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CAN SOCIAL SECURITY WITHOLD BENEFITS BASED ON A VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY THAT I DO?

On this site we have discussed that a person must not be working at 'substantial gainful activity' when applying for Social Security disability (SSDI).

Substantial Gainful Activity is abbreviated as SGA. In 2024, it means if you work, you cannot earn at least $1,550 per month and still be eligible for SSDI benefits.

But what about volunteer activities?  Can they count as "work"?

The short answer is, Yes they can.

 Examples of situations where the SSA might calculate volunteering as SGA include: your wages would be above the SGA level if you were paid for what you do. you spend more than a few hours a week volunteering; the volunteer work has physical or mental requirements that suggest your ability to work at the SGA level, and you perform this volunteer work regularly and consistently.

In short, if you consistently perform volunteer activity for WHICH YOU COULD BE PAID, the volunteer activity may be considered equivalent to Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA).

You could think of all types of examples......

Cindy volunteers as a nursing aide at the local hospital.  She regularly assists in the type of things that paid nursing aides do, although Cindy is not paid for her service. Social Security may make the point:  She could be paid for these same services if she wanted to, and if she were being paid, the volunteer service she is doing would amount to Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA).  That is, she could be earning at least $1,550 per month if she wanted to.

So, be careful about how much volunteer work you do on a regular basis if you are getting SSDI benefits.  Think about how much money the volunteer activity could produce IF you were being paid for each hour that you volunteer. 

I don't hear a lot of cases where someone is denied Social Security disability because of volunteer work, but it can happen. 

 


 

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