Belleville, Ill. (2/12/07) - Allsup Inc. specializes in guiding people with disabilities through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) process. Because we are so specialized, we hear many questions. One of the most popular is, “Am I eligible for benefits?”
Below, you will find part of an article requested by a disability advocacy organization for use with their members. It provides valuable information on:
• How someone is currently insured
• How someone is fully insured
• What quarters are, and how you “buy” them
Please feel free to use this article in your newsletters or publications. If you have other questions about SSDI that you would like to have addressed, please contact us and we will tailor a specific article for your use.
SSDI: You Have Questions, We Have Answers
Calendar quarters, qualifying quarters, fully insured and currently insured. These are some of the many technical terms you may hear as you begin the SSDI application process. Understanding them will allow you to have a more solid footing as you apply for the benefits you need--and have already paid for.
One of the first questions customers ask Allsup Inc. is, “Am I eligible for benefits?”
The answer to that question comes in two parts. The first is, “Have you worked long enough and recently enough?” The second is, “Are you disabled?”
Allsup’s professionals can determine not only if you meet the basic qualifications, but also if your condition, or conditions, meets the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) definition of disability.
Whether your disability meets the SSA standards can only be determined on a case-by-case basis, but the more basic qualifications are easier to explain.
In order to fulfill the basic qualification in applying for SSDI you must be both “currently insured” and “fully insured.”
First, let’s explain what currently insured means.
If you earned $1,000 in 2007, you have just “bought a quarter.” You can get up to four quarters in each calendar year. For you to be currently insured you must have 20 quarters in the past 10 years. A simple way to explain this is working five out of the last 10 years. You are also must be currently insured if you earned two quarters each year for the last 10 years.
Additionally, if you are under age 31 when you become disabled, it is possible to be currently insured with less than 20 quarters of coverage. To gain this “special insured status” you must have earned half of all possible quarters in the period between reaching age 21 and becoming disabled. For example, a 25-year-old would probably qualify as currently insured with only eight quarters of coverage.
Bottom line--you can only earn four quarters a year and you need 20 quarters in the last 10 years to be currently insured. If you were under age 31 when you become disabled, Allsup’s professionals would be able to help you determine how these rules affect your eligibility.
In addition to being currently insured, you must also be “fully insured” to apply for disability benefits. There are two ways to determine if you are fully insured.
The first is, “Do you have 40 quarters of coverage?” (Remember, you can earn up to four quarters a year.) If you do, then you are fully insured.
The second way to be fully insured is to have six quarters of coverage plus one quarter of coverage for each year after the year you reach the age of 21. For example, the same 25-year-old we discussed earlier would probably only need 10 quarters of coverage to be fully insured.
To qualify for SSDI, you must be both currently insured and fully insured. Allsup’s SSDI professionals are always available to help you determine your eligibility.