SSDI Benefit & Work Limit Calculator

How this calculator works

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) pays a monthly benefit to people who have worked and paid Social Security taxes and can no longer work at a substantial level because of a serious medical condition. The benefit is based on your earnings record, much like a retirement benefit, but it is not reduced for age. This calculator estimates your SSDI amount and checks whether your current work earnings could affect eligibility in 2027.

The inputs. Enter your average annual earnings over your working years (or your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings, AIME, if you know it), how much you earn from work each month now, and whether you are legally blind.

Step 1: Estimated benefit. The tool divides average annual earnings by 12 to get AIME, then applies the 2027 formula:

• 90% of the first $1,340 of AIME, plus
• 32% of AIME between $1,340 and $8,077, plus
• 15% of AIME above $8,077.

The result, your Primary Insurance Amount, is your estimated monthly SSDI benefit. There is no early-claiming reduction for SSDI.

Step 2: Substantial gainful activity (SGA). In 2027, earning more than $1,770 a month ($2,950 if you are blind) is generally considered substantial work. When you apply, earnings above this level usually mean SSA will not find you disabled.

Step 3: Trial Work Period (TWP). If you already receive SSDI, any month in which you earn $1,270 or more counts as a trial work month. You can have nine trial work months within a rolling 60-month window without losing benefits. After that, a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility begins, during which benefits are paid for months your earnings are below SGA.

Worked example. Michael, 58, has average earnings of $48,000 a year. He now earns $1,400 a month from light part-time work and is not blind.

If Michael is applying, his $1,400 in earnings is below SGA, so it would not by itself rule him out. If he is already on SSDI, each month at $1,400 uses up one of his nine trial work months. Our guide to the Trial Work Period and SGA explains how these rules fit together, and the SSI vs SSDI guide covers how SSDI differs from need-based SSI.

Limits of this estimate. SSA indexes your past earnings to wage growth year by year and uses only the years before you became disabled; this tool uses your average as entered. The bend points shown are for people first eligible in 2027. It does not include benefits for family members, workers' compensation or public disability offsets, or the work credit test (you generally need recent work to qualify). There is a five-month waiting period before SSDI payments begin, and Medicare starts after 24 months of entitlement. Only SSA can decide whether you meet the medical definition of disability.