Graduate students and paying into Social Security (disability related question)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference between being disabled and never working (and collecting benefits) and becoming disabled and collecting benefits? Sorry, I don’t know anything about this sort of thing. Why are they different?

If you have never worked, or you have not worked enough to qualify for SSDI, the benefit you can get is called SSI, and it is not a lot of money. I think the maximum monthly SSI benefit right now is $994. And to remain qualified for this $994 monthly benefit, you really can have no assets. I think the maximum you can have in a savings account is $2,000.

If you have worked the required number of credits, and paid into SSDI all your years, the maximum benefit is much more: $4018 per month. And it is not means-tested - you can have a million in the bank in assets, it doesn't matter.

So very, very different in terms of what kind of life you can have, if you have the misfortune to become disabled.

This is all true. But I think this post somewhat overstates the likelihood of an SSDI recipient getting the maximum payout. It is based on earnings, so someone early in earning pay that is subject to payroll taxes is not likely to see anywhere near $4018 in SSDI. The average monthly benefit in 2025 was $1580 per month.

OP, are you saying that your kid has never worked a W2 job? Because literally anything they did for pay--even minimum wage--for which FICA was deducted is potentially an eligible quarter. It takes $1890 in payroll-taxed earnings quarter, with a max of four earnable per year. 40 quarters needed for SSDI coverage. There is an adjustment to the 40-quarter requirement for recipients ages 24-30. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/credits.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the difference between being disabled and never working (and collecting benefits) and becoming disabled and collecting benefits? Sorry, I don’t know anything about this sort of thing. Why are they different?

If you have never worked, or you have not worked enough to qualify for SSDI, the benefit you can get is called SSI, and it is not a lot of money. I think the maximum monthly SSI benefit right now is $994. And to remain qualified for this $994 monthly benefit, you really can have no assets. I think the maximum you can have in a savings account is $2,000.

If you have worked the required number of credits, and paid into SSDI all your years, the maximum benefit is much more: $4018 per month. And it is not means-tested - you can have a million in the bank in assets, it doesn't matter.

So very, very different in terms of what kind of life you can have, if you have the misfortune to become disabled.

This is all true. But I think this post somewhat overstates the likelihood of an SSDI recipient getting the maximum payout. It is based on earnings, so someone early in earning pay that is subject to payroll taxes is not likely to see anywhere near $4018 in SSDI. The average monthly benefit in 2025 was $1580 per month.

OP, are you saying that your kid has never worked a W2 job? Because literally anything they did for pay--even minimum wage--for which FICA was deducted is potentially an eligible quarter. It takes $1890 in payroll-taxed earnings quarter, with a max of four earnable per year. 40 quarters needed for SSDI coverage. There is an adjustment to the 40-quarter requirement for recipients ages 24-30. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/credits.html

Yeah - he worked very few W2 jobs. A couple small summer things. In undergrad he worked as a TA for 2 years but that didn't pay into SS.

You are right about a young person not earning a lot to earn the maximum in SSDI of course. It's just the fact that he has almost no credits right now 2 years post graduation (due to the post-bac not paying into SS either) and now looking at another 5 years of not paying into SS.

At thirty he could (in his field) start earning a decent salary but have no few credits into SS. I suppose at that point, he could buy private disability insurance at least.

[Anonymous]

Interesting video I found supporting my concern:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD1Ipmy9AIE

[Anonymous]

And this:

https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/04/14/the-hidden-financial-costs-and-risks-of-graduate-and-postdoctoral-fellowships-and-grants-in-the-u-s/

While we’re on the topic of retirement, let’s consider another potential downside to fellowships (as opposed to earned income): you don’t pay social security taxes. While that’s a nice thing in the short term (you get to keep more money!), in the long term many years without earned income might mean you have to work longer into retirement age or take a lower social security payment in retirement. Is this a big deal? You can think about it like this: your social security benefits are based on your top 35 years of earnings. If you start out working when you’re 22, and have 5 years of fellowship income, that means you need to work until least 62 years of age to get fully social security benefits, which seems pretty reasonable. This assumes, though, that nothing happens in your life that causes additional years of low or no income. So while the fact that while you are on fellowship, you are losing years of social security contributions isn’t a huge deal, it is something to be aware of.

