Social Security Disability (SSDI) (SSD) is benefits paid to those who are insured under the Social Security System and can no longer work due to a disability. What do I mean by insured? When you work on the books you pay into the Social Security System. You earn credits for the money you pay into the system. You can earn up to 4 credits per year. This is also sometimes referred to as work quarters since you earn a credit for each quarter of the year you pay taxes into the system. You normally need 40 credits to be eligible for Social Security benefits. I say normally because if you are young you may need less credits to qualify. If you have worked consistently throughout your life and paid your taxes then usually you are eligible for SSDI benefits if you can prove you were disabled within five years of the time you stopped working. The date you are covered until is called your Date of Last Insured or DLI. Your DLI is very important because you must prove you were disabled before this date to get SSDI. If you have an in consistent work record it can be difficult to determine when your DLI is on your own but SSA should be able to tell you what your DLI is. When you apply for these benefits is important because you can only get paid at the most one year back from the date of your application regardless of the date your disability started. You become eligible for Medicare 2 years and 5 months after the date SSA declares your disability started (onset date).
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal needs based program for the disabled that is paid out of the general tax revenue and not the Social Security System. To be eligible for SSI you must be blind, disabled or over 65 years old. You must also be a citizen or qualified alien. There are 8 categories of qualified aliens but this is beyond the discussion of this page and you should go to the SSA website or call SSA for more information on what constitutes a qualified alien. The last requirement is that you be eligible financially. SSI is for low or no income individuals. You must have a very limited amount of income and resources to qualify. To see more on resource limitations and SSI go to the SSA website. In SSI cases you can only get paid from the date of your application. In about half of the states if you are receiving SSI payments you are eligible for Medicaid. The other states may require stricter eligibility rules for Medicaid.
How Social Security determines if you are disabled is the same in both programs. It is also significant to note that in some cases one may be eligible for both SSDI and SSI.
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