Are work credits & benefits reduced over time between leaving job and applying for SSDI?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I'm pretty sure I meet the criteria for disability. I was diagnosed with rapid-cycling manic depression thirty-five years ago and was hospitalized many times. I still managed to get my law degree when I was 30 and work as a litigator for fifteen years, but job stress and constant traveling caused my condition to deteriorate and I was hospitalized again in early 2008. I tried to work after I got out, but was just not stable enough to continue beyond May of that year. My psychiatrist told me to stop working while we tried to get my treatment-resistant condition under control.

I've seen my psychiatrist about once a week for over twelve years and he thinks I qualified for disability some time ago because my periods of stability since 2008 have never lasted long enough for me to regularly handle more than caring for my child and other basic family responsibilities. I never applied because I thought I could recover enough to work again. After seven years, that seems unlikely.

In 2008, my Social Security Statement indicated that I had enough work credits to qualify for disability, but it says that this was based on estimated taxable earnings of $102,000 per year after 2007. I did earn five months salary in 2008, but essentially nothing thereafter. I've searched, but can't figure out whether credits are reduced over the the time between quitting work and applying for disability. I'm also not sure if I'm automatically disqualified because I only worked 4.5 of the past 10 years. My husband's income and our assets prevent qualification for SSI.

Thank you!

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