What is Substantial Gainful Activity?

To be eligible for disability benefits, a person must be unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” (SGA). For the best advice about what constitutes SGA, contact a Panhandle Social Security disability attorney, but keep the following in mind.

To constitute SGA, work must be both “substantial” and “gainful.” Work is gainful if it is the kind of work usually done for pay or profit, whether or not a profit is actually realized. It may be physical or mental. It may be legal or illegal.

A person who is earning more than a certain monthly amount is usually considered to be engaging in SGA. SSA allows a deduction from earnings for “impairment-related work expenses,” which are usually payments for drugs, medical treatment, transportation costs, vehicle modification, attendant care services, and residential modification. For advice on what constitutes an impairment-related work expense, contact a Panhandle Social Security disability attorney.

The SGA level was $300 per month in the 1980s and was $500 per month in the 1990s. Due to cost of living increases, the SGA level for 2010 is $1,000 per month. The latest SGA level can be found at www.ssa.gov/cola/.

For employees, whether work is gainful is usually determined based purely on earnings. For self-employed individuals, whether work is gainful is determined based on the value of the work to the business, even if the work does not reflect a profit. In determining whether work is SGA, SSA averages a person’s income based on a formula that takes into account the nature of the work, the period of time worked, and whether the SGA monthly minimum earnings level changed during the time the claimant worked.

For the best advice about SGA, contact Panhandle Social Security disability attorneys at Wesley, McGrail & Wesley.