Expedited Reinstatement of SSDI Benefits & Legal Requirements
When a recipient of SSDI benefits returns to work, they will initially go through a Trial Work Period and an Extended Period of Eligibility. The Social Security Administration will terminate their benefits if they are performing substantial gainful activity once the Extended Period of Eligibility ends. Substantial gainful activity generally means that a recipient is earning more than a certain threshold amount of monthly income, which was $1,470 in 2023. This is one of the core requirements for SSDI eligibility.
However, sometimes a former SSDI recipient finds that their condition worsens, and they no longer can hold their job or another job that provides them with monthly income above the substantial gainful activity threshold. When this happens, they will not be entitled to have their benefits automatically reinstated, as they would have been during the Extended Period of Eligibility. Fortunately, though, they may not need to start the process from the beginning again. A former SSDI recipient may be able to get expedited reinstatement of their benefits.
Requirements for Expedited Reinstatement of Benefits
A former SSDI recipient who lost their benefits due to performing substantial gainful activity must meet the following requirements:
- They are unable or become unable to perform substantial gainful activity due to their impairment
- They are unable or become unable to perform substantial gainful activity in the month when they requested expedited reinstatement
- They stopped performing substantial gainful activity within 60 months of when their benefits were previously ended
- Their current impairment is the same as the original impairment that supported their most recent entitlement to benefits, or related to it
- They are under a disability based on the application of the medical improvement review standard, which is the standard normally used in a continuing disability review
A former recipient may request expedited reinstatement in a month that they started by performing substantial gainful activity, as long as they become unable to perform substantial gainful activity by the date of their request. They also must not perform substantial gainful activity in the following month.
Provisional Benefits and the Initial Reinstatement Period
Once a claimant has requested expedited reinstatement, they can receive up to six months of provisional cash benefits. (These benefits may end sooner than six months if the SSA completes its review of the request, or if the claimant’s income again exceeds the substantial gainful activity threshold.) Meanwhile, the SSA will decide whether they qualify for reinstatement, based on their medical situation. While they receive provisional benefits, a claimant may be able to get Medicare or Medicaid coverage as well.
If the SSA decides to reinstate benefits for a claimant under the expedited reinstatement process, they will need to go through a 24-month initial reinstatement period. Reinstated benefits are not payable for any month in which the claimant performs substantial gainful activity until the initial reinstatement period ends.
After receiving 24 months of payable benefits, a claimant will qualify for a new Trial Work Period and Extended Period of Eligibility. This means that they can again try to go back to work, aided by the safety net that these rules provide. Moreover, expedited reinstatement is not a one-time option. If a claimant gets expedited reinstatement, goes back to work, exhausts the Extended Period of Eligibility, and again stops performing substantial gainful activity, they can request expedited reinstatement again if they meet all the requirements.
