It’s not uncommon for individuals who are filing for disability, under either the title II social security disability or title 16 SSI disability benefit program (or both if their application is concurrent) to wonder if they can receive benefits for partial disability, or if they can receive temporary disability benefits.

In either case, the answer is no. Social security uses a definition for disability, and for the approval of claims, that requires that a claimant be so affected by their condition that they are rendered unable to work and earn what is referred to as a substantial gainful income. For the social security administration, this standard of disability equates with total disability.

That does not mean, of course, that an individual who is filing for disability, or an individual who is actually receiving disability benefits, cannot work and earn income at the same time. In actuality, a claimant can work in either situation as long as their gross monthly earnings do not exceed the allowable limit set for that particular year. However, having said that, an individual who is filing for disability may wish to consider the fact that disability adjudicators (disability examiners at the first two levels of the system, and disability judges at the hearing level) are human beings and very often (or most often) their decisions have a subjective component to them.

That being the case, the fact that a claimant is continuing to work may influence how they are rated in terms of functional capacity, as well as the outcome of a case. This may be even truer when it comes to disability claims that are predicated, for the most part, on mental allegations.

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