The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance (RSDI) program. A portion of an individual’s earnings or payroll taxes fund gets withdrawn from their paycheck. The SSA divides these funds among applicants depending on whether they meet eligibility requirements.
Applicants must have worked 40 or more work quarters and meet other age, disability or dependent requirements to qualify for RSDI benefits.
Anyone who applies for benefits must be a retired person who meets existing SSA age requirements. To explain how this would work, take the example of a 65-year-old spouse who has made Social Security (SS) contributions through paycheck deductions for 40 years. If that individual retires and comes home to their 66-year-old wife who never worked outside of the home, then both husband and wife may be eligible RSDI benefits based on the husband’s contribution alone.
Individuals can qualify for RSDI based on them having a long-term disability. This portion of the program forms part of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) one.
If a worker becomes so incapacitated that they are unable to work for 12 months or more, they may qualify for RSDI. The working spouses’ SS paycheck deductions would fund these monthly payments. How much the recipient would be eligible to receive may vary. It’s closely tied into how much in earnings they received and paid into the SSA system during that time.
The final type of recipient eligible to receive RSDI are dependents of wage earners who have passed away. If a worker contributes to the SS system for a certain amount of years and dies leaving behind a spouse and minor children, then the husband or wife may be eligible to apply for and receive RSDI benefits on behalf of his or her minor children, not oneself.
State officials here in Minnesota allow some RSDI recipients to exclude the RSDI benefits that they receive from consideration to qualify for Medical Assistance. State representatives may refer individuals with specific diagnoses to apply for other SSA programs should they not meet the requirements to receive RSDI. A Retirement, Survivors & Disability Insurance attorney can help determine whether you qualify for this SSA program’s benefits and, if so, help you apply for them here in Minneapolis.
