Working while on SSI
SSI is designed so that working pays. The earned-income formula already counts only half your earnings above the exclusions, and on top of that, several work incentives let you keep more of your payment, save for a work goal, or keep Medicaid after your cash payment stops. This guide covers the four incentives people ask about most.
- SEIE 2026: students under 22 exclude up to $2,410/month, $9,730/year.
- A PASS plan lets you set aside income and resources for a work goal without losing SSI.
- Section 1619(b) can keep your Medicaid even after your SSI cash payment stops.
Student earned-income exclusion (SEIE)
Covered in detail in SSI for children: students under 22 who regularly attend school exclude up to $2,410 a month in 2026, up to $9,730 for the year, before any other rule applies. After the exclusion is used up, the normal $65-plus-half rule takes over.
Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS)
A PASS plan is a written agreement with SSA that lets you set aside income — and resources — for a specific work goal, such as training, equipment, or starting a business. Money set aside under an approved plan does not count as income or as a resource for SSI while the plan runs. The plan must have a realistic goal, a timetable, and a budget, and SSA must approve it in advance. PASS plans are underused, largely because people do not know they exist — if you have a work goal that needs saving, ask SSA about one before you start setting money aside.
Ticket to Work and Medicaid while working
Ticket to Work offers free employment services from approved providers, and while you are making progress under the program, SSA generally pauses medical reviews. Separately, section 1619(b) lets you keep Medicaid in most states even when your earnings stop your SSI cash payment — each state has a yearly earnings threshold for this, and the 2026 state thresholds are published by SSA. The key point for both programs is the same: do not assume that earning more means losing everything. Report your wages, ask about the incentive that fits your situation, and get the answer in writing.
A note on terminology: you may see the term substantial gainful activity (SGA) — $1,690 a month for non-blind workers in 2026 — in disability contexts. SGA is mainly an SSDI concept. For SSI, earnings matter through the income formula and the incentives above, not through a single SGA cutoff. Do not let an SGA figure talk you out of working on SSI.
Sources to check: SSA Red Book, work incentives (ssa.gov/redbook/eng/); SSA, Ticket to Work (choosework.ssa.gov); SSA, Medicaid While Working 2026 thresholds (ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-medicaid-while-working.htm).