The 2027 Substantial Gainful Activity limit for non-blind SSDI recipients is projected to land between roughly $1,740 and $1,780 per month, with $1,750 to $1,760 the most likely outcome. The 2026 figure, which is official, is $1,690 per month. The Social Security Administration has not announced the 2027 amount and will not until mid-October 2026, when it releases the annual automatic adjustments alongside the cost-of-living adjustment. Everything below the 2026 anchor number is an estimate.
One point matters more than any other on this topic, and most articles get it wrong: SGA does not rise with the COLA. It rises with the national Average Wage Index. The 2027 COLA, currently projected around 3.6 percent, sets your benefit amount. It has nothing to do with the earnings threshold. Multiplying $1,690 by the projected COLA gives you a number that will not match what SSA publishes.
The 2026 Figures the 2027 Projection Starts From
| Threshold | 2026 official amount |
|---|
| SGA, non-blind | $1,690 per month |
| SGA, statutorily blind | $2,830 per month |
| Trial Work Period service month | $1,210 per month |
These come from the Social Security Administration's 2026 automatic determinations, published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2025. They apply to gross earnings before taxes, measured month by month, not to annual income.
If you need the full 2026 rules rather than the 2027 forecast, our SSDI SGA threshold guide for 2026 covers what counts as earnings and how SSA applies the test.
How SSA Actually Calculates SGA
The formula is fixed in law and is not discretionary. For non-blind beneficiaries, SSA takes the year 2000 SGA amount of $700 and multiplies it by the ratio of the national Average Wage Index (AWI) for two years back to the AWI for 1998, then rounds to the nearest $10.
Here is the exact 2026 computation, straight from SSA's determination:
$700 x ($69,846.57 / $28,861.44) = $1,694.05, rounded to $1,690.
The $69,846.57 is the AWI for 2024. The $28,861.44 is the AWI for 1998. That two-year lag is why the 2027 amount depends on the AWI for 2025, a figure SSA has not published yet. It gets released with the October 2026 announcement.
The blind SGA amount uses a different base and a different anchor year: the 1994 amount of $930, multiplied by the AWI ratio against 1992's $22,935.42. That is why the blind threshold is so much higher and why it rises by a different dollar amount each year.
There is one more rule worth knowing. SGA can never go down. The published amount is the larger of the newly computed figure or the prior year's amount, so a year of flat or falling wages freezes the threshold rather than cutting it.
The 2027 Projection, With the Arithmetic
Every scenario below runs the same formula, substituting different assumptions for how much the AWI grew in 2025.
| AWI growth in 2025 | Implied AWI 2025 | Computed non-blind SGA | Published 2027 amount |
|---|
| 3.0% | $71,942 | $1,744.87 | $1,740 |
| 3.5% | $72,291 | $1,753.34 | $1,750 |
| 4.0% | $72,640 | $1,761.81 | $1,760 |
| 4.5% | $72,990 | $1,770.28 | $1,770 |
| 5.0% | $73,339 | $1,778.75 | $1,780 |
Which scenario is most plausible? Two independent signals point at the middle of that range.
The Trustees' own projection. The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, issued June 9, 2026, projects the 2027 taxable maximum at $190,200. That figure runs off the same AWI for 2025 as the SGA calculation does, using a base of $60,600 against the 1992 index. Backing the wage base out gives an implied AWI for 2025 of about $71,930 to $72,040, or growth near 3.0 percent. Run that through the SGA formula and you get $1,740 to $1,750.
Recent wage data. Real average hourly earnings rose roughly 0.7 to 0.8 percent over the twelve months through mid-2025 while consumer inflation ran near 2.8 to 3.0 percent, which implies nominal wage growth around 3.5 to 3.8 percent. The AWI is broader than average hourly earnings, since it captures bonuses, deferred compensation, and stock compensation, and it has run hotter than hourly earnings in each of the last four years.
The AWI grew 5.32 percent in 2022, 4.43 percent in 2023, and 4.84 percent in 2024. The Trustees' intermediate assumptions have undershot recently: in 2025 they projected a 2026 taxable maximum of $183,600 and the actual figure came in at $184,500, because actual wage growth beat the assumption.
Putting those together, $1,750 to $1,760 is the center of the estimate, with $1,740 as a realistic floor and $1,780 as a realistic ceiling. An increase of $50 to $90 per month over 2026.
Projected 2027 Trial Work Period Amount
The Trial Work Period threshold uses the same machinery with a different base. SSA takes the 2001 amount of $530 and multiplies it by the ratio of the AWI two years back to the AWI for 1999 ($30,469.84), rounded to the nearest $10. The 2026 computation produced $1,214.80, published as $1,210.
| AWI growth in 2025 | Computed TWP amount | Published 2027 amount |
|---|
| 3.0% | $1,251.14 | $1,250 |
| 3.5% | $1,257.45 | $1,260 |
| 4.0% | $1,263.53 | $1,260 |
| 5.0% | $1,275.68 | $1,280 |
Expect the 2027 TWP service-month threshold to land near $1,250 to $1,270. This number matters because it is the trigger for counting a month against your nine Trial Work Period months, and it is always well below the SGA limit. Earning $1,300 in a month during a Trial Work Period does not stop your check, but it does burn one of your nine months. For how the two thresholds interact, see our guide to working while on SSDI.
