SSDI Work Credits: Maryland Applicants Guide

SSDI Work Credits: Maryland Applicants Guide

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) operates on a work history foundation. Unlike Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is need-based, SSDI requires applicants to have paid into the Social Security system through payroll taxes over a sufficient period. Understanding how work credits function is essential for any Maryland resident considering an SSDI claim.

What Are Social Security Work Credits?

Work credits are the unit the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses to measure your qualifying work history. You earn credits based on your annual 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 year.

The dollar threshold adjusts annually with wage inflation, so the exact figure may differ slightly by the year you apply. What does not change is the four-credit annual cap — no matter how much you earn in a given year, you cannot bank more than four credits for that year.

Credits never expire and never disappear once earned. A Maryland worker who accumulated 30 credits over a decade in the construction industry, took time off, and then became disabled years later can still rely on those previously earned credits — subject to the recency rules discussed below.

How Many Credits Do You Need to Qualify?

The SSA applies a two-part test to determine whether your work history is sufficient:

• Total credits requirement: You generally need 40 credits, 20 of which must have been earned in the 10 years immediately before you became disabled.
• Age-based exceptions: Younger workers need fewer credits. If you become disabled before age 24, you may qualify with as few as 6 credits earned in the 3-year period ending when your disability began. Workers disabled between ages 24 and 31 need credits for half the period between age 21 and the onset of disability.

A Maryland nurse who worked from age 22 to 35 before a serious illness forced her out of the workforce would likely have well over 40 credits. A 26-year-old warehouse worker disabled after only a few years of employment may still qualify under the reduced-credit rules for younger workers.

The key document that captures your credit history is your Social Security Statement, available through your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. Maryland residents should review this statement before filing to confirm their insured status and avoid surprises during the claims process.

The "Insured Status" Deadline and Why It Matters

Earning enough credits is only part of the equation. The SSA also requires that your disability began while you were still insured for disability benefits — a status that has an expiration date called the Date Last Insured (DLI).

If you stop working, you continue to hold insured status for a period, typically five years after you last met the 20-credits-in-10-years threshold. Once that window closes, you lose your insured status. A Maryland resident who stopped working in 2018 and applies for SSDI in 2026 claiming disability from a 2025 accident may find that their DLI had already passed before the disabling condition arose, making them ineligible for SSDI — even if they have 40 lifetime credits.

This is one of the most common and avoidable reasons Maryland SSDI claims are denied at the initial stage. Filing promptly after the onset of disability is critical. If you believe you became disabled while still insured, gather medical evidence documenting your condition during that specific period — not just evidence from after your DLI.

Maryland-Specific Considerations for Work Credit Issues

Maryland's economy includes a significant number of government workers, particularly federal employees in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Federal employees hired before January 1, 1984 were covered under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), which did not pay into Social Security. If you spent a career as a pre-1984 federal employee and have limited Social Security work credits as a result, you may not have sufficient credits for SSDI — though you may have separate disability retirement options through your federal pension.

Maryland also has a high concentration of healthcare workers, contractors, and self-employed professionals. Self-employed Marylanders pay self-employment tax, which includes both the employee and employer share of Social Security taxes, and those earnings count toward work credits just as W-2 wages do. However, unreported or under-reported self-employment income — a common issue for gig workers and small business owners — can result in a credit shortfall that only becomes apparent at claim time.

Workers in Maryland's agricultural and domestic service sectors sometimes encounter issues with employers who failed to properly withhold and remit Social Security taxes. If you suspect your earnings were not properly credited, you can request an earnings record review from the SSA and dispute inaccurate records with supporting documentation such as W-2s, pay stubs, or tax returns.

What Happens If You Do Not Have Enough Work Credits?

Falling short of the required work credits does not necessarily mean you have no path to disability benefits. Two alternatives deserve consideration:

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI): SSI does not require any work history. It is available to disabled individuals with limited income and resources. The federal benefit rate in 2025 is $967 per month for an individual. Maryland does not currently supplement the federal SSI payment with a state add-on, unlike some neighboring states.
• Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits: If you became disabled before age 22 and a parent is receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits (or has died), you may be eligible for benefits based on your parent's work record rather than your own.

An experienced disability attorney can evaluate which program fits your situation and help you build the strongest possible case under the applicable rules.

Work credits are a threshold requirement, but crossing that threshold is only the beginning. You must still prove that you have a medically determinable impairment expected to last at least 12 months or result in death, and that the impairment prevents you from performing any substantial gainful activity. In Maryland, the initial determination is handled by the Disability Determination Services (DDS) office in Baltimore, which reviews medical evidence submitted by applicants and their treating providers.

If your claim is denied — as the majority are at the initial level — you have 60 days to request reconsideration and, if needed, a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Missing those deadlines can cost you your filing date and the back pay that comes with it.

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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