Many people know that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has two different programs to help disabled people who are unable to work or engage in a substantially gainful activity (SGA).
These are the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. SSI benefits are available for people who have not recently (or ever) been part of the workforce. SSDI benefits, on the other hand, are tied to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) payroll taxes.
Many individuals believe that you are only eligible for SSDI benefits if you are employed at the time of the disability. That is not true. A person does not have to be employed at the time of their disability to be eligible for SSDI. They need to demonstrate a history of employment through the SSA’s work credit calculations. Contact an experienced SSDI attorney in Kansas City today for more information.
Work credits are not related to the number of hours a person works and the value is subject to change each year. A high-wage earner could easily earn a work credit in a week, while a minimum-wage worker may need to work many weeks of full-time work to get the same credit.
The SSA examines the income you earned over a year and gives you credit for each time you hit the dollar value of a work credit. It caps those credits at four per year. While the SSA does not require that you work a certain number of hours each year, it does require that you work for some of the years in the calculation period.
Part-time and seasonal workers in Kansas City are eligible for SSDI as long as they have the required work credits; it does not matter how much they worked or when they worked during the year.
A part-time worker can earn enough work credits to stay eligible for SSDI coverage. Seasonal workers may have a more difficult time as they are unlikely to earn enough to get four credits per year.
SSA work requirements vary by age. Some of the work needs to be done within the time frame required for the disability. A person cannot retire in their 40s, become disabled in their 60s, and still collect disability benefits. Generally a worker must have 40 work credits, with 20 in the last ten years, to qualify.
People under 24 must have six work credits within three years before the date of the disability to qualify for SSDI. Between 24 and 31, the SSA requires the person to have earned half of the potentially available credits between their current age and 21. From 31 to 42, an individual must have 20 work credits.
People in the 31 to 42 age group can be particularly vulnerable to the work credit requirement because many of them will take time away from work to have children or be a stay-at-home parent. Remaining connected to the workforce through part-time work or seasonal work can be an excellent way to retain SSDI eligibility since many of those individuals fully intend to return to the workforce full-time in the future.
Self-employed workers paying federal taxes may be eligible for SSDI. These tax payments count towards SSDI eligibility work credit calculations in Kansas City.
You need to have a recent work history, but you do not have to be employed at the time of your disability to meet SSDI work requirements in Kansas City.
To find out if you qualify, you can schedule a consultation with an experienced Social Security disability attorney today.
(816) 781-4836