Who can get SSDI

The two tests

1. Enough work, recently enoughCredits come from wages or self-employment income. In 2026 one credit took $1,890 of earnings, up to 4 credits a year; in 2027 it takes $1,970.
2. A disability under SSA's rulesYou cannot do substantial work, cannot do the work you did before or adjust to other work, and the condition lasts 12 months or more or is expected to result in death.
3. No partial or short-term benefitsSSA pays only for total disability. It does not pay for partial or short-term disability.

How SSA decides: five questions

• Are you working above the SGA limit? If so, you generally cannot be found disabled.
• Is your condition severe enough to limit basic work activities for 12 months?
• Is it on SSA's list of disabling conditions, or as severe as one on the list?
• Can you still do the work you did before?
• Can you do any other work, given your age, education and experience?

Some claims move faster. Compassionate Allowances cover conditions that usually qualify as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed, such as acute leukemia, ALS and pancreatic cancer.

Special cases

• Blind: legally blind means vision not better than 20/200 in the better eye with correction, or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. The 2027 work limit is $2,950 a month.
• Adults disabled before age 22 may get benefits on a parent's record if the parent gets retirement or disability benefits or has died.
• Surviving spouses ages 50 to 60 with a disability may get benefits on the record of a worker who died.
• At full retirement age, SSDI turns into retirement benefits for the same amount.

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