If you are less than Full Retirement Age and you receive a disability-based annuity, the Annual Earnings Exempt Amount does not apply to your disability Tier I component.
Your disability-based annuity cannot be paid for any month an employee works and has earnings over the disability earnings limit. (Refer to Form AB-31, How Work Affects Your Disability). “Earnings” are defined on page 5 of this booklet. Certain disability-related work expenses are subtracted from the earnings, such as the costs of special transportation, medicine used to control the impairment that caused the disability, attendant care, medical devices, and prosthetic devices.
When you tell us that earnings were made over the disability earnings limit, we apply temporary deductions to the employee and spousal annuities for the calendar year based on the amount that is expected to be earned. We will send a form after the end of that year to report the actual monthly and total earnings for that year.
If the total earnings are less than the disability earnings maximum for that calendar year, any monthly benefits that we withheld will be paid to you.
If the total earnings are greater than the disability earnings maximum during that year, you will not be entitled to an annuity for some months in that year. How long your annuity is not payable depends on how much was earned, but the number of months withheld will not exceed the actual number of months that were worked in that year.