How Many Work Credits You Need for SSDI

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is a federal program, but understanding how work credits apply to your specific situation requires careful attention to your personal work history. For Michigan residents considering an SSDI application, work credits are the foundation of eligibility — and many applicants are denied not because of their medical condition, but because they simply did not earn enough credits in time.

What Are Social Security Work Credits?

Work credits are the Social Security Administration's (SSA) measure of your work history. You earn credits based on your annual wages or self-employment income. Each year, the SSA sets a dollar threshold for earning one credit. In 2024, you earn one work credit for every $1,730 in covered earnings, up to a maximum of four credits per year.

These credits accumulate throughout your working lifetime and are permanently recorded in your Social Security earnings record. You can verify your current credit total by creating an account at ssa.gov and reviewing your Social Security Statement, or by requesting a copy from your local Social Security office in cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids, or Lansing.

It is important to understand that earning more money does not give you additional credits beyond four per year. A worker earning $6,920 and a worker earning $200,000 both earn the same four credits for that year. What matters is consistent work over time, not the size of your paycheck.

The Two-Part Work Credit Test for SSDI

To qualify for SSDI on the basis of work history, you must pass what the SSA calls a two-part test. Both parts must be satisfied simultaneously at the time you become disabled.

The Total Credits Test (the "duration of work" test) requires that you have earned a minimum number of lifetime work credits. The number depends on your age at the time of disability:

• Before age 24: You need 6 credits earned in the 3-year period ending when your disability began.
• Ages 24–31: You need credits equal to half the time between age 21 and the age you became disabled. For example, if you become disabled at 27, you need 12 credits (3 years × 4 credits).
• Age 31 or older: You generally need 20 credits in the 10 years immediately before you became disabled, plus a total number of lifetime credits based on your age — ranging from 20 credits if disabled at 31 to 40 credits if disabled at age 62 or older.

The Recent Work Test (the "insured status" test) requires that your work credits are sufficiently recent, not just that you have enough total credits. For most applicants over age 31, this means 20 of your required credits must have been earned in the 10-year period immediately before you became disabled. If you stopped working years ago — even if you once had many credits — you may have lost your insured status.

Your SSDI "Date Last Insured" in Michigan

One of the most critical — and most overlooked — concepts in Michigan SSDI cases is the Date Last Insured (DLI). This is the deadline by which you must prove your disability began. Once your insured status expires, you can no longer file a successful SSDI claim based on that work history, no matter how severe your condition.

For example, a Michigan factory worker who stopped working in 2018 due to a back injury but did not apply until 2025 may find that their DLI passed in 2022 or 2023. In that scenario, they must prove — using medical records — that they were disabled before their DLI, not just that they are disabled today.

This is why it is critical to apply for SSDI as soon as possible after becoming unable to work, and to gather complete medical documentation going back to the onset of your condition. Michigan applicants dealing with conditions like degenerative disc disease, heart failure, or autoimmune disorders that developed gradually face particular challenges in establishing an onset date that falls before their DLI.

When You Do Not Have Enough Work Credits

Many Michigan residents are surprised to discover they do not qualify for SSDI despite being genuinely disabled. This situation commonly affects:

• Stay-at-home parents or caregivers who were out of the workforce for an extended period
• Self-employed individuals who underreported income to reduce tax liability (which also reduced their credited earnings)
• Younger workers who became disabled before accumulating sufficient credits
• Workers who spent years in jobs not covered by Social Security, such as certain government positions
• Recent immigrants who worked abroad before coming to Michigan

If you do not have enough work credits for SSDI, you may still qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a needs-based program with no work credit requirement. SSI does, however, have strict income and asset limits. A single individual generally cannot have more than $2,000 in countable resources. Michigan also does not supplement the federal SSI payment, unlike some other states, so the maximum monthly benefit reflects only the federal base amount.

Additionally, disabled adult children (DAC) benefits may be available if you became disabled before age 22 and a parent is deceased, retired, or receiving disability benefits. These benefits draw on the parent's work record rather than your own.

Protecting Your Work Credits Before Applying

If you are still working but approaching a point where you may need to stop, there are practical steps you can take to preserve your insured status. First, check your current credit total through your Social Security account to understand exactly when your insured status will expire if you stop working. Second, if you are self-employed in Michigan, ensure you are accurately reporting your income each year — both to maintain your eligibility and to increase your eventual benefit amount if approved.

If you are receiving workers' compensation through the Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency and are considering a long-term absence from work, be aware that accepting a workers' comp settlement can affect your SSDI offset calculation. Michigan follows the federal rule that SSDI benefits may be reduced when combined workers' comp and SSDI exceed 80% of your average current earnings. An attorney can help you structure any settlement to minimize this reduction.

Once you have confirmed eligibility through work credits and a qualifying medical condition, the SSDI application process in Michigan proceeds through the federal system — first to the SSA, then to Disability Determination Services (DDS) Michigan if review is needed, and through multiple appeal levels if initially denied. The majority of initial applications are denied, and building a strong case from the beginning significantly improves your chances of approval.

Need Help? If you have questions about your case, call or text 833-657-4812 for a free consultation with an experienced attorney.

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