United States citizens can apply to the Social Security Administration for a Disability payment if they meet the SSDI requirements. But it is not only necessary to have some type of Disability to qualify for the check, since other conditions must also be met.
In addition to what we have already mentioned, in order for the Social Security Administration to send us a monthly Disability payment, we must have worked before. If we have not worked, we could get a check, but it would be in a different category.
Each request for retirement payments, whether for Disability or for another reason, is reviewed on an individual basis by the Social Security Administration. So it is possible that we may get a check even if we do not meet all the requirements depending on our particular situation.
Years of work required to apply for Disability payment
Each age range has different requirements to get a Social Security Disability check. If you are age 50 or older, you must have worked up to 20 credits in the 10 years prior to applying for the benefit.
Remember that each year worked is 4 work credits, so it is necessary to have worked about 5 years during the 10 years prior to applying for the benefit in order to get a disability check.
However, the amount that we will get in this case will depend directly on that same work history. The maximum check is $3,822 in 2024, but this does not mean that all beneficiaries can reach such a high amount.
If you have to apply for a Disability check from the Social Security Administration now you know what the minimum years worked are before applying. However, each case is individual and it is possible that in your particular case things may change.
The general recommendation is to contact the Social Security Administration directly and ask about your situation. We may get a different type of disability benefit and thus have a different retirement.