The Basics

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal program that gives monthly cash benefits to people who have worked, paid Social Security taxes, and now have disabilities that limit their ability to work.

There are two basic requirements for SSDI:

• You must be insured. You have to have worked long enough to be covered by SSDI.
• You must have a disability that meets Social Security’s standards. The disability determination process looks at five criteria when deciding whether you have a disability.

Usually, you must meet both of these requirements to get benefits. However, there are some exceptions:

• If you are an adult who has not worked because of a disability that began before you turned 22, you may qualify for Childhood Disability Benefits (CDB).
• If you are under the age of 19, you may qualify if one of your parents gets Social Security retirement benefits or disability insurance benefits, or is deceased. You do not need to have a disability.
• If your spouse or ex-spouse qualifies for SSDI benefits or Social Security retirement benefits, or qualified before dying, you may be able to get these benefits as well.

If you qualify, the amount of benefits you get is based on your Social Security earnings record (or the record of your parent or spouse). The more you’ve worked and the more you’ve paid in Social Security taxes, the higher your benefits will be.

After getting SSDI benefits for two years, you automatically get Medicare health coverage.

If you get SSDI benefits and want to start working again, SSDI has rules and incentives that can help you work without having to worry that you’ll lose the benefits you need.