The Sacramento Social Security disability system is similar to insurance

Sometimes some of our Sacramento Social Security disability clients want to understand how the Social Security disability system works. The best way to look at it is that the Social Security program for disabled workers is much like an insurance policy. As with an insurance policy, you must pay for the policy before it applies. To be covered for purposes of Social Security disability benefits you must have both:

• Contributed to the program (that is, paid social security taxes) over a sufficiently long period to be “fully insured.”
• Contributed to the program recently enough to have “disability insured status.”

That means that you must have paid social security taxes in order to be “insured,” just like paying the premiums for a private insurance policy. And, after stopping work (and stopping paying social security taxes), there will come a time when insured status will lapse, just like with a private insurance policy.

Contributions are counted in “quarters of coverage,” based on the following three-month periods: January through March, April through June, July through September, or October through December.

Satisfying the “fully insured” and “disability insured status” requirements

To be fully insured, as a rule you must have one quarter of coverage for every calendar year after the year in which you turned 21, up to the calendar year before becoming disabled (except that more than 40 quarters of coverage are never required).

The rule for disability insured status for those over 31 years old is that they must have 20 quarters of coverage out of the 40 calendar quarters before they become disabled. Significant work in five years out of the last 10 years usually satisfies this requirement.

For those who become disabled before age 31 there is a reduced quarter of coverage requirement. A claimant who is disabled before turning 31 must have earned quarters of coverage in one-half the calendar quarters beginning with the quarter after the quarter in which he or she attained age 21 and ending with the quarter in which he or she became disabled.

If a claimant becomes disabled before age 24, he or she must simply have 6 quarters of coverage in the 12-quarter period ending with the quarter in which disability began.

Generally, anyone who has “disability insured status” is also “fully insured.”

Help is available for Sacramento Social Security disability claimants

Dealing with the complex rules and procedures of the Social Security administration can be frustrating. Therefore, it is critical to have experienced and skilled assistance from an experienced Social Security disability lawyer.

If you are not already represented by a Sacramento Social Security disability lawyer and want our evaluation, give us a brief description of your claim using the form to the right.

Or you may e-mail or call our office at:

Smolich & Smolich
Sacramento California Social Security disability attorneys

E-mail
Phone: 916-443-2988
Fax: 916-443-2675

3200 “J” Street
Sacramento, California 95816