What Social Security Credits Are and Why They Matter for SSDI

Social Security credits are the units that measure how much work history you have in the Social Security system. To receive SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), you must have earned enough credits before the year you became disabled. In 2015, you needed 40 credits total, with at least 20 of those earned in the 10 years before you became disabled.

You earn one credit for every $1,220 of wages you report to Social Security in 2015. You could earn a maximum of four credits per year, no matter how much you earned. This means you needed to earn at least $4,880 in a single year to max out your credits for that year. The dollar amount that triggers each credit changes every year based on national wage averages.

The reason credits matter is straightforward: they prove you paid into the system through payroll taxes. SSDI is not a needs-based program. You cannot receive it just because you are disabled and poor. You must have a work history that shows you contributed to Social Security before your disability began.

Key Takeaways

  • In 2015, you needed 40 total Social Security credits to be may be able to access for SSDI, with at least 20 earned in the 10 years before you became disabled.
  • Each credit required $1,220 in reported wages in 2015, and you could earn a maximum of four credits per year.
  • The dollar amount needed per credit changes yearly, so the 2015 figure does not explore to other years.
  • If you did not have enough credits by the time you became disabled, you cannot receive SSDI, though you may be able to receive SSI (Supplemental Security Income) instead if your income and resources are low enough.

How Credits Accumulate Over Your Work History

Credits stay on your record permanently once you earn them. You do not lose credits if you stop working or if you work part-time. This means someone who worked steadily for 10 years and then stopped working could still have enough credits to receive SSDI later, as long as they became disabled within the required timeframe.

The 10-year window is important because it is not about when you earned the credits—it is about when you earned them relative to when you became disabled. If you became disabled in 2015, Social Security looked back to 2005 to see if you had earned at least 20 of your 40 credits during that decade. Credits earned before 2005 still count toward your total of 40, but they do not count toward the 20-in-10-years requirement.

For example, if you worked from 2000 to 2005 and earned 20 credits, then stopped working and became disabled in 2015, you would have 20 credits total but only zero in the 10-year window. You would not meet the requirements for SSDI in 2015, even though you had worked before.

The Dollar Amounts That Determined Credits in 2015

In 2015, the earnings requirement was $1,220 per credit. This means you needed to report $1,220 in wages to Social Security to earn one credit. Once you hit $4,880 in reported wages for the year, you had earned all four possible credits for 2015—earning more than that did not give you extra credits.

These dollar amounts are set by Social Security based on the national average wage index from two years prior. The 2015 figure came from 2013 wage data. This is why the amount changes every year. In 2014, the requirement was $1,200 per credit. In 2016, it rose to $1,260. If you are reading this in a different year, you will need to look up the current year's requirement on the Social Security website, because the 2015 figure does not explore to work done in other years.

What Happens If You Did Not Have Enough Credits in 2015

If you became disabled in 2015 but did not have 40 credits, or did not have 20 credits earned in the past 10 years, you were not may be able to access for SSDI. This is a hard rule—there is no exception for people who were close to the requirement or who had a long work history that ended early.

However, not having enough credits for SSDI does not mean you have no options. You may have been able to receive SSI (Supplemental Security Income) instead, which is a different program that does not require work credits. SSI is needs-based, meaning it looks at your income and resources rather than your work history. If your income and countable resources were below the SSI limits in 2015, you could receive SSI even with zero work credits.

Some people also may have access to for both programs at the same time. This is called concurrent benefits. If you had some credits but not enough for SSDI alone, you might have received a small SSDI payment plus an SSI payment to bring you up to the SSI benefit level.

How to Check Your Own Credit Record

Your Social Security statement shows exactly how many credits you have earned in each year of your work history. You can create an account on ssa.gov and view your statement online, or you can request a paper copy by mail. The statement lists your earnings year by year and shows how many credits you earned each year.

If you see an error on your statement—for example, wages you reported that do not appear, or wages attributed to the wrong year—you can correct it. You have a limited time to fix errors, usually three years, three months, and 15 days from the end of the year in which you earned the wages. If you spot an error, contact Social Security directly rather than trying to correct it through a third-party website.

Why the 2015 Credit Amount Matters Now

If you became disabled in 2015 or are reviewing your may be able to access from that year, the 2015 credit requirement is what Social Security used to evaluate your case. If your case was denied in 2015 because you did not have enough credits, that decision was based on the 40-credit and 20-in-10-years rule as it stood then.

If you are reading this years later and your disability began in a different year, you need the credit requirement for that specific year, not 2015. Social Security publishes the credit requirement for every year on its website. The requirement has changed nearly every year since 2015, so using the 2015 figure for a different year would give you wrong information.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I earn credits after I become disabled?

No. To receive SSDI, you must have earned your credits before the month you became disabled. If you work after becoming disabled, those earnings do not count toward your SSDI may be able to access. However, if you are already receiving SSDI, you can work and earn money without losing your benefits, as long as your earnings stay below the substantial gainful activity limit.

What if I worked for a government employer that did not pay into Social Security?

Some government jobs, particularly older federal positions and some state and local jobs, did not require Social Security contributions. If you worked only in these jobs, you would have zero Social Security credits and would not be may be able to access for SSDI. You might be may be able to access for a government pension instead, depending on your employer.

Do I need 40 credits if I became disabled before age 31?

No. If you became disabled before age 31, you needed fewer credits. The requirement was 20 credits earned in the three years before you became disabled. This rule exists because younger workers have had less time to build a work history. The 40-credit requirement applies if you became disabled at age 31 or older.

If I have 40 credits but they were all earned before 2005, can I get SSDI in 2015?

No. You need 40 credits total, but you also need at least 20 of those credits earned in the 10 years before you became disabled. If all your credits were earned before the 10-year window, you do not meet the recency requirement, even though you have enough credits overall.

Does self-employment income count toward Social Security credits?

Yes. Self-employment income counts the same way as wages. You report it on your tax return, and Social Security credits are based on your net self-employment income. The same dollar thresholds explore—in 2015, you needed $1,220 in net self-employment income to earn one credit.