Social Security Disability Requirements

Not all disabilities qualify for disability benefits. To be eligible for the SSDI program, your impairment must be severe enough to significantly restrict your ability to work and is expected to last at least 12 months or end in your death.

You can review the eligibility criteria for each category in more detail in the Social Security Administration’s Blue Book.

To qualify for SSDI payments, you must have enough Social Security work credits before the onset of your disability. You will receive four credits for every year in which you earned at least $6,560 and paid into Social Security through your payroll taxes. However, the amount of work credits needed for SSDI varies by age.

There aren’t any disabilities that automatically disqualify you from receiving SSDI benefits. Disabilities that are not on the SSA’s list of impairments is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

It’s important to note that there are many impairments that don’t disable you to the point of qualifying for SSDI.

The amount of money you get in SSDI benefits is based on how much you would receive from regular Social Security if you retired at your full retirement age. But as long as you have enough work credits to qualify for SSDI benefits, your age at the time of your application doesn’t matter. What does affect your payment is whether you also decide to collect your regular Social Security benefits.

Some people take early retirement instead of undergoing the lengthy disability determination process needed to claim SSDI. By doing this, you permanently reduce the amount of SSDI benefits you get each month. That reduction is also based on your full retirement benefits amount.

The chart below illustrates how a $1,000 Social Security benefit gets reduced if it’s taken at age 62.

Initial applications for SSDI get approved by your state’s Disability Determination Services (DDS) office.

If DDS denies your benefits request and you choose to appeal, your claim will be passed on to the Office of Hearing Operations. Here, an administrative law judge will review the evidence you’ve presented and decide whether to approve you for benefits.

Health professionals also play a big role in determining whether your disability gets approved for benefits. This is because they are the ones who perform the tests and examinations required for approval, as well as provide medical evidence regarding your disability.

You don’t need to stop working to receive SSDI benefits. However, you will need to prove that you’re unable to earn more than the substantial gainful activity threshold amount to be declared disabled. The 2023 threshold is $1,470. If you earn more than that each month, you won’t qualify for SSDI.

If you work while collecting SSDI payments, you’ll trigger a trial work period (TWP) during each month in which you earn more than $1,050. If you accrue nine TWPs during a rolling 60-month period, your disability will be considered to have ended and you’ll no longer receive SSDI benefits.

Some people qualify for SSDI benefits under special rules. Among those exceptions are people who have low vision or blindness, wounded veterans, surviving spouses or ex-spouses and children with disabilities.

People who are blind are automatically approved for SSDI.

Blind people also have a higher substantial gainful activity (SGA) threshold of $2,460 per month.

If you’re between the ages of 50 and 59, have a disability and your spouse or ex-spouse has passed away, you may be eligible for survivors benefits equal to 71.5% of your deceased spouse’s full retirement benefit amount.

Although these benefits are technically a form of survivors benefits, you’ll need to have the same disability determination process as you would when applying for SSDI.

Children who have a disability that began before age 22 may be eligible for SSDI under their parent’s Social Security earnings record. To qualify, the child must have an impairment that severely restricts their ability to take part in work or school.

If their claim is approved, the disabled child will receive a percentage of their parent’s Social Security entitlement amount as SSDI benefits. They can receive benefits for as long as they remain disabled, even after they turn 23.

Wounded veterans can receive SSDI if they qualify, even if they get benefits from Veterans Affairs for the same impairment. To be approved, they must apply for SSDI separately and meet all the same requirements as a disabled civilian.