Many think of Social Security only as a source of retirement income that workers can rely upon when they reach retirement age. While it’s true that approximately 52 million retired workers receive Social Security retirement benefits, the Social Security Disability Insurance program also provides financial assistance to 7.2 million disabled workers who are too young for retirement.
The disability professionals at Sackett and Associates know the importance of SSDI benefits. According to data compiled by the Social Security Administration, one of every four 20-year-olds will become disabled and require Social Security Disability eligibility before reaching retirement age.
To better understand the program and its benefits, the following explains the SSDI qualification requirements and application process. If you have questions about your eligibility or need representation to appeal a claim denial, contact Sackett Law.
SSDI Overview
The SSDI program provides benefits in the form of monthly cash payments and medical insurance coverage through Medicare. To be eligible for benefits, you must be disabled, according to a definition used by the Social Security Administration, and work long enough and recently enough at jobs where you and your employer paid Social Security taxes on your earnings.
Monthly benefit payments generally do not begin until the sixth month after your disability begins. Medicare eligibility begins after you receive benefit payments for 24 months. The following members of your family may be eligible for benefits based on your work history:
- Your spouse, age 62 or older, or your spouse, at any age, who cares for your child who is younger than age 16 or who is disabled.
- An unmarried adopted, stepchild, or grandchild younger than 18 or 19 if attending secondary school.
- An unmarried child who is 18 or older and disabled according to the definition Social Security uses to determine a worker’s eligibility for SSDI benefits provided the child’s disability began before age 22.
Unlike other programs that pay disability benefits, the medical criteria for disability benefits through the SSDI program do not allow payment of benefits for conditions that cause only short-term or partial disability.
Social Security Disability Definition
To meet the medical criteria for disability benefits, you must have medical documentation proving each of the following:
- You cannot do substantial gainful activity, which is work activity requiring significant mental and physical effort typically done for compensation.
- Your physical or mental condition prevents you from doing the type of work done in the past or other types of work available in the regional or national economies.
- The physical or mental impairment or combination of impairments have lasted or are expected to last for at least 12 consecutive months or cause death.
Meeting the medical criteria is not enough to qualify for Social Security Disability. You first must be “insured” and eligible for the program based on your work history.
Work Credits And Social Security Disability Eligibility
Social Security uses work credits to determine whether you meet the work requirement for SSDI eligibility. A person earns one work credit for each $1,810 earned in 2025 from working at a job or through self-employment, provided Social Security taxes are paid. You can earn up to four work credits annually. The amount of earnings per work credit changes each year.
To be eligible for SSDI benefits, you must have enough work credits, and some of them must be recently earned. The actual number of credits needed to qualify for SSDI depends on your age when you become disabled.
You need 40 work credits to qualify for disability benefits, with 20 of them earned within 10 years of the disability onset date. However, younger workers may need fewer credits. For example, a worker who becomes disabled before age 24 needs only six credits earned within three years of the onset date. A worker who develops a disability at 27 requires 12 work credits for SSDI approval, which must be earned during the six years preceding the disability onset date.
SSDI Application Review Process
When you apply, whether online or in person at a local Social Security field office, it is reviewed to determine if it meets the SSA disability application criteria. If it meets the work requirements, the application goes to the Disability Determination Services for review of your medical documentation.
The DDS uses a five-step review process to determine if you have a disability severe enough to meet the federal definition. You will be notified after the review process whether your claim has been approved or denied.
Get Help With Your SSDI Claim At Sackett Law
You have the right to challenge a denial of the claim through an appeal process, but you have only a limited amount of time to submit an appeal. The disability lawyers at Sackett and Associates have devoted 45 years to helping claimants throughout Northern California and the nation fight for their social security disability benefits. Contact Sacket Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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