The Social Security Administration has a program to provide benefits to workers who are unable--temporarily of permanently--to work because of a disability. The disability program is designed to provide basic necessities to those who qualify to be considered disabled.
Qualifying for Disability
To qualify for Social Security disability benefits, you must meet certain criteria. First, you must have worked and paid Social Security taxes for a minimum period of time. Second, you must be disabled by the agency's definition. The Social Security Administration has a specific test for disability, which requires that your medical condition render you unable to work for at least one year and/or that your medical condition will likely result in death. You must be unable to do the work you were previously doing and unable to adjust to other work.
Income Requirements
There is a five-part test to determine whether you qualify for Social Security disability benefits. The first step asks you to verify your income levels. Only people whose earnings from work average less than $980 a month are qualified to apply for Social Security disability.
Severity of Condition
The second and third steps of the Social Security eligibility test are to determine whether your condition is severe enough to qualify. The Social Security Administration defines a disability as "severe" when it interferes with a majority of basic activities related to work. The SSA has a list of conditions it considers to be "severe." Those with conditions on the list are automatically eligible. Those with a condition that is not on the list must go through a review process to determine whether the condition is sufficiently severe.
Ability to Work
The fourth step in the process determines whether you are capable of working. First, the agency confirms that you are unable to do the work you were doing before you became disabled. If you are unable to do this work, then you still must prove you are not capable of doing any other work. This determination is made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the individual applicant's ability, education, experience and disability. Patients who are unable to work at any job that would pay more than $980 a month are eligible, provided their condition is sufficiently severe and they worked a sufficient amount of time in a covered position.
Special Situations
Under certain circumstances, people who do not meet these qualifications are eligible for Social Security disability. People who are legally blind with vision that can't be corrected, are allowed to make up to $1,570 a month, as of 2009, and still apply for disability.
Another exception applies to disabled widows or widowers who have not worked in a qualified position for the minimum amount of time. If the spouse of the disabled widow or widower worked in a covered position when he was alive, then the disabled widow or widower can apply for Social Security disability benefits if he becomes injured, as long as he is between 50 and 60 years old and the disability began before the working spouse died, or within 7 years of the death of the working spouse.
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