The 2027 trial work period (TWP) amount is projected to land at $1,260 or $1,270 per month, up from the confirmed 2026 figure of $1,210. A wider plausible range is $1,250 to $1,280, depending on how fast national wages grew in 2025. This is a projection, not an official number. The Social Security Administration has not announced any 2027 figures yet and is expected to release them in mid-October 2026, alongside the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment. One detail that trips people up every year: the TWP amount is indexed to the national Average Wage Index, not to the COLA, so a 3.5% COLA does not mean a 3.5% increase in the trial work period threshold.
The other thing worth knowing before you read further is that the TWP amount is much lower than the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit. In 2026 the gap is $480 a month ($1,210 vs $1,690). People who only know the SGA number routinely work part time, stay well under SGA, feel safe, and burn through trial work months without realizing it. That distinction is covered in detail below.
2026 Actual vs 2027 Projected
| Figure | 2026 (official) | 2027 (projected) |
|---|
| Trial work period amount (employees) | $1,210/month | ~$1,260 to $1,270/month |
| TWP self-employment hours test | More than 80 hours/month | More than 80 hours/month (not indexed) |
| SGA, non-blind | $1,690/month | ~$1,750 to $1,770/month |
| SGA, blind | $2,830/month | Not projected here |
| TWP months allowed | 9 within a rolling 60 months | 9 within a rolling 60 months (fixed in law) |
The 2026 amounts come from SSA's Red Book "What's New in 2026" page. The 2027 column is our estimate and carries no official weight.
How the Trial Work Period Amount Is Actually Set
The TWP amount is not a policy decision made each fall. It comes out of a formula written into the regulations, and the only unknown input is a wage figure that SSA publishes in October.
The formula is:
TWP amount = $530 x (AWI for the year two years earlier / AWI for 1999), rounded to the nearest $10
$530 is the 2001 base amount. The AWI for 1999 is $30,469.84. The moving part is the Average Wage Index for the year two years before the year in question.
Here is the 2026 amount computed from scratch, so you can see the machinery work:
- AWI for 2024: $69,846.57 (published by SSA in October 2025)
- $69,846.57 / $30,469.84 = 2.29233
- $530 x 2.29233 = $1,214.93
- Rounded to the nearest $10 = $1,210
That matches the published 2026 figure exactly. Run the same math on the AWI for 2023 ($66,621.80) and you get $1,158.84, which rounds to $1,160, the actual 2025 amount. The formula is reliable. The uncertainty is entirely in one number.
The One Number That Decides 2027
The 2027 TWP amount depends on the Average Wage Index for 2025, which SSA will publish in October 2026. Everything else in the formula is fixed.
Recent AWI growth:
| Year | Average Wage Index | Change from prior year |
|---|
| 2020 | $55,628.60 | +2.8% |
| 2021 | $60,575.07 | +8.9% |
| 2022 | $63,795.13 | +5.3% |
| 2023 | $66,621.80 | +4.4% |
| 2024 | $69,846.57 | +4.8% |
| 2025 | Not yet published | Estimated +3.5% to +4.5% |
Applying the formula across a range of wage growth scenarios:
| 2025 AWI growth | Implied AWI | Unrounded result | Projected 2027 TWP amount |
|---|
| 3.0% | $71,942 | $1,251.38 | $1,250 |
| 3.5% | $72,291 | $1,257.45 | $1,260 |
| 4.0% | $72,640 | $1,263.52 | $1,260 |
| 4.5% | $72,990 | $1,269.61 | $1,270 |
| 5.0% | $73,339 | $1,275.68 | $1,280 |
Wage growth in the 3.5% to 4.5% band produces $1,260 or $1,270, which is why that is the projection. It would take wage growth below roughly 2.5% or above roughly 5.5% to push the figure outside the $1,250 to $1,280 range, and neither looks likely based on 2025 payroll data.
Note what is missing from all of this: the COLA. Current 2027 COLA forecasts run around 3.4% to 3.6%, and that number will set your monthly benefit amount. It has nothing to do with the TWP threshold. Two different indexes, announced on the same day, moving at different speeds.
The Mistake That Costs People Their Trial Work Months
This is the part worth reading twice.
Most SSDI beneficiaries have heard of substantial gainful activity. It is the number that appears in almost every article about working on disability, and in 2026 it is $1,690 a month. What far fewer people know is that a completely separate, much lower number decides whether a month counts against your nine trial work months.
| Trial work period amount | Substantial gainful activity |
|---|
| 2026 amount | $1,210/month | $1,690/month (non-blind) |
| What it decides | Whether a month burns one of your 9 TWP months | Whether your work is "substantial" enough to end benefits after the TWP |
| Effect on your check | None. You keep your full benefit during all 9 months no matter how much you earn | Can suspend or terminate benefits after the TWP ends |
| Earnings counted | Gross wages, before taxes | Gross wages, minus allowable deductions |
| Impairment-related work expenses deducted? | No | Yes |
| Employer subsidy or special conditions deducted? | No | Yes |
| Different amount for blind beneficiaries? | No, same for everyone | Yes, $2,830 in 2026 |
| Applies during the TWP? | Yes | No. SGA is not applied during your 9 TWP months |
Read the row about deductions again. For SGA purposes, SSA subtracts impairment-related work expenses and any employer subsidy before deciding whether you crossed the line. For TWP purposes, it does not. A month at $1,300 gross with $250 in documented impairment-related work expenses is not SGA in 2026, but it absolutely burns a trial work month.
Here is how this plays out in practice. Someone works 20 hours a week at $16 an hour. That is roughly $1,387 a month. They know the SGA figure is $1,690, they are $300 under it every month, and they assume nothing is happening. In fact every single one of those months is a trial work month. After nine of them, often inside a single year, the trial work period is over and SSA begins evaluating the same work against SGA. Nothing about the job changed. The rules applied to it did.
