AMERICANS with disabilities can receive financial support through a variety of non-profit organizations and government programs, including Social Security Disability Insurance.
See how SSDI works and the maximum benefit you can receive, as well as more on an upcoming calendar quirk for a second program benefitting individuals with disabilities.
The Social Security Disability Insurance program, or SSDI, is a major disability program in the US, benefitting millions of Americans each month[/caption]
More than 70 million adults in the US, or over one in 4, report having a disability, according to the CDC.
The Social Security Disability Insurance program, or SSDI, is the biggest disability program in the country, handing out monthly payments to millions of disabled workers and their families.
Americans must meet certain requirements to qualify for SSDI benefits, including being blind or having a disability that stops or limits their ability to work for a year or more or will result in death.
Applicants must also have worked in jobs covered by Social Security long enough to earn sufficient “work credits,” which are based on a worker’s total annual wages or self-employment income.
Generally, workers need 40 credits to qualify for SSDI payments, with 20 earned in the last 10 years.
The maximum monthly payment for SSDI this year is $4,018, up from $3,822 last year thanks to the cost-of-living adjustment.
Are you eligible for SSDI benefits?
To qualify for SSDI benefits, you must have sufficient work experience in jobs covered by Social Security and have a medical condition that meets the SSA’s strict definition of disability.
Work requirement:
Work credits are based on a worker’s total annual wages or self-employment income, with the ability to earn up to four credits yearly.
The amount needed for a work credit changes from year to year.
This year, Americans earn one work credit for each $1,810 in wages or self-employment income they work in each quarter of the year.
Once they have earned $7,240, they have earned their four credits for the year.
The number of work credits need to qualify for SSDI depends on one’s age when their disability begins.
Disability requirement:
SSDI benefits are only paid out to those with a total disability, not a partial or short-term disability.
The SSA consider Americans to have a qualifying disability if all the following are true:
- You cannot do work at the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level because of your medical condition.
- You cannot do work you did previously or adjust to other work because of your medical condition.
- Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 consecutive months or to result in death.
Source: SSA
In 2024, disabled workers received an average payment of $1,537 per month from SSDI.
The average SSDI payment in 2025 is roughly $1,580 to $1,590 per month for a single disabled worker, although some Americans may receive significantly more or less than this amount.
Many individuals on SSDI receive between $1,200 and $2,000 each month.
The amount that beneficiaries receive from SSDI each month is based on their lifetime earnings rather than their current or household income.
Recipients are subject to a limit on how much they can earn from working, known as Substantial Gainful Activity, or SGA, which was $1,620 per month in 2024.
MORE MONEY
Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is another crucial government-run disability program, offering payments to Americans with disabilities who have limited income and resources.
Unlike SSDI, SSI is based on one’s financial need rather than their work history.
SSI benefits are available to those who are disabled, blind, or aged 65 or older and have very limited financial means.
Disability stats
- 13.9% of US adults have a cognition disability with serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.
- 12.2% of US adults have a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
- 7.7% of US adults have an independent living disability with difficulty doing errands alone.
- 6.2% of US adults are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing.
- 5.5% of US adults have a vision disability with blindness or serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses.
- 3.6% of US adults have a self-care disability with difficulty dressing or bathing.
Source: CDC
This can include people who have never worked or have not worked enough to qualify for SSDI, such as those disabled from a young age or stay-at-home parents.
The maximum monthly SSI benefit in 2025 is $967 for individuals – up from $943 last year thanks to COLA – and $1,450 for couples.
Those who are eligible can receive both disability and SSI benefits at the same time, which can occur if you are eligible for SSDI but your monthly benefit amount is very low.
CHECK YOUR CALENDAR
SSI benefits are generally handed out on the first day of each month.
However, if the first of the month falls on a weekend or a federal holiday, the payment is issued on the last business day before the first.
This scheduling rule often results in SSI recipients receiving their benefits for the upcoming month at the end of the current month.
For example, beneficiaries will receive two SSI payments this month and none in September thanks to a calendar quirk.
This is because Labor Day falls on September 1, 2025, resulting in September’s SSI payment being sent out on Friday, August 29, 2025.
Americans should take note of other changes over at the SSA, including Social Security bosses backtracking after issuing an August 18 deadline for recipients of a check worth $5,108.
Plus, Social Security’s plan to “save the benefits” was announced as millions of Americans are set to see the funds run out.
