 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 |
What If You Did Not Work Long Enough To Qualify For Disability?How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits If you did not work long enough to qualify for disability, there may still be a way for you to receive disability benefits. Many people do not know that work is not a factor of entitlement for all Social Security disability programs. Social Security disability eligibility is determined by insured status, which in turn is gained through work activity. If you have not worked long, you may not be insured for Social Security disability on your own earnings record. However, there are a couple of other ways you might be entitled to disability benefits through the Social Security disability program. If you are an adult disabled child of a parent who is receiving retirement or disability benefits, you may be able to receive Social Security disability benefits through their work record. You are eligible to apply for adult child disability benefits if you became disabled prior to the age of twenty-two and are either unmarried, or married to an individual who is receiving Social Security disability benefits. If you are married to a non-disabled person or a person who is receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability, you are not eligible for adult disabled child’s benefits on your parents record. If you do not have a parent who is receiving benefits or you do not qualify for adult disabled child’s benefits due to your marital status, you may still be able to receive disability benefits if you become disabled between the ages of fifty and sixty and you are a widow of an insured individual. If your spouse passed away no more than seven years prior to the date you became disabled, you may qualify for disabled widow’s benefits. If you are not insured, or you are not an adult disabled child, or you are not a disabled widow/widower, you do not qualify for any Social Security disability benefits. However, there is still one other way you might be entitled to disability benefits with Social Security. Social Security administers the need-based Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability program, which offers disability benefits to people who have little or no work, children, or people who just have not been able to work in years. SSI disability applicants must meet income and resource limits in addition to being found medically disabled in order to receive monthly disability benefits. If the disabled person is a child, their parents income and resources are counted toward the resource and income limits until they are age eighteen. SSI disability beneficiaries have their income and resources regularly reviewed. If their income or resources exceed the limits at any point they will be ineligible for SSI disability benefits even if they remain medically disabled. 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Topics and Questions 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 |