General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why are republicans targeting SSDI benefits and not SS benefits too? [View all]thucythucy
(9,103 posts)See my post above.
The children of SSDI recipients can get benefits, which they lose as soon as they turn 21, unless they themselves are disabled, in which case they'd also be eligible for SSI. But I think the vast majority of SSDI recipients are workers who at some point became too disabled to continue working.
You can get the SSDI eligibility requirements from the SSA website. Off hand, I think you have to have worked a certain minimum number of quarters within the past ten years to be eligible. My recollection is that it's five years of quarters within the last ten, but I could be wrong about that. The point is--SSDI is for people who have paid into the system.
SSI is for people who became disabled before age 21, and thus couldn't reasonably be expected to have worked the minimum required for SSDI.