Almost everyone in the United States who is employed or self-employed is covered by Social Security, which pays benefits to or on behalf of covered workers who retire, become disabled or die, assuming that eligibility requirements are met.
Disability Benefits
Eligibility: To qualify for monthly Social Security disability benefits, you must be under age 65 and so severely disabled that you cannot perform any meaningful work. You must also have a minimum number of quarters of Social Security coverage, based on your year of birth. Ordinarily, benefits do not begin until the sixth full month of disability.
It can be difficult to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. In fact, from 1998 through 2007, an average of only about 46% of Social Security disability claims were eventually approved. (Source: Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Program, 2008; released July 2009)
Benefits: Your Social Security disability benefit equals your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) at the time you are disabled. Your spouse and eligible children can also receive disability benefits, determined in the same way as if you had retired. The Maximum Family Benefit, however, is lower than for retirement or survivor benefits.
The average monthly Social Security disability benefit received in 2008 was $1,063. (Source: Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Program, 2008; released July 2009)
You can request an Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement by submitting Form SSA-7004 to the Social Security Administration.
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