how do i get SSI Changed to SSDI

[frankp747]

New Jersey (only U.S. law)?
I am presently on SSI but i have worked all my life since i was 16 years old and i have more then enough credits worked i was advised that when i filed for SSDI since i had been working at a government agency that did not collect Social Security taxes and so i then i became disabled and then when i applied for disability was told i did not qualify for ssdi but ssi I feel this is against the law no one should be allowed to remove credits we work for not even the SSA Social Security Administration , what recourse do i have any one to help me Please

[TheGeekess]

New Jersey (only U.S. law)?
I am presently on SSI but i have worked all my life since i was 16 years old and i have more then enough credits worked i was advised that when i filed for SSDI since i had been working at a government agency that did not collect Social Security taxes and so i then i became disabled and then when i applied for disability was told i did not qualify for ssdi but ssi I feel this is against the law no one should be allowed to remove credits we work for not even the SSA Social Security Administration , what recourse do i have any one to help me Please

You don't qualify. You may have paid into the system at some point, but you're saying that your last job didn't pay into the system. One has to have a job paying into the system for so many quarters before one can qualify for SSDI. You have not.

[FlyingRon]

Working for the civil service or other entities not participating in the Social Security doesn't "erase" credits, you just don't earn them. If you were working under the old civil service rules, you should have investigated if you have benefits there.

If you worked enough quarters in jobs that did pay in to SS, you should be approved for SSDI given your application and proof of your disability (which presumably you have if you are on SSI).

[TheGeekess]

We measure work in "work credits." You can earn up to four work credits per year based on your annual earnings. The amount of earnings required for a work credit increases each year as general wage levels rise.

To be eligible for most types of benefits (such as benefits based on blindness or retirement), you must have earned an average of one work credit for each calendar year between age 21 and the year in which you reach age 62 or become disabled or blind, up to a maximum of 40 credits. A minimum of six work credits is required, regardless of age.

To qualify for Social Security benefits based on a disability other than blindness, you must have worked long enough and recently enough under Social Security. The number of work credits you need for disability benefits depends on your age when you became disabled. You generally need 20 work credits earned in the last 10 years ending with the year you become disabled. However, younger workers may qualify with fewer credits.

The rules are as follows:
Before age 24 –– You may qualify if you have six work credits earned in the three–year period ending when your disability starts.
Age 24 to 31 –– You may qualify if you have credit for having worked half the time between age 21 and the time you become disabled.
EXAMPLE: If at age 27 you become disabled, you would need 12 work credits in the past six years (between age 21 and age 27).

Age 31 and older –– In general, you will need to have the number of work credits shown in the chart below. You must have earned at least 20 of the credits in the 10 years immediately before you become disabled.

[url=http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ssi/text-entitle-ussi.htm]Understanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI)-- Social Security Entitlement[/url]

(Bolding mine.)

[Onderzoek]

New Jersey (only U.S. law)?
I am presently on SSI but i have worked all my life since i was 16 years old and i have more then enough credits worked i was advised that when i filed for SSDI since i had been working at a government agency that did not collect Social Security taxes and so i then i became disabled and then when i applied for disability was told i did not qualify for ssdi but ssi I feel this is against the law no one should be allowed to remove credits we work for not even the SSA Social Security Administration , what recourse do i have any one to help me Please

Look at your old W-2 forms for the government agency. You should see that you did not pay FICA or OASDI taxes, but that you did pay into another program, some state or local pension plan that actually was more generous than SSA would have been in terms of retirement and disability benefits. How many years are you vested in that plan? Have you checked with that agency to see if you qualify for benefits? The only way the agency was allowed to opt out of SSA was that they were offering you a better deal.

The downside of this is that that government agency plan may have allowed you to withdraw all your contributions when stopped working. Is that what you did?

One of the great benefits of the Social Security system is that it is a portable retirement/disability program, that you can be paying in to it at many different employers. Alot of people want to change it to a voluntary program or allow employees to invest in the market, like an investment account, or allow employees to opt out of the system entirely. That would solve some problems and create a whole lot more.