How months are counted
The trial work period is a counter, not a phase. Each month is tested on its own earnings. In 2027 a month is used once gross earnings from work exceed $1,270; in 2026 the figure was $1,210. Months below the threshold are ignored. A part-time schedule that stays under the trigger can run for years without consuming a single month.
For self-employment the test is different: a month counts if earnings exceed the threshold or if you spend more than 80 hours working in the business. Hours, not profit, can therefore use up the period in a business with a slow start.
| Item | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Month counted at earnings above | $1,210 | $1,270 |
| SGA, non-blind | $1,690 | $1,770 |
| SGA, blind | $2,830 | $2,950 |
The trigger sits well below the non-blind SGA limit. That gap is deliberate: the trial work period is meant to start counting at modest earnings, long before work becomes substantial in SSA’s terms.
What the trial work period does not do
It does not protect the claim at the application stage. Only work performed after entitlement is covered. Earnings during the five months before entitlement, or in the months while a claim is pending, are evaluated under the ordinary SGA rules and can defeat an application even though the same work would have been shielded later.
It also does not protect Medicare on its own. Medicare continues for a defined period after cash benefits stop because of work, but that protection runs from the end of the trial work period, not from entitlement.
After the ninth month
When the ninth month is used, the extended period of eligibility begins: 36 consecutive months in which benefits are paid for any month earnings fall below the SGA limit and suspended for months above it. No new application is needed to restart payments inside those 36 months. If benefits are later terminated, a separate reinstatement route exists, but it requires a new determination and is slower than a suspension.
The practical consequence is that the ninth month should be planned, not discovered. Recipients who use trial work months during a brief seasonal job often have none left for a later, better-paid attempt.
Planning around the count
Three habits protect the period. Track monthly gross earnings against $1,270 rather than annual totals, because the test is monthly. Report earnings to SSA every month rather than at year end. And separate an unsuccessful work attempt, which ends after a short period because of the impairment and is treated differently, from work that is simply below the trigger.
Recipients weighing a return to work against the value of the benefit should compare the two on the same timeline, since the trial work period, the extended eligibility period, and the SGA limit all interact.