Life Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
A 20-year-old worker who becomes severely disabled needs Social Security disability benefits. To be "currently insured" at this age, the worker must have earned at least:
Select an option to reveal the answer and the full 3-part explanation — free, no signup.
Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
A worker under age 24 becomes "currently insured" for Social Security disability purposes after earning six credits within the three-year period ending when the disability began. Because younger workers have not had time to accumulate the 40 credits needed for fully insured status, Social Security uses the shorter 6-credits-in-3-years test for them. The 40-credit standard generally applies to retirement and survivor benefits. The disability must also meet Social Security's definition of severe and expected to last at least a year or result in death.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Forty credits make a worker fully insured, a longer test not required for a worker under 24.
- C) Twenty credits is not the young-worker test.
- D) The credit test is a fixed 6 credits in 3 years for workers under 24, not one credit per year of age.
Memory hook
Under 24? Six credits in three years earns the disability ticket.