Applying for Social Security Disability

Disability is something most people do not like to think about. But the chances that you will become disabled probably are greater than you realize. Studies show that a 20-year-old worker has a 3 in 10 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age.

This website provides basic information on Social Security disability benefits and is not intended to answer all questions or provide legal advice. For specific information about your situation, you should talk with our Social Security representatives.

SSA pays disability benefits through two programs: the Social Security disability insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income program. For information about the Supplemental Security Income program for adults, see Supplemental Security Income. For information about disability programs for children, refer to Benefits For Children With Disabilities.

Social Security pays benefits to people who cannot work because they have a medical condition that is expected to last at least one year or result in death. Federal law requires this very strict definition of disability. While some programs give money to people with partial disability or short-term disability, Social Security does not.

Certain family members of disabled workers also can receive money from Social Security based on your work.
They include:
• Your spouse, if he or she is 62 or older;
• Your spouse, at any age if he or she is caring for a child of yours who is younger than age 16 or disabled;
• Your unmarried child, including an adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild or grandchild. The child must be under age 18 or under age 19 if in elementary or secondary school full time; and
• Your unmarried child, age 18 or older, if he or she has a disability that started before age 22. (The child’s disability also must meet the definition of disability for adults.)

How do I meet the earnings requirement for disability benefits? In general, to get disability benefits, you must meet two different earnings tests: 1. A “recent work” test based on your age at the time you became disabled; and 2. A “duration of work” test to show that you worked long enough under Social Security. Certain blind workers have to meet only the “duration of work” test.
Rules for how much work you need for the “recent work” test based on your age when your disability began are based on the calendar quarter in which you turned or will turn a certain age.
The calendar quarters are: First Quarter: January 1 through March 31
Second Quarter: April 1 through June 30
Third Quarter: July 1 through September 30
Fourth Quarter: October 1 through December 31

Rules for the “recent work test” if you become disabled are... generally:
In or before the quarter you turn age 24, 1.5 years of work during the three-year period ending with the quarter your disability began.
In the quarter after you turn age 24 but before the quarter you turn age 31 work during half the time for the period beginning with the quarter after you turned 21 and ending with the quarter you became disabled.

Example: If you become disabled in the quarter you turned age 27, then you would need three years of work out of the six-year period ending with the quarter you became disabled.

In the quarter you turn age 31 or later Work during five years out of the 10-year period ending with the quarter your disability began.

The following shows examples of how much work you need to meet the “duration of work test” if you become disabled at various selected ages. For the “duration of work” test, your work does not have to fall within a certain period of time.
If you become disabled before age 28 then you generally need 1.5 years of work.
If you become disabled before age 38 then you generally need 4 years of work.
If you become disabled before age 48 then you generally need 6.5 years of work.
If you become disabled before age 58 then you generally need 9 years of work.
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