What if you become disabled, but you have haven’t been reporting income. Can you still
get benefits?
If you’ve never worked, you can still receive disability benefits in the form of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Instead of being based on your work history like SSDI, SSI is based on your level of need. Generally, the extremely impoverished and disabled persons who have never worked can receive SSI.
Work credits are credits that you earn throughout your work history. Each year that you earn wages and pay FICA taxes into the Social Security system, you receive work credits. These work credits are required in order to receive Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI or SSI), Social Security Retirement and Medicare benefits.
Workers can receive a maximum of four work credits each year. The exact amount of work credits you earn each year will depend on your employment activity and the amount of your earnings. In 2020, a worker must earn $1,410 to earn one work credit. In order to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits, you will generally need to have earned a total of 20 work credits, although there are age exceptions to this rule.
For Social Security Disability applicants who are over 31 years of age, a total of 20 work credits earned within the past 15 years is generally needed. If you are younger, you may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits with fewer work credits. For example, disability applicants who are under 24 years of age may be able to qualify for Social Security Disability benefits if they have earned a total of six work credits in the three years prior to the onset of the disability. If you apply for Social Security Disability benefits between the ages of 24 and 30, you must have worked for half the time between age 21 and when you became disabled. Example: If you became disabled at age 29, you must have enough credits for 4 years of work (16 credits). The following chart outlines how many work credits you will need to receive Social Security Disability benefits.
It is important to note that work credits only apply to SSDI benefits. If you do not have enough work credits but suffer from a long-term or permanent disability, you may be able to qualify for SSI benefits even if you have not earned any work credits in the past. SSI is a needs-based program, however, and you will need to meet the SSA’s household income and asset restrictions before going further in the benefits application process.
The Social Security Disability SSDI program, which does require work credits, is not a needs-based program. No matter how much your household income is, you can qualify for Social Security Disability SSDI benefits if you meet the SSA’s disability criteria and have enough work credits to qualify for SSDI benefits from the Social Security Administration.
Ben Winter, P.A. focuses its practice in the areas of Social Security Disability and Workers Compensation in St Petersburg, Florida. For more information, go to our web site www.benwinterlaw.com or call (727) 822-0100.