A Quick Guide to Returning to Work While on Benefits
Returning to work isn’t all-or-nothing. With clear information, tracking tools, and work incentives, you can explore employment at your own pace while maintaining financial stability.
The Work Incentives Workbook is designed to help individuals receiving SSDI, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, or Colorado public benefits understand what income counts, how employment affects their benefits, and how to avoid overpayments. It provides structured worksheets, screening questions, and visual tracking tools that make return-to-work planning more predictable, organized, and safe.
One of the biggest questions people have is, “Can I work while receiving these benefits?”
The short answer is yes. Most beneficiaries can safely test a return to work using the work incentives available within their specific benefits program. If you have a disability determination on record—or you are retired and eligible for Social Security or Medicare—you can typically work and still retain some or even all of your benefits for a period of time.
The workbook offers worksheets and resources to help you:
Identify your benefit type and the rules that apply
Determine whether income or resources are countable
Understand work incentives and how they protect your benefits
Track SSDI work incentive periods (TWP, EPE, Grace Period, EXR)
Record income, expenses, and disability-related deductions
Document how returning to work may affect federal, state, and medical benefits
Build financial awareness and reduce the risk of overpayments
Overall, this workbook supports a safer, more informed transition back to work by helping you understand what to watch for, how to track changes, and how to use the protections available to you.
To find a Benefits Planner in your area, visit:
Colorado APSE – Benefits Planning Directory: https://www.coloradoapse.org/benefitsplanning
If you are an SSDI or SSI recipient with a disability determination, contact your local WIPA program for free work-incentives counseling:
Ability Colorado WIPA: https://www.abilityconnectioncolorado.org/programs/employment/social-security-work-incentive-planning/
If you receive public benefits, medicaid or SSI due to low income and planning to return to work contact your county benefits office for guidance: Colorado Benefits Assistance: https://cdhs.colorado.gov/benefits-assistance
If you are planning to return to work and need vocational rehabilitation services, you may open a case with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). You must be a Colorado resident to receive DVR services.
Colorado DVR: https://dvr.colorado.gov/
If you have a disability determination with SSA and receive SSI or SSDI—and are planning to return to work—review the SSA Red Book for official guidance on work incentives: https://www.ssa.gov/redbook/
About This Content
This guide is intended for learning and planning support only and should not be used as a substitute for individualized benefits counseling, legal guidance, or official determinations from SSA or state agencies. Benefit rules are complex, subject to change, and may apply differently across individual situations. For accurate guidance about your specific case, consult a certified Benefits Planner (WIP-C), your local WIPA provider, county benefits office, or the Social Security Administration in your area.
