Life Insurance✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
A 22-year-old worker becomes disabled. To be currently insured for Social Security disability benefits, the worker generally needs:
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
For a worker under age 24, the Social Security 'currently insured' standard for disability is 6 credits earned in the 3 years immediately before the disability began. For older workers the credit requirement increases with age. Being 'fully insured' — generally 40 credits — qualifies a worker for retirement and other benefits, but a younger worker can satisfy the disability test with fewer, recent credits under the currently insured standard.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) Forty credits is the fully insured standard for retirement benefits, not the young-worker disability test.
- C) Twenty credits in five years is not a Social Security insured-status rule.
- D) Credits are earned quarterly; 'continuous employment' is not how Social Security measures insured status.
Memory hook
Under 24? Six credits in three years gets you currently insured. Forty credits is the adult badge for retirement.