SSDI Work Credits: What Maryland Residents Need to Know

SSDI Work Credits: What Maryland Residents Need to Know

Qualifying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) requires more than a disabling medical condition. You must also have accumulated enough work credits through your employment history. For Maryland residents navigating the disability system, understanding how work credits function can make the difference between approval and denial before an application is ever submitted.

What Are Work Credits and How Are They Earned?

Work credits are the Social Security Administration's (SSA) measure of your work history and contributions to the Social Security system. Every year you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn credits based on your total wages or self-employment income.

In 2025, you earn one credit for every $1,730 in covered earnings, up to a maximum of four credits per year. This threshold adjusts annually with wage inflation. Whether you work full-time, part-time, or are self-employed in Maryland, any income subject to FICA payroll taxes counts toward your credit total.

Credits accumulate over your lifetime and do not expire in the way that eligibility does. However, recent work history matters significantly for SSDI purposes — the SSA requires that you have worked recently enough, not just that you worked at some point in the past.

How Many Credits Do You Need to Qualify in Maryland?

The number of credits required depends on your age at the time you become disabled. Maryland residents are subject to the same federal SSA rules as applicants nationwide:

• Under age 24: You need 6 credits earned in the 3-year period ending when your disability begins.
• Ages 24–31: You need credits for half the time between age 21 and the onset of your disability.
• Age 31 or older: You generally need 20 credits earned in the 10 years immediately before your disability began, plus a total credit requirement that rises with age — maxing out at 40 credits for those disabled at age 62 or older.

For most working adults in Maryland who become disabled in their 40s or 50s, the practical requirement is 40 total credits with 20 earned in the last 10 years. A worker who spent years out of the workforce — due to caregiving, illness, or unemployment — may find their insured status has lapsed even if they worked extensively earlier in life.

The Concept of "Date Last Insured" and Why It Matters

Your Date Last Insured (DLI) is the deadline by which your disability must have begun for you to qualify for SSDI based on your work record. Once your insured status lapses due to insufficient recent work, you can no longer claim SSDI benefits for a disability that began after that date — even if the condition is severe and fully disabling.

This is a critical and often misunderstood aspect of SSDI. A Maryland resident who stopped working in 2018 due to a chronic condition but did not apply for SSDI until 2025 may find their DLI has already passed. In that situation, the SSA will evaluate whether the disability existed and was severe enough before the DLI — not at the time of application.

Establishing an onset date prior to your DLI requires medical records, treating physician statements, and sometimes testimony from vocational experts. This is one of the most technically demanding aspects of a disability claim and a common area where applicants make costly mistakes without legal assistance.

Maryland-Specific Considerations for Work Credit Issues

Maryland's economy — anchored in federal government employment, healthcare, and defense contracting — means many residents work in covered employment their entire careers. However, several situations unique to Maryland workers create work credit complications:

• State and local government employees: Some Maryland state and county employees participate in pension systems that historically excluded Social Security coverage. Workers in these positions may have gaps in covered earnings even after long careers.
• Self-employed contractors and freelancers: The Baltimore and DC metro areas have large populations of independent contractors. Self-employed individuals must pay both the employee and employer share of FICA taxes (15.3%) to earn credits. Failure to report self-employment income correctly can result in missing credits.
• Agricultural and domestic workers: Certain seasonal agricultural workers and household employees in Maryland may have had employers who did not properly withhold or remit Social Security taxes, causing undetected gaps in their earnings record.
• Multiple short-term jobs: Workers in hospitality, construction, and service industries common throughout Maryland may have worked consistently but in roles where individual employers issued W-2s with minimal reported earnings, resulting in fewer credits than expected.

If you suspect your earnings record is incomplete, you can request your Social Security Statement through your My Social Security online account at ssa.gov. Reviewing this record before applying is strongly advisable.

What If You Don't Have Enough Work Credits?

Not having enough work credits to qualify for SSDI does not necessarily mean you have no options. Several alternatives exist for Maryland residents who fall short:

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a need-based program administered by the SSA that does not require work credits. SSI is available to disabled individuals with limited income and resources, regardless of their work history. In Maryland, SSI recipients may also qualify for Medicaid and, in some cases, a small state supplement to their federal benefit.

If your work credit shortage stems from time spent caring for a disabled spouse or child, or from a period of illness that prevented employment, a disability attorney can evaluate whether any exceptions or alternative onset dates apply to your claim. In some cases, amending the alleged onset date to a period when you were still insured — even if that means accepting a later start to benefits — may be the most practical path forward.

Workers who are currently employed but facing a worsening medical condition should be aware that continuing to work, even part-time, preserves and builds credits. If you can safely continue working in any capacity, maintaining that employment history may protect your future SSDI eligibility.

Steps to Protect Your SSDI Eligibility

Maryland residents who are concerned about their work credit status or disability eligibility should take the following steps:

• Review your annual Social Security Statement to verify your earnings record is accurate and complete.
• If you find discrepancies, contact the SSA with your W-2s, tax returns, or pay stubs to correct the record — errors can be corrected but the process takes time.
• Determine your current DLI by consulting with an attorney or using SSA's online tools before your condition worsens.
• Apply promptly if you become disabled — delays can result in missed back pay and, in some cases, a lapsed DLI.
• Document your medical treatment thoroughly; a strong medical record is essential to proving disability onset occurred while you were still insured.

Work credits are a threshold requirement, but meeting that threshold is only the beginning of the SSDI process. Maryland applicants face lengthy wait times at local field offices and the Office of Hearings Operations in Baltimore, making early and accurate preparation essential to a successful claim.

Need Help? If you have questions about your case, call or text 833-657-4812 for a free consultation with an experienced attorney.

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