What happens to SSDI benefits when turning FRA with only 29 work credits?
I'm posting on behalf of my sister who's really worried about her benefits. She's currently receiving Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and will reach her full retirement age (FRA) next year. The problem is she only has 29 work credits total from her employment history before she became disabled. She's panicking that her monthly payments will stop or be drastically reduced when she transitions from disability to retirement benefits. Does anyone know what actually happens in this situation? Will she lose her benefits completely? Will they convert automatically? She's been disabled for about 12 years now and really depends on that monthly check. Any insights would be really appreciated!
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Khalil Urso
my uncle had something like this happen he got to keep his benefits dont worry
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Nasira Ibanez
•Did they automatically convert his disability to retirement? Or did he have to apply for something new?
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Myles Regis
This is actually a common concern, but your sister doesn't need to worry. When someone on SSDI reaches their Full Retirement Age, their disability benefits automatically convert to retirement benefits, but the monthly amount stays exactly the same. The 40 credits (quarters of coverage) requirement applies to qualifying for benefits initially, not to the conversion at FRA. Since she's already been approved for disability and receiving SSDI for 12 years, she's in the system and will continue receiving the same monthly payment. No application needed - the transition is handled automatically by SSA's systems.
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Nasira Ibanez
•Thank you so much! That's a huge relief. So she won't see any change in her monthly amount at all? Does she need to contact SSA before this happens or will they just handle everything?
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Myles Regis
•She doesn't need to do anything - the transition happens automatically in SSA's system. The payment amount will remain identical, and even the payment dates will stay the same. She'll just notice that correspondence from SSA will start referring to her benefits as 'retirement' rather than 'disability.' There's truly nothing she needs to do.
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Brian Downey
Are you SURE she's on SSDI and not SSI?? This makes a HUGE difference!!! If she's on SSI (Supplemental Security Income) which is needs-based, then the rules are completely different! You need to find out EXACTLY which program she's on before getting advice!!!
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Nasira Ibanez
•She's definitely on SSDI. She worked enough to qualify before becoming disabled, just not the full 40 credits. Her benefit statement specifically says 'disability insurance benefits' not SSI.
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Jacinda Yu
glad you asked this cos im in almost same boat but only 31 credits. turning 65 next october and was worried sick bout this
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Myles Regis
•The same applies to your situation - your SSDI will automatically convert to retirement benefits at your Full Retirement Age with no change in the monthly amount. Just be aware that FRA varies based on birth year - for people born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67, not 65.
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Jacinda Yu
•thx for that info! gotta double check my FRA then
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Landon Flounder
I actually had a similar concern when I reached FRA last year after being on disability for 9 years. I can confirm what others have said - there was absolutely zero change in my benefit amount. The only difference I noticed was that my annual benefit statement now says "retirement" instead of "disability" and I'm no longer subject to the disability reviews. The transition was completely seamless, and I didn't have to do anything at all. By the way, if your sister has been having trouble reaching SSA by phone to verify this (their wait times are ridiculous), I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 5 minutes when I needed to ask some questions. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU
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Nasira Ibanez
•Thank you for sharing your experience! That's really reassuring to hear from someone who's been through it. And thanks for the Claimyr tip - she's been trying to call SSA for days with no luck, so she'll definitely look into that service.
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Callum Savage
•Just wanted to add that another benefit of reaching FRA is that your sister will no longer have to worry about medical reviews! Once SSDI converts to retirement, they stop doing those periodic disability reviews that cause so much stress. It's actually a nice little benefit of reaching that age milestone that many people don't realize.
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Ally Tailer
I think they might reduce her payment tho because normally you need 40 credits for full retirement. My neighbor said her cousin got less when she switched over because she didnt have enough work credits. Maybe its different for different people?
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Myles Regis
•That information is incorrect. The 40 credit requirement is for qualifying for retirement benefits initially. When someone is already receiving SSDI and reaches FRA, the benefits convert automatically with no reduction in payment. Your neighbor's cousin may have experienced a change for other reasons (like transitioning from SSI to retirement, or having an overpayment being recovered), but it wasn't because of insufficient credits after being on SSDI.
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Ally Tailer
•oh that makes sense. maybe she was talking about something else then
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Nasira Ibanez
Just wanted to update everyone and say THANK YOU for all the helpful responses! I showed my sister this thread and she's feeling much better. She's going to use that Claimyr service to confirm everything with SSA directly, but it's a huge relief to know her benefits should continue unchanged. You all have saved her so much worry and stress!
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Khalil Urso
•glad to hear! good luck to your sis
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