Here is a study guide to some Social Security terms

My older son just started a postsecondary automotive tech program and is trying to buy a new-to-him “cool” car.  My younger son just started high school wrestling.  As a result, I am having to learn new vocabulary about cars such as “straight pipe,” “cat-back”, “coilovers”, and “rebuilt title”.  I’m  having to learn new vocabulary about wrestling such as “takedown”, “escape”, and “reversal”.  In addition, I’m learning Spanish to work more effectively with clients for whom that is a first language.  The public benefits universe has its own vocabulary, too, which can be as challenging as that of a foreign language and as specific as automotive or sports terms.  As a person with a disability, or a family member of a person with a disability, or a professional who works with people with disabilities, these are some terms worth recognizing and understanding.

Title II.  Title II benefits are those defined under that part of the Social Security Act.  Title II benefits include Social Security Retirement benefits (RIB), Social Security Spousal and Ex-Spousal benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance benefits (SSDI), Disabled Widow(er)’s benefits, and Social Security Child’s Insurance benefits, which include benefits for Disabled Adult Children (DAC).

Title XVI.  Title XVI benefits are those defined under that part of the Social Security Act.  Title XVI benefits are Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits that are available to low-income individuals who are age 65 or greater, or blind, or disabled under Social Security’s rules. 

Substantial Gainful Activity or SGA.  SGA is a Social Security concept.  Regardless of physical or mental limitations, a person is only “disabled under [Social Security] rules if s/he is unable, by reason of the impairments, to perform SGA”.  Generally, employment is “substantial” and “gainful” if it can generate $1,690/month in gross earnings without any special conditions in place.  There are additional and more complicated rules for people who are self-employed.  SGA is the same across the country and does not take into account the cost of living in any particular area.  However, the figure is increased by the same annual COLAs (See below) that apply to other Social Security financial thresholds.

Cost of Living Adjustment or COLA.  Every year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) adjusts its financial thresholds to account for the general increase in the costs of living due to inflation.  The SSA calculates its COLA by comparing  the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers or CPI-Ws for the current year to that of the year when a COLA was last implemented.  The CPI-W measures the cost increase for a basket of goods and services of the type typically purchased by hourly and clerical workers.  Such goods and services include food, housing, transportation, and clothing.

Federal Benefit Rate or FBR.  The FBR is the maximum amount that a person or a couple can receive under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program that is available to people with disabilities, including people who are blind and are seniors.  For 2026, the FBR is $994/month for individuals, $1,491 per month for couples where both people meet all eligibility requirements, and $498 for an “essential person”.  An essential person’s amount is a rarely used SSI payment available to a person who is not otherwise SSI eligible but who has lived continuously with (the implication is provided support to) someone who is SSI eligible since 1973. 

In Kind Support and Maintenance or ISM.  ISM refers to shelter provided at no cost to an individual receiving SSI.  For example, if a young adult with intellectual and developmental disabilities lives with her/his parents and does not contribute anything to the household expenses, s/he is receiving ISM.  SSI payable is reduced by ISM.  So, if the value of the shelter being provided is $250/month, then the SSI recipient receives $744 rather than $994.  The ISM deduction is limited to a maximum of 1/3 of the total SSI payable or $331/month.

Pre-effectuation Review Contact or PERC.  The PERC is a phone call that occurs just before a person’s SSI case is concluded.  The purpose of the PERC is to reconfirm the applicant’s financial eligibility for SSI; namely to make sure that the person’s countable income and resources still fall below the relevant limits for countable income and countable resources (financial assets).

Earned Income Exclusion or EIE.  The EIE reduces the amount of earned income that the SSA counts when calculating the SSI payable to a worker with a disability.  The first $20 of any income (earned or unearned) is excluded.  Then, the next $65 of earned income is excluded.  Then, half of the remaining earned income is excluded.  There is a special and much higher earned income exclusion for full-time students who are not yet 22 years old.

Trial Work Period or TWP.  TWP is the first stage of evaluation for a person who is receiving a Title II disability benefit.  During the TWP, the SSA compares the worker’s earned income to a threshold for Trial Work.  For 2026, this threshold is $1,210/month.  Each time the worker’s earned income meets or exceeds $1,210/month, the worker accumulates a Trial Work month.  Once the worker has 9 Trial Work months in a rolling 60-month period, her/his Trial Work period is complete.

Extended Period of Eligibility or EPE.  EPE is the second stage of evaluation for a person who is receiving a Title II disability benefit.  The EPE lasts for 36 consecutive months beginning with the first month after the TWP.  During the EPE, the person receives her/his SSDI benefit when her/his income falls below SGA and does not receive it when earnings meet or exceed SGA.

Impairment Related Work Expenses or IRWE.  IRWE are costs associated with goods and services that a worker with a disability needs due to her/his disability and in order to work.  Examples of IRWE include the costs associated with keeping a service animal, attending medical appointments, prescriptions and treatments, assistive technology, and special transportation, to name a few.  To qualify as an IRWE, the expense cannot be covered by insurance or any other third party source. 

Expedited Reinstatement or EXR.  If a worker’s SSI or SSDI ceases due to earned income that consistently exceeds the relevant thresholds but sees a subsequent drop in earned income within 60 months after her/his SSI or SSDI ceases, the worker can request expedited reinstatement.  When requesting EXR, the person does not have to re-establish medical eligibility.

New life experiences often require new vocabulary to navigate.  The phrases above can act as a miniature study guide to Social Security terms.  If I am diligent, maybe I can find guides for cars and wrestling.