 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
How Many Work Credits Do You Need To Have For SSI or Social Security Disability Eligibility?How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits Many people are confused as the eligibility criteria for the two disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration. The confusion most likely occurs because both disability programs use the same medical determination process. However, it is the non-disability criteria that separate the two programs: Social Security disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability. Social Security disability, not SSI,is dependent upon insured status that is earned through work activity. The minimum amount of work credits (quarters of coverage) needed for insured status is six and the maximum needed to be fully insured with Social Security is forty quarters of coverage. An individual’s age at the time they become disabled determines the amount of credits they need to be "fully insured". Social Security applicants must cross one more hurdle to be entitled to Social Security disability. They must also be "disability insured". Disability insured status requires that an individual be fully insured and have twenty quarters of coverage in the past ten years to be disability insured. This means an individual must have worked five out of the last ten years prior to becoming disabled to be insured for Social Security disability. There are exceptions for individuals who are under the age of thirty-one and certain other cases. Work activity also determines the amount of an individual's disability benefitS and if there is any extra money on their record to pay their dependents (i.e. children, spouses, and in rare instances parents). Supplemental Security Income disability (SSI), on the other hand, has no insured status requirement. In fact, an individual could potentially be eligible for SSI even if they have never worked. Additionally, SSI disability allows eligibility to children who are disabled themselves. But if you are an adult who receives SSI disability, your children will not receive benefits simply because they are your dependents. SSI eligibility depends upon an individual’s income and resources, because it is a need-based disability program. Currently, the resource limit for an individual is $2000.00 and the couple’s limit is $3000.00. Resources are cash on hand, bank accounts, land other than where an individual or couple reside, vehicles other than the highest valued, heir property, 401Ks, stocks, bonds, etc. If an individual meets the resource limit (i.e. asset limit), they still have to meet an income limit. Income is defined as wages, pensions, unemployment benefits, short or long term disability benefits, rental income etc. Income limit amounts vary depending upon family composition. Parents’ income and resources are counted against children until they are eighteen. Additionally, the SSI benefit amount is set by Social Security each year and there is no possibility of additional money for their dependents. In a nutshell, Supplemental Security Income disability has nothing to due with insured status, so there is no connection with work credits and SSI eligibility. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |