Social Security Disability Calculator

Social Security Disability Insurance pays a monthly benefit to people who can no longer work because of a qualifying disability, and two things decide what you receive: your work history and your lifetime earnings. Enter both here to gauge whether you have enough credits to qualify and to estimate the monthly amount, all computed against the latest 2026 Social Security Administration figures for work credits and average indexed monthly earnings.

Eligibility is checked first. The calculator counts 4 work credits for each year worked and compares them with Social Security's requirement for your age: 6 credits before 24, credit for half the time since 21 from 24 to 30, and from 31 one credit per year after 21 with a minimum of 20, rising to 40 at 62. It also checks that you worked in at least 5 years, a stand-in for the rule of 20 credits in the last 10 years. For the benefit, your average annual earnings divided by 12 stand in for Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), and the 2026 bend points turn that into a Primary Insurance Amount: 90% of the first $1,286, 32% up to $7,749 and 15% above.

Work credits track your earnings rather than the number of years on the job, which trips up many applicants. Younger workers in particular tend to assume they need fewer credits than the rules actually require. Because the estimate is only as good as the earnings you enter, even small inaccuracies in your wage history can shift the projected benefit noticeably.