Q & A

How long does someone have to work to qualify for Social Security Disability?

Complete Question: I know there are a lot of requirements for disability, but there’s one thing that I don’t understand. I’ve heard that there are two different types of Social Security Disability – one based on income and one based on work history. What I don’t get is how a person could possibly work long enough to earn enough Social Security credits to pay for a disability that could happen at a relatively young age. Are there special rules for this or do younger people only get disability based on low income?

Answer: As you mentioned, there are two types of Disability programs. Even though both are administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA), they are handled differently because one is based on low-income disabled individuals and one is based on the Social Security taxes (work history) that the disabled individual has paid. The program for the disabled with low-income is called Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the other program is called Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

In order to take into account a younger person’s potential difficulty of not being able to work as long as someone receiving old-age Social Security, the SSDI program does have special work history requirements based on age. Assuming the disabled person meets all other eligibility criteria, an adult can receive SSDI benefits after working only 1 1/2 years (equal to 6 Social Security credits). The required number of years/credits gradually increases with age. For example, with the exception of minors who have their own set of disability eligibility rules, people under age 28 have the required 1.5 years of work. If you are 34, you need 3 years (12 credits); age 44 needs 5 1/2 years (22 credits); age 54 needs 8 years (32 credits); and age 60 needs 9 1/2 years, which is 38 credits – almost the full 40 credits needed for old-age retirement Social Security benefits.

The ages mentioned above are just a few examples; every age in between has its own requirement for SSDI. So yes, there are special rules for younger people applying for disability who do not qualify for SSI based on low-income. However, even though a relatively young person on SSDI would get disability payments that are calculated similar to the way retirement benefits are calculated, the disabled person would likely receive a small benefit payment as a result of paying proportionally lower Social Security taxes (i.e. a 65 year-old would pay more Social Security taxes in his/her lifetime than a 45 year-old).

C.J. Miles, MSA, MBAHCM
Research Analyst & Certified Social Security Advisor
AMAC Foundation
Notice: If you have any additional questions about Social Security Disability, or any other Social Security issue, you can reply below. When replying to this website, please do not provide any personal identification information such as Social Security numbers. If you would like to discuss your situation privately, you can contact C.J. Miles at [email protected].

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