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If you receive Social Security benefits, you may get more money starting in 2025 to offset the effects of inflation. Unfortunately, those payments aren’t guaranteed: An average of 70,000 Social Security recipients see their benefits taken away each year, according to a June 8 report from NPR.
Whether you receive Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Supplemental Security Income, you can lose your monthly benefits if certain events occur, some of which are beyond your control. In some cases, such as higher income, it may be worth losing your benefits to earn more money. The type of benefits you receive also matters, which we’ll explain below.
Keep reading to learn how you could potentially lose your Social Security benefits. For more information, here’s what to do if your Social Security payment is late and what you need to know about the future of your benefits.
You start making too much money
If you get a new job while receiving Social Security, it could affect the amount of Social Security money you receive each month. Here’s what you need to know.
SSI number:
Accepting a job could potentially result in your SSI benefits being terminated, according to the Social Security Administration. It depends on how much money you make. Generally, the SSI qualification applies to people who $1,971 or less per monthIf your income is higher than that amount, you will no longer be eligible for benefits.
Note: If you work, $1 will be deducted from your payment for every $2 you earn. For 2024, the maximum you can receive per month is $943, or $1,415 for a couple.
SSDI certificate:
For SSDI beneficiaries, you can return to work for up to nine months without losing your benefits. This is the SSA’s nine-month trial period. If you earn $1,550 or more per month after that time, SSA will consider this substantial profit-making activityIn that case, your benefits will be suspended for the months you earn more than the substantial amount during the 36-month re-entry period after you complete the trial work period.
If your income falls below the substantial amount during that 36-month period, your benefits may be reinstated. Benefits will end if your income exceeds the substantial amount after the 36-month reinstatement period ends.
You go to jail or prison
If you are in jail for more than 30 days, your Social Security and SSI benefits will be can be hung. And once you’re out of prison, you’re not automatically entitled to your benefits again. Here’s how it works.
Social Security/SSDI:
If you are receiving Social Security and your benefits are suspended because you were sentenced to prison, your benefits may be reinstated beginning the month after your release. For example, if you were released in May, your benefits may begin again in June.
Remark: The benefits that your partner or children receive will continue for as long as they are entitled to them.
SSI number:
If you are receiving SSI, your benefits are suspended during the time you are in prison. Your payments can start again the month you are released, unlike Social Security benefits. The money you receive that month would be a partial payment, depending on your release date.
There is a caveat. If your prison sentence lasts longer than 12 consecutive months, your SSI benefits will be terminated. You must contact the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 to file a new application once you are released.
You are getting divorced
If you have recently been divorced or are about to be divorced, there are a number of provisions that mean you are no longer entitled to your ex-partner’s social security benefits.
- You have not been married to your ex-partner for more than 10 years.
- You are now married to another person, so you can no longer receive benefits for your ex-partner. This changes if your current marriage ends by annulment, divorce or death.
- You are entitled to a benefit on your own behalf and the amount of your benefit is higher than the amount of your ex-partner’s benefit.
For more information, here’s a Social Security guide to all your benefits, and how to find out how much Social Security money you can receive when you retire.
