HOW TO LOSE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS

By: Charles W. Forsythe, The Forsythe Firm, Huntsville, Alabama

Here are the 4 most common ways to get your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits taken away. I'm not saying these are the only ways--just 4 common ways.

1. Going to work. If you receive SSDI benefits you may not work at Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA). If you do, Social Security will consider you to be no longer disabled and stop your benefits.

(SGA is an amount of earned income set by Social Security each year. In 2025 you are working at SGA level if you earn wages or self-employment of at least $1,620 per month (gross). This is NOT a limit on how much income you can have; it is a limit on how much you can WORK. There are no exceptions and it doesn't matter WHY you are working.

2. Continuing Disability Review (CDR). Social Security will periodically review your case to see if you remain eligible for benefits. If they find that you've made "significant medical improvement" they may discontinue your benefits. Most CDRs do not result in loss of benefits but they may.

3. Failure to continue medical treatment. If you stop seeing the doctor, discontinue all your medications or otherwise indicate that you are no longer under medical care, Social Security may interpret that as an indication of "significant medical improvement." Aside from that, when you have a Continuing Disability Review (CDR) you won't have any medical evidence to prove an ongoing disability. During a CDR, Social Security will contact your doctors to inquire about your current medical conditions and treatments.

4. Incarceration. If you are incarcerated for more than 30 days, your Social Security benefits will be stopped--at least temporarily. Whether you can get them back or not is anyone's guess.