Additional Coverage:
Could You Qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance?
Injuries or illnesses can happen at any time, but if you’ve worked for years, you might be eligible for government assistance through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Here’s a guide to understanding SSDI and whether you might qualify.
What is SSDI?
SSDI, often called simply “disability,” is a monthly payment from the Social Security Administration (SSA) to eligible individuals with disabilities that prevent them from working. Understanding the SSA’s definition of disability is crucial for determining your eligibility.
Signs You Might Qualify for SSDI:
- Inability to Work: If a medical condition prevents you from earning above a certain threshold (currently $1,620 per month and $2,700 for the legally blind as of 2025), you may qualify.
- Legal Blindness: Legal blindness, as determined by an optometrist, may qualify you for SSDI.
The SSA defines blindness as vision that cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 in the better eye or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. If you also earn less than the SGA threshold for blind individuals, you could qualify.
- Supportable Disability Claim: Eligibility hinges on providing the SSA with comprehensive medical documentation proving your disability and its impact on your ability to earn a living. Refer to the SSA’s Listing of Impairments for adults and consult with a licensed medical doctor.
- Sufficient Work History: You’ll need enough Social Security work credits, earned through your employment history. Generally, 40 credits are required, with 20 earned in the ten years preceding your disability.
- Social Security Contributions: Paying into Social Security through your employment is essential. Difficulties may arise if you worked “under the table” or your employer didn’t report your earnings.
- Long-Term Condition: SSDI is for long-term disabilities expected to last at least a year or result in death. Short-term illnesses typically don’t qualify.
- Severity of Condition: The SSA defines a severe condition as one preventing you from performing essential work activities (walking, sitting, standing, lifting, remembering) for at least 12 months.
- Compassionate Allowances: Some conditions, like pancreatic cancer, ALS, and acute leukemia, qualify for expedited SSDI approval under the compassionate allowances program.
- Inability to Perform Other Work: Even if you can’t perform your previous job, having transferable skills applicable to other jobs could affect your eligibility.
- Regular Specialist Visits: Seeing a specialist regularly for conditions like multiple sclerosis, heart disease, Parkinson’s, or Huntington’s disease, and experiencing debilitating effects, could indicate SSDI eligibility.
Next Steps:
If you meet these criteria, apply for SSDI online or at your local SSA office. Even if you don’t qualify for SSDI, the SSA can guide you toward other programs, such as Supplemental Security Income.