20 CFR § 404.251 - Subsequent entitlement to benefits less than 12 months after entitlement to disability benefits ended.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t20/s404.251"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "20 CFR § 404.251 - Subsequent entitlement to benefits less than 12 months after entitlement to disability benefits ended."
title_number: 20
title_name: "Employees' Benefits"
section_number: "404.251"
section_name: "Subsequent entitlement to benefits less than 12 months after entitlement to disability benefits ended."
chapter_name: "SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION"
part_number: "404"
part_name: "FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (1950-  )"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
cfr_part: "404"
---


# 404.251 Subsequent entitlement to benefits less than 12 months after entitlement to disability benefits ended.

(a) *Disability before 1979; second entitlement after 1978.* In this situation, we compute your second-entitlement primary insurance amount by selecting the highest of the following:

(1) The primary insurance amount to which you were entitled when you last received a benefit, increased by any automatic cost-of-living or *ad hoc* increases in primary insurance amounts that took effect since then;

(2) The primary insurance amount resulting from a recomputation of your primary insurance amount, if one is possible; or

(3) The primary insurance amount computed for you as of the time of your second entitlement under any method for which you are qualified at that time, including the average-indexed-monthly-earnings method if the previous period of disability is disregarded.

(b) *Disability and second entitlement after 1978.* In this situation, we compute your second-entitlement primary insurance amount by selecting the highest of the following:

(1) The primary insurance amount to which you were entitled when you last received a benefit, increased by any automatic cost-of-living or *ad hoc* increases in primary insurance amount that took effect since then;

(2) The primary insurance amount resulting from a recomputation of your primary insurance amount, if one is possible (this recomputation may be under the average-indexed-monthly-earnings method only); or

(3) The primary insurance amount computed for you as of the time of your second entitlement under any method (including an old-start method) for which you are qualified at that time.

(c) *Disability before 1986; second entitlement after 1985.* When applying the rule in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, we must consider your receipt of a monthly pension based on noncovered employment. (See § 404.213). However, we will disregard your monthly pension if you were previously entitled to disability benefits before 1986 and in any of the 12 months before your second entitlement.

[47 FR 30734, July 15, 1982, as amended at 52 FR 47918, Dec. 17, 1987]