When a person gets paid at work, the employer is required to deduct certain things from the employee’s pay. One of those things is a deduction for Social Security. A person “pays in” during his or her years of employment, and then is able to draw Social Security benefits at retirement. If that person is disabled before retirement age, the Administration may allow that person to draw those benefits early. The Administration must make a determination that the person is unable to perform their past work or any other type of fulltime work. The person’s claim must also be supported by the medical records that confirm either a medical condition, a mental health condition or both, that keeps them from working. The administration takes into account the person’s age, education and past work experience in making the disability determination.

If an adult is unable to work, but does not qualify for disability payments because he or she does not have a history of employment, he or she may qualify for SSI. SSI is significantly different that disability insurance. SSI is need-based, meaning that a person must qualify medically (have a disabling physical or mental condition) and financially (he or she must have low income and little to now assets). There are also some situations where a child (under 18 years of age) may be evaluated in 6 “domains” (Acquiring and using information, Attending and completing tasks, Interacting with and relating to others, Moving about and using objects, Caring for self, Health and physical well-being) to see if the child is disabled.