Criteria for Social Security Disability

Work Experience

To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must have worked in a covered job. When you get a job, you and your employer pay Social Security taxes for yourself. The payment of these Social Security taxes entitles you to benefits such as disability or retirement benefits. You do not qualify automatically for these benefits, so you must have a minimum amount of covered work in order to qualify. The SSA (Social Security Administration) has two requirements when it comes to work: The work you did must have been recent, and you must have worked for a long enough time. The "recency" and "duration" factors vary, depending on your age.

The recency of work test to qualify for disability is designed to ensure that workers who are collecting disability have worked in the time period prior to becoming disabled. The definition of "recent" varies depending on your age. If you are under 24 years of age when you get disabled, you need to have completed at least one and a half years of work in the three years prior to becoming disabled to be eligible for benefits. If you are between the ages of 24 and 31, you have to work for half of the time period between your 21st birthday and your current age (so if you are 28, you must have worked for at least four years). If you are over 31, you must have worked for five out of the 10 years prior to becoming disabled.

The duration of work tests determines how long you must have worked to be eligible for Social Security disability benefits. Like the recency test, the duration test is based on age. People under the age of 28 must have worked for at least one and a half years to collect disability benefits. People between 28 and 30 need to have worked for two years. From 30-34, the requirement is three years; from 34 to 38 the requirement is four years; from 38 to 42 the requirement is five years; from 42 to 44 the requirement is five and a half years; from 44 to 46 the requirement is six years; from 46 to 48 the requirement is six and a half years; from 48 to 50 it is seven years; 50-52 it is seven and a half years; 52-54 its eight years; 56 to 58 its nine years; and if you are 60 or over, you must have worked for nine and a half years.

If you have met the work requirements, the Social Security disability also evaluates the severity of your disability. The Social Security has a list, called the "List of Impairments," which is a list of of disabilities that it considers to be "severe." If your disability is not on that list, then the Social Security Administration evaluates your claim on a case-by-case basis. To determine if your disability is severe enough to qualify, the SSA considers whether you are limited in your ability to perform basic work activities including moving, sitting, walking or remembering and understanding things. The SSA will examine your medical records, and you may have to have an exam by an independent doctor.

The SSA evaluates your ability to work in your original job, or in any other capacity. If you are able to work and earn money, in most cases you are automatically disqualified from receiving disability benefits. This automatic disqualification kicks in if you are earning over a certain amount per month. As of 2009, earning $980 per month in income or over automatically disqualifies you from Social Security benefits unless you are blind, at which point you can earn up to $1,640 per month. Certain exceptions may be made if you wish to attempt to return to work under special returning-to-work trial programs.