Something that is perhaps a bigger issue is the disability coverage that social security provides. This was completely off my radar until the husband of a friend was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. He was the sole income-earner for the family of four, and he was suddenly unable to work for an indefinite period of time. If find yourself unable to work due to a disability that is going to last for at least a year, you can apply for social security disability payments. But you won’t be eligible for them if you haven’t “worked” enough recently – and fellowships don’t count. In particular, if you’re young and most of your adult income has been through fellowships or other jobs that don’t pay into social security (like many teaching jobs), you may not be eligible for disability payments at all. So if you’re on fellowships for extended periods of time, you might look into purchasing long-term disability insurance. (And while you’re at it, you might consider short-term disability insurance, too.)

[Anonymous]

If person is that concerned they should leave grad school and get FICA jobs. Seriously one or the other.
Person can look at SSA records and see what they have.
Everybody ought to check that periodically.

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html#:~:text=Your%20Social%20Security%20Statement%20(Statement,benefits%20and%20current%20earnings%20history.

[Anonymous]

Summer internship is the answer; $8k over a summer seems within reason.
Your student can inquire about taking-on additional TA duties, if that’d pay in. International students are limited to a 50% assistantship but many times, domestic students can work up to 67%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If person is that concerned they should leave grad school and get FICA jobs. Seriously one or the other.
Person can look at SSA records and see what they have.
Everybody ought to check that periodically.

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html#:~:text=Your%20Social%20Security%20Statement%20(Statement,benefits%20and%20current%20earnings%20history.

Yeah - "Person" is currently 24 has has three credits. His work history was all jobs that didn't pay into FICA.

If he goes to graduate school for the next 5+ years, at age 29, he will still have only 3 credits.
I'm of course thrilled that he got into graduate school. And he will be paid a very good stipend and doesn't have to pay tuition of course. So that's all good.

But I'm still concerned about the lack of paying into Social Security until he is almost 30. That just doesn't seem like a good system, basically.

I wish he *did* have to pay FICA taxes. I guess I don't understand why graduate students in college earn a decent stipend now (again - that part is great!) but it isn't considered a salary and it isn't taxed as salary would be. I know it feels like that's a good thing (pay less in taxes! Great!) but it really isn't so great if you aren't contributing to the safety net and therefore won't be able to benefit from it, if you god forbid ever need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If person is that concerned they should leave grad school and get FICA jobs. Seriously one or the other.
Person can look at SSA records and see what they have.
Everybody ought to check that periodically.

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html#:~:text=Your%20Social%20Security%20Statement%20(Statement,benefits%20and%20current%20earnings%20history.

Yeah - "Person" is currently 24 has has three credits. His work history was all jobs that didn't pay into FICA.

If he goes to graduate school for the next 5+ years, at age 29, he will still have only 3 credits.
I'm of course thrilled that he got into graduate school. And he will be paid a very good stipend and doesn't have to pay tuition of course. So that's all good.

But I'm still concerned about the lack of paying into Social Security until he is almost 30. That just doesn't seem like a good system, basically.

I wish he *did* have to pay FICA taxes. I guess I don't understand why graduate students in college earn a decent stipend now (again - that part is great!) but it isn't considered a salary and it isn't taxed as salary would be. I know it feels like that's a good thing (pay less in taxes! Great!) but it really isn't so great if you aren't contributing to the safety net and therefore won't be able to benefit from it, if you god forbid ever need it.

OP, explain this to him once and then back off. It reads like you are going to try to convince him not to go to graduate school so he can, IF disabled, and IF meeting the SSA criteria, PERHAPS collect SSDI at a very low dollar amount. That is ridiculous. Cheer him
on and help him find summer work that is subject to FICA tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If person is that concerned they should leave grad school and get FICA jobs. Seriously one or the other.
Person can look at SSA records and see what they have.
Everybody ought to check that periodically.

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html#:~:text=Your%20Social%20Security%20Statement%20(Statement,benefits%20and%20current%20earnings%20history.

Yeah - "Person" is currently 24 has has three credits. His work history was all jobs that didn't pay into FICA.

If he goes to graduate school for the next 5+ years, at age 29, he will still have only 3 credits.
I'm of course thrilled that he got into graduate school. And he will be paid a very good stipend and doesn't have to pay tuition of course. So that's all good.

But I'm still concerned about the lack of paying into Social Security until he is almost 30. That just doesn't seem like a good system, basically.

I wish he *did* have to pay FICA taxes. I guess I don't understand why graduate students in college earn a decent stipend now (again - that part is great!) but it isn't considered a salary and it isn't taxed as salary would be. I know it feels like that's a good thing (pay less in taxes! Great!) but it really isn't so great if you aren't contributing to the safety net and therefore won't be able to benefit from it, if you god forbid ever need it.

