American workers who have a condition that does not allow them to work may be eligible for SSDI. This Social Security Disability Insurance payments can be up to $3,822 or about $1,539 on average in the USA. Therefore, it is advisable to check your eligibility for this money from the Agency since it can be a lifeline if you are facing financial hardships.
Being a new SSDI applicant means that you may have lots of questions regarding disability benefits. If you have never worked, you may qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), but not for Disability Insurance. For the latter, you must have worked for a minimum number of years in jobs covered by SSA.
Minimum number of years of work to get SSDI by age
Bear in mind that this is just an estimate and it does not imply that you will be eligible. It will be necessary for Social Security to check all the personal circumstances.
If you acquire a disability at the following ages, you generally require:
Before age 28: 1.5 years of work
Age 30: 2 years
Age 34: 3 years
Age 38: 4 years
Age 42: 5 years
Age 44: 5.5 years
Age 46: 6 years
Age 48: 6.5 years
Age 50: 7 years
Age 52: 7.5 years
Age 54: 8 years
Age 56: 8.5 years
Age 58: 9 years
Age 60: 9.5 years
Do you need the same number of work credits as in SSDI for retirement benefits?
As a matter of fact, you can only file for Social Security retirement benefits at the age of 62. So, you can choose to file at 62 or delay retirement until you are 70.
Actually, you will need at least 40 work credits to get Social Security at 62. That is about ten years of work. So, it follows the number of years of work you need for SSDI, which is 9.5 at 60.
If you would like to know if you have enough work credits to get SSDI or Social Security retirement benefits, you can check your annual Statement. It will provide you with useful information about your future disability or retirement payment amounts and eligibility.