In order to receive Social Security Disability insurance benefits (SSDI), claimants must meet a variety of requirements. While many of these requirements have to do with the nature of the disability itself—such as its length and severity—there are also a number of financial requirements that claimants must meet. The Date of Last Insured (DLI) refers to the last working quarter that a claimant has met these financial requirements. Generally, in order to qualify for disability, you must have worked at least five out of the last ten years, but less work is required for those under the age of 31.
In order to receive disability benefits, your disabling impairment must begin before your date of last insured. If your disabling impairment occurs after your DLI you may still qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is available to those with low-income and limited assets. When applying for SSI you will still need to be considered disabled by the Social Security Administration (SSA), but the date of last insured will not come into play; instead, the financial qualification will pertain to your total household income and resources.
