Am I eligible for benefits?
A person is considered eligible for disability benefits when they meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability. They define disability as the “inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months” or “blindness” as defined as “central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens.” There are several different programs that pay disabilities benefits and each program, besides requiring that you meet the disability definition, also has several other requirements in order to be eligible for disabilities benefits. The Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program are the two most common that pay disabilities benefits and both have different prerequisites. While the SSDI requires that you worked for a certain amount of time under Social Security, SSI requires that you have a limited income, limited resources, and be an American citizen or classified in an approved alien category.