What is the Date of Last Insured? Why is it important?

What you don't know about your work credits

So, I have worked since I was about 14 until I was just shy of 28.  I figured I had enough work history to claim SSDI.  I was both right... and very wrong.

We all know how an insurance policy works, right? You pay your monthly premiums and in exchange they cover you for whatever the insurance happens to be for.  In the case of SSDI, it's an insurance policy covering your ability to work if you become disabled.  Like any other insurance policy, it will expire if you don't pay your premiums, in the form of Social Security tax.  Usually you're still covered for 5 years after you lose your job.  What a lot of people don't realize, and what I never found on any SSI/SSDI website, is that it isn't always 5 years.

I worked until April of 2012.  Most of my work history was spotty, with huge gaps.  When I called the SSA for my credit totals and DLI, I was told it lapsed on June 30, 2013.  This was over a year before I filed for SSDI.  The good news is, if I can prove that my disability started before my DLI, I can still get benefits.  Still, it's better to not have to worry about that.  File as soon as you become disabled. Don't take the chance you will lose benefits.   

YOU SHOULD FILE BEFORE YOUR DATE OF LAST INSURED

Every worker should know when their "policy" expires.