When people think of the Social Security disability benefits program, they are normally thinking of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. SSDI is a program where workers have taxes withheld from their paychecks each pay period. Some of the tax withheld goes to federal and state income and some goes to fund federal benefits programs like the Social Security programs. However, the money is then further divided and some goes to fund the Social Security retirement fund and some goes to fund the Social Security disability programs. SSDI is one of these programs.
After paying taxes by working for a specific number of fiscal quarters in a row, workers earn credits into the SSDI program. Essentially, every worker is paying a premium for disability insurance in case that worker suffers an injury or illness that causes a disability and prevents that person from working full or part time. Continue reading