Cite as: 535 U. S. 212 (2002)
Opinion of the Court
ments apply to both the "impairment" and the "inability" to work requirements. Walton also concedes that he returned to work after 11 months. But Walton claims that his work from month 11 to month 12 does not count against him because it is part of a "trial work" period that the statute grants to those "entitled" to Title II benefits. See 42 U. S. C. § 422(c). And Walton adds, he was "entitle[d]" to benefits because—even though he returned to work after 11 months—his "impairment" and his "inability" to work were nonetheless "expected to last" for at least "12 months" before he returned to work.
To illustrate Walton's argument, we simplify the actual circumstances. We imagine: (1) On January 1, Year One, Walton developed (a) a severe impairment, which (b) made him unable to work; (2) Eleven (not twelve) months later, on December 1, Year One, Walton returned to work; (3) On July 1, Year Two, the Agency adjudicated, and denied, Walton's claim for benefits. Walton argues that, even though he returned to work after 11 months, had the Agency looked at the matter, not ex post, but as if it were looking prior to his return to work, the Agency would have had to conclude that both his "impairment" and his "inability" to work "can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." § 423(d)(1)(A). He consequently satisfied the 12-month duration requirement and became "entitled" to benefits before he returned to work; he was in turn entitled to a "trial work" period; and his subsequent work as a cashier, being "trial work," should not count against him.
The Agency's regulations plainly reject this view of the statute. They say, "You are not entitled to a trial work period" if "you perform work . . . within 12 months of the onset of the impairment(s) . . . and before the date of any notice of determination or decision finding . . . you . . . disabled." 20 CFR § 404.1592(d)(2) (2001). This regulation means that the Agency, deciding before the end of Year One, might have found that Walton's impairment (or inability to work) "can
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