Someone 22 or younger CAN in fact qualify for SSDI based on their parents work record. And the work credits needed for a young person to qualify on their own work record are significantly reduced, so the argument that a young person that becomes disabled has a disadvantage with the current SSDI rules, just isn't true.

Choosing to Stay at Home does make a person vulenerable financially in some ways. When someone attempts to return to the workforce without an advanced degree or valued trade, they will be unlikely to make much income and have a decent SS retirement income as well. In this economy, young college graduates are often struggling to find jobs of any type, so there is no guarantee that the OP could have found work, had she been healthy, after her kids left the nest anyway.

My mother, who is 70, warned me that I needed to be careful to maintain my financial independence regardless of my husband's income and having children, because some of her friends were devastated financially in the 80's and 90's when they failed to receive alimony after being married even 20-30+ years.

The flip side is that being able to be a SAHM is a wonderful gift to your family and is very fulfilling personally for many...

If you started work at age 16, worked every year for the next 34 years, you would have stopped work at age 50 and should have had enough Social Security credits to create a date last insured at age 55. But that doesn't correspond with getting sick at a young age and being unable to work.

Perhaps your work was sporadic, you worked off and on for 34 years, or for cash, or for places that didn't pay into Social Security.

Got sick at 29, and worked out of my home as an artist. I did 10 years of a trial study, in between going to art shows. Took Chemo, is what it was. Since that time, developed 4 auto immune diseases, and had 9 surgeries. Worked inbetween all of them, The last one took me out of commission at 54 years old. I worked as much as huminaly possible. You only can do what you can do under those circumstances. I had too many breaks inbetween for treatment and recovery. The 10 years of the trial study was the hardest. I can garden sitting on my butt now, but it would be hard to find a job like that. Can't look up or down well, or walk, stand for any length of time. My joints are shot. ginnie

Ginnie's story is important because it shows how crucial working and paying Social Security taxes can be for people who are not wealthy. Disability can strike at any time and without Social Security disability, there would be many many many people who would run out of life savings pretty quickly and would either rely on family or public assistance like SSI. Working out her home, probably for cash: I am guessing that no self-employment tax returns were filed for some of the years and no FICA taxes paid on some of those years since there was no employer.

There are many people who don't make a plan for this kind of possibility, who never took the time to understand why certain taxes are paid (FICA vs income tax) and are quite surprised later in life when they don't qualify, like the OP. When you are working, it is nicer to have the money in your pocket now rather than paying a FICA tax for some old-age pension. The information has always been available, but it would require searching it out. I suppose it could be taught in some life skill class in high school, but teenagers are the least likely to absorb that information since they tend to believe they are indestructible.

Becoming disabled at age 29 will not allow for entitlement on a parent. Childhood disability benefits were designed for adults who did become disabled either at birth or as children since they would have had no chance to earn Social Security credits on their own. Mostly the developmentally disabled but also children who had serious medical conditions early.

I had a CPA. I paid taxes in each state that I went to. The shows are required by law to collect sales tax at the site of the show. I filed, but I had alot of deductions. Mrs. Kruegar did what she thought was best for me under the circumstances. What I had was alot of time between shows or breaks in the work records. I worked for 9 years before I got sick and of course filed regular. I had a 10 year break from working at all, during my trial studies. That set me back to square one. It was lack of insurance which was denied to me that hurt the most. My folks paid out of pocket for treatment, and of course that hurt them too. I don't know what else I could have done. You have to work consecutive years to get adequate help. I had too much wrong with me to do that. ginnie

I did file social security for every show that I did. It is required by law. I had a CPA. What I had was a work record that was scattered due to illness. ginnie

I owe you an apology for making an assumption that was out of line. I am sorry. I will be more thoughtful before I post again.

I began working at 16, and became disabled in my late 20's and receive a substantial SSDI payment on my own work record.

SS gives a person 5 years in which to file for SSDI before they face ineligibity--which is a long time IMO.

It is important to let people know how important their work credits are and to pick up a long term disability policy as young as possible.

Ginnie's situation is complicated and involves issues that the vast majority of disabled worker's will not ever face, such as how to retain possession of a valuable home via a trust, while collecting SSI and/or Medicaid.

I was hoping this thread wouldn't get derailed, but it seems to be too late, so I'll add my family's experiences. I had an aunt that was an artist and owned an expensive home in the Bay Area, which she was forced to sell after working many years as a successful graphic artist when book publishing began to change and utilize employees that did the work on computers. She struggled for many years and bought down a few times so she could live off part of her home sale proceeds. She worked part time, from home, making just enough to get by and ended up with cancer. At the time, CA offered insurance for those that didn't qualify for Medicaid and had serious health issues. My mom and grandparents were often forced to cover the cost, which was very high. The reality is, that it is incredibly difficult to make a living as an artist, so unless you are in the 1% luck and talent wise, it can be a tough way to make a living. My mother, who chose a more stable and practical occupation, subsidized my aunt's lifestyle choices for many years.

When my mom retired, she very generously offered to add me as a beneficiary to her pension. If she dies before I do, I'll receive a portion of her monthly income. At the time, I had not yet been approved for SSDI, and we discussed if it made sense for her to reduce her own retirement AND make me ineligible for potential entitlement programs in the future--SSI, Medicaid, Section 8, food stamps, etc. She chose to make the sacrifice, so that I would have the security, and not ever have to worry about government policies and funding.

I also spend nearly $500 a month on insurance because I carry a high tier Medicare supplement, while many gamble that they don't need it. (Most of my medical expenses are covered by WC.) It's a major sacrifice to ensure my long term financial stability.

I'm also relocating to an area with a lower cost of living, so I can afford to buy a home. Which is something that many people on SS are faced with.

So, while I can feel great empathy for those that are struggling, I also think it would be unfair for the public to have to pay for the consequences of their decisions, unless they're destitute.

No problem. We don't know what the other does, until we tell them. If you would like to see what I did for a living, I still have my web site out there. PM me and I will send you the address of it on the internet.
I really did do things the right way, and tried my best. The Name of my business was Noah's Country Ark. I never ever would have quit, it was my life, my passion, and they still dance in my dreams. I did miniatures in 1/2 inch scale, or about the size of a dime. I was blessed to have this business Janke, and developed it while I was taking chemo. A good way to channel the pain. ginnie

Thank you for telling me about your Aunt. You are very right about it being hard to be an artist. I raised two kids alone on the business I had. I was very lucky to have developed this art form, and make a small but good living from it. I did my absolute best. I did know I was in trouble Lit Love, from the very first, I did all I could do. PM me and I can show you what I did. ginnie
PS. sorry if I side tracked the thread.....