Eligibility and Funding
SSDI
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI):
- Is a federal insurance program.
- Is funded by payroll taxes.
- Is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
- Assists eligible people who are disabled.
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ELIGIBILITY
DEFINITION
GUIDELINES
ELIGIBILITY
People with severe disabilities may qualify for childhood disability benefits under SSDI after reaching their eighteenth birthday if they are the children of:
- Workers entitled to Social Security retirement benefits or disability benefits.
- Insured workers who have died.
In some cases, people can qualify on the record of a grandparent.
Definition
To be eligible for childhood disability benefits, a person must meet the following federal definition:
- "Disability… [is] the existence of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment or impairments expected to result in death or which have lasted, or can be expected to last, for a continuous period of not less than twelve months and of a level deemed sufficient to prevent an individual from engaging in any gainful activity." This disability must have had its onset before the age of twenty-two years.
Guidelines
- Participants receive benefits monthly via direct deposit to a financial organization, e.g., bank, credit union, or trust, or to a representative payee.
- The amount paid in by the insured worker determines the benefit amount.
- People apply through local Social Security Administration offices.