According to information from the Social Security Administration, a 20-year-old worker has a one in four chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age. Because of this, understanding how SSDI eligibility is determined is important knowledge to have.
SSDI stands for Social Security Disability Insurance and as its name states: it is an insurance program. You pay for this insurance through work, so it stands to reason that you must have a work history in order to qualify. Eligibility depends largely on how much of a work history you have.
One of the tests used to determine SSDI eligibility is the Duration of Work test. While the other eligibility test — Recent Work — bases your eligibility on how many quarters you’ve recently worked, the Duration of Work test calculates the overall years you’ve worked, and that work doesn’t have to be recent. For example, if you become disabled before the age of 28, the amount of years that you must have worked to qualify under this test is 1.5. If you become disabled at age 46, you would have to have worked 6 years under the Duration of Work guidelines.
While most people are required to meet the requirements for both the Recent Work and the Duration of Work tests, and therefore have an established history of both years worked and recent time spent on the job, some workers — including blind workers — only have to qualify under the Duration of Work requirements.
Determining if you are eligible and applying for SSDI benefits can be complex. An attorney from DDB Law can help. For more information, contact us.