Nine months is not a lot of runway when the trigger sits near part-time minimum wage. Track it from your first paycheck.
The 60-Month Rolling Window
The nine trial work months do not have to be consecutive, and they do not expire on a calendar. SSA counts nine TWP months within a rolling 60-month period.
That word "rolling" carries the whole rule. SSA looks backward 60 months from any given month. If nine service months fall inside that window, the trial work period is finished. If you used three TWP months in early 2022 and three more in 2024, those 2022 months eventually roll out the back of the window as time passes, and they stop counting toward the total.
Two consequences most people miss:
- Old scattered work counts. Two months of work in 2023 and three in 2025 are five used months, not a fresh start. Many beneficiaries reach a serious return-to-work attempt with only three or four months left and never knew it.
- A month you barely crossed the line counts the same as a month you tripled it. $1,215 in 2026 and $12,000 in 2026 each consume exactly one month. If you are going to use a month, there is no earnings penalty for using it fully. This is one of the rare places where the rules reward being deliberate rather than cautious.
If You Are Self-Employed, There Are Two Ways to Burn a Month
For self-employed beneficiaries, a month counts as a trial work month if either condition is met:
- Net earnings from self-employment exceed the TWP amount (projected $1,260 to $1,270 in 2027), or
- You work more than 80 hours in your business that month, regardless of what the business earned.
The 80-hour test is not indexed and does not change year to year. A business that lost money can still consume trial work months on hours alone. This is the single most common way self-employed SSDI beneficiaries exhaust a trial work period without noticing.
What Happens After the Nine Months
We keep this short because it is covered in depth elsewhere on the site. Once you use the ninth trial work month, you enter a 36-month Extended Period of Eligibility. During the EPE, SSA applies the SGA test month by month: you get paid for months your countable earnings fall below SGA and generally do not for months above it. The first month your work counts as SGA is the cessation month, and you receive benefits for that month plus the following two (the grace period). If benefits stop and your condition prevents you from working again within five years, expedited reinstatement lets you restart without a new application.
For the full mechanics of the nine-month rule, see SSDI Trial Work Period: Your Complete 9-Month Guide for 2026. For how the 2026 numbers apply to a specific work situation right now, see Working While on SSDI 2026: SGA Limits and Trial Work Period Rules. For the projected 2027 benefit increase itself, see SSDI COLA 2027.
What To Do Between Now and October 2026
Plan against $1,260, not $1,210. If you are budgeting hours for early 2027, using the projected figure is reasonable. If you need certainty, plan against the lower end of the range ($1,250) so a smaller-than-expected increase does not surprise you.
Find out how many TWP months you have already used. Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or ask at your local office for a count of trial work months used and the dates. Do this before you increase your hours, not after.
Report your wages every month. Use the wage reporting tool in your my Social Security account, the SSA Mobile Wage Reporting app, or call the national number. Unreported earnings are the leading cause of overpayment notices, and an overpayment discovered two years later is still an overpayment you have to repay.
Keep your pay stubs. Trial work months are determined by gross pay in the month it was earned, not the month it was deposited. A paycheck that lands on January 2 for December work belongs to December. When SSA reconstructs your work history, stubs settle arguments that memory cannot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the trial work period amount for 2027?
SSA has not announced it. Based on the wage indexing formula, the 2027 amount is projected at $1,260 or $1,270 per month, with a plausible range of $1,250 to $1,280. The confirmed 2026 amount is $1,210. Official 2027 figures are expected in mid-October 2026.
Does the trial work period amount go up with the COLA?
No. The COLA is based on consumer prices (CPI-W) and sets your benefit amount. The TWP amount is based on the national Average Wage Index and is calculated with a separate formula. Both are announced in October, which is why they get confused, but they are different numbers moving at different rates.
Is the trial work period amount the same as the SGA limit?
No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding in the whole program. The TWP amount ($1,210 in 2026) is far lower than SGA ($1,690 non-blind in 2026). Earning above the TWP amount uses a trial work month but does not reduce your check. SGA only becomes relevant after your nine trial work months are gone.
Can I lose my benefits during the trial work period?
Not because of earnings. During your nine trial work months you keep your full SSDI payment no matter how much you earn. Benefits can still stop for other reasons, such as a medical review finding you are no longer disabled.
Is the trial work period amount higher for blind beneficiaries?
No. Unlike SGA, which has a separate and much higher amount for statutorily blind beneficiaries ($2,830 in 2026), the trial work period amount is identical for everyone.
How do I know how many trial work months I have left?
SSA tracks it, but the count is not displayed in your online account. Call 1-800-772-1213 or visit a field office and ask for a list of the months already charged. Compare it against your own pay records, because errors happen in both directions.
When exactly will SSA announce the 2027 amount?
SSA normally publishes the COLA and the full set of automatic adjustments, including the TWP amount and SGA limits, in mid-October, right after the September CPI-W data is released. For 2027 figures, expect the announcement around October 14 to 15, 2026, with the amounts taking effect in January 2027.
The Bottom Line
Expect the 2027 trial work period amount to be $1,260 or $1,270, up from $1,210 in 2026, with an outside range of $1,250 to $1,280. The formula that produces it is fixed and public, and the only missing input is the 2025 Average Wage Index that SSA will publish in October 2026. Until then, treat every figure here as an estimate.
The number that matters more than the exact figure is the gap between it and SGA. Trial work months start being consumed roughly $450 to $500 a month before you reach the earnings level most people think of as the limit. Count your months, report your wages, and go into any return-to-work attempt knowing how much of your nine-month cushion is still there.
