The Social Security Administration has two main benefit areas for U.S. citizens who qualify: Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). The receivers of these benefits sometimes have overlapping situations, such as old age and disability.
SSDI pays benefits to people considered disabled. SSI pays benefits based on financial need, which isn’t always related to health costs. Age, health, and past jobs all play a role in both branches. For our purposes, we’ll focus on Social Security Disability Insurance.
This benefit type applies to disabled and permanently injured people who previously worked. These people must be “insured,” meaning they worked long enough and paid social security taxes. Several other factors go into qualifying for SSDI, which we’ll discuss below.