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To qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), individuals must accumulate a specific number of Social Security credits, earned through employment and payment of Social Security taxes, determine eligibility for various benefits. So how do you earn them? And how many do you need?
The benefits include retirement, disability, and survivors benefits, although the total number of credits does not define the exact benefit amount. However, failing to meet the required threshold can result in ineligibility for payments.
Since 1978, individuals can earn a maximum of four Social Security credits per year. The number of credits obtained depends on total annual earnings rather than the length of time worked. In 2025, one credit is awarded for every $1,810 earned, with a total of $7,240 required to receive the maximum four credits that year.
To qualify, a person must earn 40 credits through their lifetime and considering there is a cap on four per year, this translates to a decade of work. However, there are exceptions based on age and a work test and a duration work test.
The number of credits required varies by age at the onset of disability. For example, if you develop a disability before the age of 24 then eligibility requires six credits earned within the three years preceding the disability.
Whilst for someone at the age of 31 or older, a minimum of 20 credits must be earned within the 10 years before the disability begins. Someone disabled at 60 must have accumulated at least 9.5 years of work history.
Each year, the earnings required to earn credits typically increase in line with average wage growth. Fortunately, once credits are earned, they remain on a worker's record, even if employment status changes or there is a break in earnings.
Survivors Benefits and Social Security Credits
A similar system is used to access Survivors Benefits when a spouse becomes widowed before their partner began claiming their benefits but paid their Social Security taxes. The family may qualify for survivors benefits.
The number of credits required for eligibility depends on the deceased's age at death, with up to 10 years of work necessary in some cases. Survivors who may receive benefits include:
A surviving spouse (full benefits at retirement age or reduced benefits from age 60), a disabled surviving spouse (benefits available from age 50), a surviving spouse of any age caring for a child under 16 or a disabled child.
Or unmarried children under 18 (or up to 19 if still in school) and disabled adult children whose condition began before age 22 as well as dependent parents aged 62 or older.