well the way ssd looks at it if you can work part time you can work full time my guess is social security is real treaky they tell you can work and earn 800.00 dollars or more but to me it is not a good ideal to work at all while you are trying to win your case good luck to you
Cindy, I am in the same situation.I applied for SSDI in March and was denied. I got a lawyer and now we are in the appeals. I asked him if i could work part time and he said yes. But i could not make over $900.00 a month. But i am not going to do it because one thing.. i don't think i can hold down a job even if it is part time and i don't want to hurt my case by working.
I guess i will just have to be poor and mooch off of people till i am approved.
It is a terrible thing to have to wait sooooooo long but i guess it will be worth it in the long run.
Hope things turn out great for you soon.
Karen
You will not win your case if you work at all before winning your case. If you win your case, you can earn something like $900.00 a month without it affecting your disability. But, I think that could be trickly too.
Cindy,
you are able to work a very min. p/t job. I is not true that it will hurt your claim. Even when people are found fully disabled and have won their claim, of SSI , or SSDI they can work, up to a certain amount each month without it affecting their claim>
Social Security actually likes to see those people atttemting to earn a little money , then not even trying ! As long as the earnings are below the SGA amount you are fine to try and work. Please remember that Gross income , before taxes are taken out is included.
Each year the SGA amount goes up. Please go online to the Social Security Administration website and look up this years SGA amount.
I know this first hand, because I worked while my claim was going through the process. It DID NOT affect my claim in the least .
What happened to me is that I was fired though, even at just working a little . However the amounts fell below the SGA, Social Security did not even question it.
Working a little bit, making certain this falls below the SGA , will also help build your work credits up. Imprortant if you are wanting to SSDI.
mscat
When I got fired for not being able to do my job (landscaping) I tried to rest for while while collecting unemployment, then I told my Dr. I was helping out my next door neighbor who had cancer, and boy did the judge hone in on that. Along with my attempt at doing some scapebooking from time to time, so it's a flip of the coin. It all depends on what the judge you get assigned to. For me it wasn't worth it; my Dr wrote I was working part time for the park we live in, I'm not sure how she got that from helping my neighbor, so I had to send a notarized letter was the manager of the park saying I have not worked for them since I got fired in 2003.
When I got fired for not being able to do my job (landscaping) I tried to rest for while while collecting unemployment, then I told my Dr. I was helping out my next door neighbor who had cancer, and boy did the judge hone in on that.
Yes, you are absolutely right. Working while attempting to get SSD can only hurt a person IMHO. Yes, SS likes people to "try" to work, but that's after you've been awarded benefits, not before. And, the reason they "like" one to work is that it's a potential weaning process to get you off of SSD.
The bottom line is this...When you apply for SSD and are going through the process, any type of work....Even volunteer, possibly demonstrates that you can potentially work. To me, it's not worth the risk.
Thanks MsCat
Do you think self employment or a real employee job would be better
I'm talking about 10 hours a week max here....
Cindy
Cindy,
everyone else who has responded to your thread , is writing about not even trying to work while in the process. But, me I don't know where u are in your claim, and DO NOT want to compromise your chances of winning. Social Security is so picky and strict, that the judge could look at your minor working hrs is something that u are able to do, therefore not Disabled enough to meet their standards.
My claim never went onto this level either. I won on the reconsiderartion level, and at that time, was not working . I had orginally worked though , but it was not until a good 6 months after I was fired . I went onto unemployment , then to welfare, for a while, My mental health declined , and kept going down severely.
When I was approved , it was not a issue , about the working . Maybe because it was so min. and I had been fired.
Every situation is different. SO please be careful about what you plan on doing, work wise . If you get a stinky judge, then u could lose your claim , just by the min. amount of work u were doing.
If you have followed any of my posts they went in this order
8-20~offered job but hearing is less than a month away
9-9~Won my hearing
9-16~notice of decision
9-16~applying for SSD and working
on one of the 9-16 posts I had replied to mccat about working but i did win my hearing
I was tooking for other people who had experence with this as my attorney said it was fine to take the job offered to me and send him my pay stubs every three months.
FYI: My attorney also had me go through vocational rehab while in the appeal process
Coulbe be why I got an on the record decision with in minutes of the hearing starting.
Untill my award letter comes I feel I have really WON NOTHING!
Hope this clears it up for those of you who were confused.
If you have applied for SSD and are in the appeal process can you try to work part time?
Would that help or hurt your appeal?
Thanks, Cindy
posted on 9/16 .... This is confusing, however, maybe it was just a matter of timing in , Cindy's case . The best thing about it , is that she won, and now can decide if working under the SGA , is something she ought to like to do.
However, by doing this shortly after winning your claim, this could hurt your claim in the long run, because Social Security is going to see that your capable of working, therefore , might question the severity of your disability. It may be wise to wait for a while to began to try a job. Even then, Social security will question the true nature of your condition, which could impede further payments.
I don't know where u are in your claim, and DO NOT want to compromise your chances of winning. Social Security is so picky and strict, that the judge could look at your minor working hrs is something that u are able to do, therefore not Disabled enough to meet their standards. 
Did I miss the post where she had her hearing?
