SSDI Work Credits Explained for Maryland

SSDI Work Credits Explained for Maryland

Social Security Disability Insurance is a federal program, but understanding how your work history translates into eligibility requires careful attention to detail — especially if you live and have worked in Maryland. Before the Social Security Administration (SSA) evaluates how severe your medical condition is, it first asks a threshold question: have you worked enough to qualify? The answer depends entirely on a system called work credits.

What Are SSDI Work Credits?

Work credits are the SSA's unit of measurement for your work history. Every year you pay Social Security (FICA) taxes through employment or self-employment, you earn credits based on your total wages or self-employment income. In 2025, you earn one credit for every $1,810 in covered earnings, up to a maximum of four credits per calendar year.

These credits accumulate over your entire working life. They do not expire in the traditional sense, but — critically — recent work matters just as much as total credits. The SSA uses two separate tests to determine whether you have earned enough:

• Duration of Work Test: How many total credits have you accumulated over your lifetime?
• Recent Work Test: Have you worked recently enough before becoming disabled?

Failing either test means denial, regardless of how serious your medical condition is. Many Maryland applicants are surprised to learn their application was rejected not because of their diagnosis, but because they left the workforce too many years ago without enough recent credits.

How Many Credits Do You Need?

The total number of credits required depends on the age at which you became disabled. The SSA recognizes that younger workers simply have not had as much time to accumulate work history, so the requirements are graduated accordingly.

• Before age 24: You need 6 credits earned in the 3-year period ending when your disability began.
• Ages 24–31: You need credits for half the time between age 21 and the onset of your disability.
• Age 31 and older: You generally need 20 credits earned in the 10 years immediately before your disability, plus additional credits based on age (typically 40 total).
• Age 62 or older: You need up to 40 total credits, with 20 earned in the prior 10 years.

For most Maryland workers who become disabled in their 40s or 50s — ages when serious medical conditions often emerge — the practical requirement is 40 total credits and 20 credits in the last 10 years. That translates to roughly five years of full-time work within the decade before disability onset.

Maryland-Specific Work Situations That Affect Credits

Maryland's economy includes a significant number of federal government employees, gig economy workers, and self-employed individuals — all of whom face unique considerations when it comes to SSDI credits.

Federal employees: Some long-term federal workers hired before 1984 may be covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) rather than Social Security. If you spent decades in federal employment without paying FICA taxes, you may have a substantial gap in your Social Security work record. In that situation, you might not qualify for SSDI at all and should explore Federal Disability Retirement (OPM disability) as an alternative.

Self-employed Marylanders: If you run a business, practice law, work as a contractor, or operate independently in any capacity, your SSDI credits depend on accurately reporting your net self-employment income to the IRS. Underreporting income to minimize taxes is a practice that can backfire severely — it reduces your credited earnings and can leave you without enough credits when you need them most.

Part-time and low-wage workers: Maryland's cost of living is among the highest in the mid-Atlantic region, yet many workers hold part-time positions or earn wages that, while meaningful, may not generate four full credits each year. If you earned $3,000 in a given year, for example, you received only one credit rather than four. Gaps in full-time employment — due to caregiving, illness, or economic disruption — can quietly erode your insured status.

Checking Your Insured Status Before Applying

The single most important step any Maryland resident can take before filing for SSDI is to review their Social Security earnings record. You can do this at any time through the SSA's online portal at ssa.gov by creating a my Social Security account. Your earnings record shows every year of reported income going back to your first job, and it calculates exactly how many credits you have earned.

Errors in this record are more common than most people expect. Wages from a former employer may be missing, self-employment income may not have been posted correctly, or a name change may have caused mismatches. Correcting these errors requires documentation — W-2s, tax returns, pay stubs — and it should be done as early as possible because the SSA has time limits on correcting older records.

Your record also shows your Date Last Insured (DLI). This is the date your SSDI coverage effectively expires if you stop working. To receive SSDI benefits, your disability must have begun before your DLI. Maryland applicants who stopped working years ago and are now applying must establish that their disabling condition began while they were still insured — not after coverage lapsed.

What Happens If You Don't Have Enough Credits

Insufficient work credits do not necessarily mean you are without options. The SSA administers a parallel program called Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which provides disability benefits based on financial need rather than work history. SSI is available to disabled individuals with limited income and resources, regardless of how many credits they have earned.

SSI benefit amounts are lower than SSDI payments and come with strict asset limits, but for Marylanders who did not work enough in covered employment, SSI may be the appropriate path. Maryland also supplements federal SSI payments through the Maryland Supplemental Security Income program, which can modestly increase your monthly benefit amount.

In some cases, a disabled person may qualify for both SSDI and SSI simultaneously — a situation known as concurrent benefits. This can occur when a worker has enough credits for SSDI but their monthly SSDI payment falls below the SSI threshold.

For those who do have sufficient credits but are denied on medical grounds, the appeals process — Reconsideration, then a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge — gives applicants a meaningful second and third opportunity to prove their case. Statistical data consistently shows that represented claimants fare significantly better at the ALJ hearing level than those who proceed without legal assistance.

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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