Understanding Social Security Disability Work Rules
If you find Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) confusing, you're not the only one. The SSDI program has complicated rules about how much work history you must have and rules about what counts as a disability. This page breaks down the basics of the SSDI work rules.
What Is Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)?
SSDI is a government disability insurance program for U.S. workers. It’s not just for low-income people. It's for people who can't work full time because of health conditions or other disabilities. Think of it as extra-early retirement for people whose health keeps them from working until retirement age. To learn more about SSDI and other disability benefit programs, visit this page.
Understanding SSDI work rules
To get SSDI, you must have worked long enough, recently enough, and paid Social Security taxes on your income. As you work and pay taxes, you earn work credits that count toward your eligibility for SSDI.
Tip: You can tell if you are paying Social Security taxes if your pay stub shows deductions for "FICA” or “Social Security Taxes.”
You can earn up to four work credits each year. It’s complicated how you get these credits. But the main takeaway is that if you work somewhat regularly throughout the year, you’ll likely earn your four credits for that year.
If you want to dive into the details of how you earn credits, you can refer to Social Security’s guide “How You Earn Credits.”
To get SSDI, you usually need 40 credits and 20 of those credits must be earned in the ten years before your disability starts. Another way to look at this is that for most people, you must have worked substantially in five out of the last 10 years to get SSDI.
It gets complicated if you’re younger when you become disabled. There are different rules for how many work credits you need. For example, say you finished high school and worked for four years, but then got badly injured and had to stop working. In a situation like this, you may still be able to get SSDI benefits even though you don’t have 40 credits. Refer to this Social Security page for more details on how many years of work you need, depending on the age when you become disable.
How do I know if I have earned enough work credits to get SSDI?
The best way to check is to create a My Social Security Account and request a copy of your “Social Security Statement.” This will tell you if you qualify for SSDI or other Social Security benefits.
Ready to apply for SSDI?
If you think you qualify for SSDI, see this step-by-step guide to applying for Social Security disability benefits.
Want to talk to someone before you apply?
Reach out to a private disability attorney for personalized advice. Or, if you’re low income, you can call Oregon’s Public Benefits Hotline for brief legal help.
Conclusion
Dealing with a disability and money worries is hard. Take things one step at a time and don't hesitate to get support from friends, family, or professionals like disability lawyers.
- SSDI is there to help if you can't work full time because of a disability.
- To qualify, you usually need 40 work credits, with 20 earned in the last 10 years.
- Your disability must be severe and long lasting.
- If you haven't worked enough for SSDI, check out SSI.
- You can apply for SSDI online, by phone, or in person.
More frequently asked questions
If you're worried you haven't worked enough for SSDI, there's still hope. Another program called Supplemental Security Income (SSI) might help. SSI is based on financial need, not work history, so it's worth looking into SSI if SSDI isn't an option. You can learn more about SSI and other disability benefits on this page.
If you're self-employed and paid Social Security taxes, you can still qualify for SSDI. You earn credits the same way that any other worker does.
If you haven’t paid Social Security taxes, you aren't eligible for SSDI. You must report your income to the government and pay Social Security taxes to qualify. You may still be eligible for SSI if you meet the financial rules. Learn more about SSI benefits here.
If your spouse becomes disabled, dies, or retires, you might be able to get Social Security benefits based on your spouse’s work history. To learn more about family benefits, refer to this Social Security webpage.