OP, explain this to him once and then back off. It reads like you are going to try to convince him not to go to graduate school so he can, IF disabled, and IF meeting the SSA criteria, PERHAPS collect SSDI at a very low dollar amount. That is ridiculous. Cheer him
on and help him find summer work that is subject to FICA tax.

No - you have a bad read on what I am saying.

I want him to go to graduate school, but I think it would be a good idea for him to earn the minimum credits needed (the $8,000 annually) in some kind of job that pays into SSDI for the next 5 years.

I feel the same way for anyone who steps out of the workforce (like a stay-at-home parent) before they actually retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If person is that concerned they should leave grad school and get FICA jobs. Seriously one or the other.
Person can look at SSA records and see what they have.
Everybody ought to check that periodically.

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html#:~:text=Your%20Social%20Security%20Statement%20(Statement,benefits%20and%20current%20earnings%20history.

Yeah - "Person" is currently 24 has has three credits. His work history was all jobs that didn't pay into FICA.

If he goes to graduate school for the next 5+ years, at age 29, he will still have only 3 credits.
I'm of course thrilled that he got into graduate school. And he will be paid a very good stipend and doesn't have to pay tuition of course. So that's all good.

But I'm still concerned about the lack of paying into Social Security until he is almost 30. That just doesn't seem like a good system, basically.

I wish he *did* have to pay FICA taxes. I guess I don't understand why graduate students in college earn a decent stipend now (again - that part is great!) but it isn't considered a salary and it isn't taxed as salary would be. I know it feels like that's a good thing (pay less in taxes! Great!) but it really isn't so great if you aren't contributing to the safety net and therefore won't be able to benefit from it, if you god forbid ever need it.

OP, explain this to him once and then back off. It reads like you are going to try to convince him not to go to graduate school so he can, IF disabled, and IF meeting the SSA criteria, PERHAPS collect SSDI at a very low dollar amount. That is ridiculous. Cheer him
on and help him find summer work that is subject to FICA tax.

No - you have a bad read on what I am saying.

I want him to go to graduate school, but I think it would be a good idea for him to earn the minimum credits needed (the $8,000 annually) in some kind of job that pays into SSDI for the next 5 years.

I feel the same way for anyone who steps out of the workforce (like a stay-at-home parent) before they actually retire.

Either way, the advice is the same. Explain it once and then back off. You cannot make an adult do what you want in this area.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it's BS. I worked from 14 to mids 20s with side gigs to earn SS while in grad school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it's BS. I worked from 14 to mids 20s with side gigs to earn SS while in grad school

How long were you in grad school for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If person is that concerned they should leave grad school and get FICA jobs. Seriously one or the other.
Person can look at SSA records and see what they have.
Everybody ought to check that periodically.

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/statement.html#:~:text=Your%20Social%20Security%20Statement%20(Statement,benefits%20and%20current%20earnings%20history.

Yeah - "Person" is currently 24 has has three credits. His work history was all jobs that didn't pay into FICA.

If he goes to graduate school for the next 5+ years, at age 29, he will still have only 3 credits.
I'm of course thrilled that he got into graduate school. And he will be paid a very good stipend and doesn't have to pay tuition of course. So that's all good.

But I'm still concerned about the lack of paying into Social Security until he is almost 30. That just doesn't seem like a good system, basically.

I wish he *did* have to pay FICA taxes. I guess I don't understand why graduate students in college earn a decent stipend now (again - that part is great!) but it isn't considered a salary and it isn't taxed as salary would be. I know it feels like that's a good thing (pay less in taxes! Great!) but it really isn't so great if you aren't contributing to the safety net and therefore won't be able to benefit from it, if you god forbid ever need it.

OP, explain this to him once and then back off. It reads like you are going to try to convince him not to go to graduate school so he can, IF disabled, and IF meeting the SSA criteria, PERHAPS collect SSDI at a very low dollar amount. That is ridiculous. Cheer him
on and help him find summer work that is subject to FICA tax.

No - you have a bad read on what I am saying.

I want him to go to graduate school, but I think it would be a good idea for him to earn the minimum credits needed (the $8,000 annually) in some kind of job that pays into SSDI for the next 5 years.

I feel the same way for anyone who steps out of the workforce (like a stay-at-home parent) before they actually retire.

Either way, the advice is the same. Explain it once and then back off. You cannot make an adult do what you want in this area.

Thanks! I just had a nice chat with him about it. He had no idea how SS worked, especially SSDI, and he was appreciative of the information.