Projected 2027 Blind SGA Amount
Running the blind formula against the same wage scenarios puts the 2027 statutorily blind SGA limit at roughly $2,920 to $2,970, up from $2,830 in 2026. The blind threshold rises by a larger dollar amount each year because its base multiplier is larger, even though the percentage change is nearly identical. If that is the number you need, our projected 2027 blind SGA limit covers it in detail, including who qualifies as statutorily blind and how the rules differ for SSI.
What the 2027 Increase Means in Practice
An SGA threshold moving from $1,690 to roughly $1,750 gives a working SSDI beneficiary about $60 more per month of room before earnings become a problem. That is a modest but real difference over a year, and it matters most for people working part time at or near the line.
A few things the increase does not change:
- SGA is measured monthly, not annually. One month of $2,000 gross can trigger a work review even if the year averages far below the limit. There is no annual averaging for most wage earners.
- Gross pay is the starting point, not the ending point. Impairment-Related Work Expenses, subsidies from an employer who pays you more than your work is worth, and unsuccessful work attempts all reduce countable earnings. The countable figure, not your paycheck, is what SSA compares against the threshold.
- The new figure applies to work performed in January 2027 and after. Earnings in December 2026 are tested against the 2026 amount of $1,690, even if the paycheck lands in January.
- Self-employment is tested differently. SSA applies three tests to self-employed beneficiaries that look at hours, business value, and comparability to unimpaired work, not just net profit against the dollar threshold.
When the Official 2027 Number Arrives
SSA is expected to announce the 2027 COLA and the full set of automatic adjustments on October 14, 2026, after the September Consumer Price Index release. The SGA amounts, the TWP threshold, the taxable maximum, the retirement earnings test limits, and the SSI federal benefit rate all come out in that same announcement, and the detailed computations appear in the Federal Register a few weeks later.
Two separate calculations get published on the same day, which is exactly why they get conflated:
| Figure | Indexed to | 2027 projection |
|---|
| SGA limit | National Average Wage Index (2025 AWI) | ~$1,740 to $1,780/month |
| Trial Work Period | National Average Wage Index (2025 AWI) | ~$1,250 to $1,270/month |
| COLA (benefit increase) | CPI-W, Q3 2026 | ~3.6% |
The COLA changes what SSA pays you. The wage-indexed figures change what you are allowed to earn. For the benefit side, see our 2027 SSDI COLA projection, and for the separate retirement earnings test, see the 2027 Social Security earnings limit projection.
If you are planning work hours around next year's threshold, plan against the low end of the range. Building a cushion below $1,740 keeps you safe under every scenario shown here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the projected SGA amount for 2027?
The 2027 SGA limit for non-blind SSDI beneficiaries is projected at roughly $1,740 to $1,780 per month, most likely $1,750 to $1,760, up from the official 2026 amount of $1,690. SSA announces the actual figure in mid-October 2026. Until then, every 2027 number is an estimate.
Is the 2027 SGA amount official yet?
No. SSA has not published it. The 2027 amount depends on the national Average Wage Index for 2025, which SSA also has not published. Both are expected on or around October 14, 2026, with the annual COLA announcement.
Does SGA go up with the COLA?
No, and this is the most common mistake on this topic. SGA is indexed to the national Average Wage Index, not to the CPI-W that sets the COLA. The two figures are announced on the same day and usually move by similar but not identical percentages. Multiplying the current SGA by the projected COLA will give you the wrong number.
How is the SGA amount calculated?
For non-blind beneficiaries, SSA multiplies the year 2000 amount of $700 by the ratio of the Average Wage Index from two years earlier to the 1998 index of $28,861.44, then rounds to the nearest $10. The 2026 amount came from $700 x ($69,846.57 / $28,861.44) = $1,694.05, rounded to $1,690.
What is the projected 2027 SGA limit for blind individuals?
Approximately $2,920 to $2,970 per month, up from $2,830 in 2026. The blind amount uses a separate formula with a 1994 base of $930 indexed against the 1992 wage index.
What is the projected 2027 Trial Work Period amount?
Roughly $1,250 to $1,270 per month, up from $1,210 in 2026. Any month with gross earnings above that threshold counts as one of your nine Trial Work Period months within a rolling 60-month window.
Can the SGA limit go down in 2027?
No. By law the published amount is the larger of the newly computed figure or the prior year's amount. If wage growth were flat or negative, the threshold would stay at $1,690 rather than fall.
When does the 2027 SGA limit take effect?
January 2027. Work and earnings in months through December 2026 are evaluated against the 2026 threshold of $1,690, regardless of when the paycheck is issued.
The Bottom Line
Expect the 2027 non-blind SGA limit to land near $1,750, within a plausible range of $1,740 to $1,780, and the Trial Work Period threshold to land near $1,250 to $1,270. Those estimates follow the statutory formula applied to reasonable assumptions about 2025 wage growth, anchored to the confirmed 2026 amounts of $1,690 and $1,210. SSA replaces every one of these estimates with a hard number in mid-October 2026. If you are working near the line, plan against the low end until then.
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