Social Security Disability Insurance

Social Security pays benefits to people who can’t work because they have a medical condition(s) that’s expected to last at least one year or result in death. The SSDI program pays monthly benefits to a disabled person and certain family members if the disabled person is “insured,” meaning that person worked long enough — and recently enough — and paid Social Security taxes on those earnings. The number of work credits an individual needs to qualify for disability benefits depends on the individual's age when the disability begins. Certain members of the individual's family may be eligible for benefits based on the individual's work history. They include: • The individual's spouse, if he or she is age 62 or older. • The individual's spouse at any age, if he or she is caring for the individual's child who is younger than age 16 or who is disabled. • The individual's unmarried child, including an adopted child, or, in some cases, a stepchild or grandchild. The child must be younger than age 18 (or younger than 19 if still in high school). • The individual's unmarried child, age 18 or older, if he or she has a disability that started before age 22. The child’s disability must also meet the definition of disability for adults.