Do You Qualify for Social Security Disability?
Social Security disability has different requirements to qualify than the agency's retirement benefits. You may qualify for disability benefits even if you have nowhere near enough work credits to get retirement benefits from Social Security. However, the Social Security Administration's definition of disability is a strict one, which can make it difficult to get approved. Understanding how the program works can help you thread this bureaucratic maze as quickly as possible.
The Social Security Administration uses "work credits" as its benchmark to determine who is eligible for many of its programs, including disability benefits. To qualify for a work credit, you must earn a certain amount of money -- in 2017, $1,300 of earnings equal one work credit. However, you can only get a maximum of four work credits per year no matter how much you earn.
The work credits system for retirement benefits is simple: you just need 40 credits, which for most people would be 10 years of earnings, to qualify. But the qualifying system for disability benefits is somewhat more complex. Unlike retirement benefits, you might need to get disability benefits while still young -- so the work credit requirement takes age into account when determining whether or not someone can get disability benefits.
Source: Fool.com
