- William J. La Croix
To apply or not to apply
Updated: Nov 15, 2019

From page 6 of my book:
First of all, Social Security Disability Insurance is a long term disability insurance
program administered by the Federal government. It is not welfare, nor is it being on
the dole. If you have paid your FICA or Self-Employment taxes for an adequate number
of “quarters”, you are entitled to apply for Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) if you
believe you are disabled from working.
If you are not insured, that is, you have not worked or paid enough to be insured into
Social Security, you may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), if you meet
certain financial criteria related to household income and resources.
Social Security will tell you whether you financially qualify for either or both benefits
when you apply. You may disagree with what Social Security tells you with regard to
qualifying for either. For example, SSA may show no earnings reported for a period of
time that you worked with the result that you don’t have enough “quarters” to be insured
for DIB benefits. In that instance, you can give SSA proof of employment for those
periods, such as W-2 forms, and request a correction of your earnings record.
2019