Trying to work while dealing with a serious medical condition can create a confusing record in a disability case. On one hand, many people make a real effort to stay employed because they need income, health insurance, structure, or simply a sense of normalcy. On the other hand, Social Security may look closely at that work and ask whether it suggests an ability to perform substantial gainful activity, often called SGA.
That tension is exactly why the explanation matters.
A work attempt does not automatically ruin a disability claim. In many cases, the key issue is how the work happened, how long it lasted, what support was required, what symptoms showed up on the job, and why it stopped or was cut back. In this post you’ll learn how work attempts are evaluated, what facts tend to matter most, how to describe them clearly, and where many claimants accidentally create credibility problems.
If you want a broader foundation on how earnings, SGA, and failed work attempts fit together, this overview of working while a disability claim is pending can help frame the bigger picture.
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Social Security disability programs are built around the idea that a person is not able to engage in substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable impairment. For 2026, the monthly SGA amount is $1,690 for non-blind individuals and $2,830 for statutorily blind individuals, according to the Social Security Administration’s published SGA figures (SSA SGA amounts).
That number matters, but it is not the whole story.
The agency also looks at how the work was performed, whether the claimant needed unusual help, whether special conditions were in place, whether productivity was lower than expected, and whether the work ended because of the impairment. SSA regulations recognize the concept of an unsuccessful work attempt for certain work efforts of six months or less that stop or fall below SGA because of the impairment or the removal of special conditions (20 C.F.R. § 416.974; SSA POMS DI 11010.145).
In practical terms, a claimant may have worked and still remain disabled under SSA’s rules. The issue is often whether the file tells a complete and consistent story.
When Social Security reviews a work attempt, the agency is often trying to answer a few basic questions:
If earnings are above the monthly SGA threshold, that can create a significant issue, especially in an initial claim. But SSA’s own rules also recognize exceptions and work incentives, including unsuccessful work attempts and, in some post-entitlement SSDI situations, a trial work period and extended period of eligibility (SSA work and disability overview; SSA Red Book publication).
Duration matters. SSA regulations explain that work at the SGA level for more than six months generally is not treated as an unsuccessful work attempt, while work of six months or less may be, depending on the reason it ended and whether there was a significant break before the attempt (20 C.F.R. § 416.974).
A powerful explanation is often built around specifics: worsening symptoms, excessive absences, slower pace, safety concerns, inability to sustain hours, panic episodes, pain flares, cognitive mistakes, or the loss of accommodations that had temporarily made the job possible.