly useful if you were saving for education, training, or equipment needed to work.

These incentives could be used during the Extended may be able to access Period and beyond, but they were not necessary during the nine-month TWP itself — the TWP had no earnings limit at all. Some beneficiaries used the TWP to test whether they could work, then switched to IRWE or PASS if they wanted to continue working after the TWP ended.

How the TWP Countdown Worked in 2015

Your nine work months did not have to be consecutive. You could work for three months, stop for six months, then work again, and all nine months would eventually count toward your TWP. The clock did not reset if you took a break. Social Security straightforward counted the calendar months in which you earned $200 or more, in any order, until nine such months had passed.

This non-consecutive rule made the TWP genuinely flexible. You could use it to test part-time work, take a break if the job did not work out, and then try again later without losing your progress. The only limit was that you had to complete your nine work months within a rolling five-year window — if more than five years passed without completing nine work months, your TWP would expire and you would have to request a new one.

In practice, most beneficiaries completed their nine work months within a year or two, so the five-year window was rarely a constraint. But it was important to know that the TWP was not a permanent entitlement — it was a specific, time-limited opportunity.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I earned $150 in one month during my TWP in 2015, did that month count?

No. A month counted toward your nine-month TWP only if you earned $200 or more during that calendar month. An earnings of $150 would not count, so you would still have nine full work months remaining in your TWP.

What happened to my SSDI check if I earned $2,000 during my TWP in 2015?

You kept your full SSDI check. The TWP had no earnings limit. You would report the $2,000 to Social Security so they could count that month as a work month, but your benefit would not be reduced or stopped.

Could I use IRWE during my TWP in 2015?

Technically yes, but there was no reason to. IRWE was designed to help you stay under the SGA threshold by deducting disability-related work expenses. During the TWP, there was no threshold to stay under, so IRWE provided no benefit. It became useful after your TWP ended and you entered the Extended may be able to access Period.

If I did not report my work to Social Security in 2015, would they find out anyway?

Not automatically. Social Security did not receive real-time reports from employers or the IRS. However, if they discovered unreported work later (through a Continuing Disability Review or other investigation), they could recalculate your TWP retroactively, which could change when your Extended may be able to access Period began.

How long did the Extended may be able to access Period last after my TWP ended in 2015?

The Extended may be able to access Period lasted 36 months from the month your nine-month TWP ended. During those 36 months, your benefit would stop only in months when you earned $1,090 or more. After the 36 months ended, regular SSDI work rules applied.