How to Qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance

If you can no longer work due to a serious physical or mental condition, you may be wondering how to qualify for SSDI. SSDI is a federal program that provides financial support to individuals who meet the government’s definition of disability and have a sufficient work history.

Whether you’re applying for yourself or helping a loved one, learning how to qualify for SSDI is the first and most important step. The Social Security Administration uses a detailed five-step process to determine eligibility, considering factors like the severity of your condition, your work history, and your ability to perform other types of work.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through what SSDI is, how the SSA evaluates disability claims, and what it takes to qualify for benefits.

What is Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)?

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal insurance program funded by payroll taxes and designed to support individuals with a disability that either limits their ability to work or prevents them from working. 

For adults, the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers a person disabled only if their physical or mental impairment is severe enough that they are not only unable to do any of their previous work but also cannot engage in any other kind of substantial gainful activity (SGA). The federal government considers your age, education, and work experience to determine what type of SGA you may be able to do. 

How to qualify for SSDI 

In addition to meeting the SSA’s definition of disability, you must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security guidelines to qualify for benefits with work credits. These work credits are based on your yearly wages, and you can earn up to four in a year. 

The number of work credits needed to qualify for SSDI depends on your age and when your disability began. You generally need to earn 40 credits, including 20 within the last 10 years. 

Understanding work credits is just one part of qualifying for SSDI. The SSA asks five key questions to decide if you meet all the requirements and qualify as disabled under their guidelines.

Applicants must satisfy all five conditions to qualify for benefits.

Question 1: Does your job count as substantial gainful activity?

The first step in determining SSDI eligibility is based on how much you make if you are currently working. Social Security considers your work substantial gainful activity (SGA) if you earn more than $1,620 a month in 2025. If you earn a substantially gainful income, Social Security will deny your benefits.

If you are earning more than the SGA amount, the SSA will deny your application without considering the severity of your condition. 

Social Security reviews SGA earning limits each year and may adjust them to reflect the national wage index.

If you are not working or make less than $1,620 ($2,700 if you’re blind) in 2025, the SSA will proceed with the second step of its evaluation. 

Step 2: Does the severity of your condition prevent you from working?

In this second step, the SSA will evaluate the severity of your condition based on how it affects your ability to work. 

To qualify for disability, your condition must seriously limit your ability to perform basic work-related tasks, such as lifting, standing, walking, sitting, or remembering, for at least 12 months. If it does not, the SSA will determine that you do not have a qualifying disability.

However, if your condition does interfere with these basic activities, you can move on to Step 3.

Step 3: Do you have a qualifying impairment?

The SSA maintains a comprehensive list of qualifying impairments that include conditions ranging from various physical health conditions like cancer and ALS to mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and PTSD. If you have a condition on the list and have strong medical evidence to support your claim, you may meet the qualifications for SSDI benefits.

If your condition is not on the SSA’s list, they will evaluate the nature and severity of your disability to determine if it is medically equivalent to a listed condition. However, if your condition matches the severity of a listed impairment, you may qualify for SSDI benefits.

Step 4: Can you do your past work?

At this stage of determining your eligibility, the SSA will assess whether you can perform your past relevant work (PRW), which includes any job you successfully held in the past five years. However, work that started and ended in fewer than 30 calendar days does not qualify as past relevant work.

The SSA evaluates your ability to work by looking at the demands of your most recent and relevant past jobs. Social Security considers your past work recent and relevant if it meets the following criteria:

• You performed the work within the five years before you applied for disability
• You earned enough for Social Security to consider the work substantial gainful activity
• You did the job long enough to learn how to do it properly

If Social Security finds your past work relevant, they will compare your current ability to do basic work tasks with how you did that job. They will also compare your ability to do the job with how employers typically expect it to be done in the national economy.

If your impairment prevents you from doing your previous work for at least 12 consecutive months, Social Security will consider you eligible for SSDI. Additionally, if your age, education, and work experience prevent you from engaging in any other type of substantial gainful work, you may qualify for benefits.

If the SSA determines that you can still perform your PRW, your SSDI application will be denied at this step.

Step 5: Is there other work you can do?

If your condition prevents you from returning to any past relevant work, the SSA will consider whether there are other jobs you might be able to perform.

To do this, the SSA evaluates whether work you are capable of doing exists “in the national economy,” meaning the job must exist in significant numbers, not just in isolated areas or rare circumstances. 

However, the SSA will not deny you disability benefits simply because such jobs exist, they must also determine whether you are realistically capable of performing them. The SSA considers several factors, including your education level and whether your past work was classified as skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled.

Age is also a key factor.

• Applicants under 50 generally need to prove they cannot perform even the least demanding full-time jobs.
• For applicants over 50, the SSA recognizes that transitioning to a new type of work may be more difficult. As a result, older applicants may find it easier to qualify.

Transferable skills also play a role. For example, individuals with physically demanding jobs may have an easier time qualifying for benefits, as their skills are less likely to transfer to sedentary or less strenuous work.

If you make it to this step and SSA determines that no other suitable work exists, you meet the qualifications for SSDI benefits.

What happens when I qualify for SSDI?

If you meet all five criteria above, Social Security should determine that you are eligible for disability benefits. However, you must wait five months from the date they find you disabled before your SSDI benefits begin.

How Woods & Woods can help

Having a disability shouldn’t mean losing your peace of mind. At Woods & Woods, we help individuals with disabilities connect with legal help. If you’re seeking SSDI benefits, call us today for a free case evaluation.