Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) protects workers against disability-related income losses. Disability is prevalent in young adulthood, with 26.4% of adults with disabilities aged 18-39. SSDI eligibility, which requires credits based on age and work history, may not be suitable for those with multiple work disruptions, especially during young adulthood, when experiences like post-secondary education and transition-to-parenthood may delay/limit work history. Little is known about eligibility disparities among 18-34-year-olds. Using the PSID (2005-2018), this study descriptively estimates the proportion of young adults meeting SSDI work-credit eligibility at each age by sex, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, and first transition-into-parenthood. Preliminary findings indicate that SSDI eligibility peaked at only 75% for both men and women. Then with random effect models I examine the likelihood of eligibility across characteristics while controlling for covariates. These results demonstrate the SSDI’s potential limitations for young adults and how the SSDI's eligibility rules may better support workers.

Accepted Oral Presentation