What Are All These SSD Abbreviations?
When you’re trying to get Social Security Disability (SSD) benefits, it can feel like you’re wading through alphabet soup with all the abbreviations and acronyms you encounter: SSA, SSDI, DIB, SSI, DLI, SGA, AOD, DDS, CE, etc.
Honestly, it gets to be OTT (over the top).
Social Security and even your disability attorney may throw around these abbreviations as they deal with a process that they handle all the time.
At Barnes Disability Advocates, we know that all the gritty details of the disability benefits application process aren’t your specialty, and it can be confusing.
So on this page, our Utah disability lawyers made a guide to some of the most frequent Social Security Disability abbreviations and acronyms you will hear—so you can get a better idea of what everyone’s talking about.
SSA: Social Security Administration
These initials are frequently used for the government agency that runs Social Security Disability and retirement benefits.
SSDI: Social Security Disability Insurance
Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI is the main type of disability claim that people think of when they’re talking about claiming disability. It requires that you have paid money into Social Security in the past through your employment. Depending on your age, you will need to have different amounts of past work to have enough credits for this type of disability benefit.
This works similarly, but not exactly the same, as retirement work credits.
If you’re unsure whether you have enough credits, you can call your local Social Security field office and ask, but the easiest way to find out is go to SSA.gov and sign up for an account where you can view your Social Security statement and see whether you have enough credits and what your monthly benefits will be if you are approved.
Alternatively, based on questions that our disability law firm team asks you, our attorneys and staff can help you figure out if you are likely to have enough credits.
You get work credits by paying enough in Social Security payroll taxes to earn “quarters of credit.” You can earn up to four credits each year. The amount you need to earn for the quarter increases every year with inflation adjustments.
DIB: Disability Insurance Benefits
Disability Insurance Benefits or DIB is the same thing as SSDI. Another name that these benefits go by is Title II Benefits. Title II refers to the federal law that created the benefits.
SSI: Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income or SSI is another type of disability claim you can make with Social Security. It’s for people who don’t have enough work credits for SSDI.
To be eligible for SSI, you must have a qualifying disability and proof of financial need.
As a general rule, if you have more than $2,000 in assets (excluding a house if you live in it and a car if you use it) or more than about $1,600 in monthly income (depending on type of income) as an individual, then you are not eligible for SSI. (Congress hasn’t updated these limits in a long time.)
There is some variation if you are married or have children at home and depending on the specific type of income or assets.
If you are over 65 and financially eligible, you can also get SSI without having to prove medical disability.
DLI: Date Last Insured
The Date Last Insured or DLI is an important date that helps determine whether you are eligible for SSDI.
While you need to have the required work credits for your disability claim, those credits expire once you stop earning them and enough time passes. Generally, the expiration date occurs five years after you stop working.
This expiration date is called your DLI. In order to be eligible for SSDI, you must prove you were unable to work on a full-time sustained basis before your DLI.
So, if you stopped working in the last quarter of 2018, your DLI would likely be 12/31/2023. In order to find you eligible for SSDI, Social Security would have to find that your disability started before 12/31/2023.
To give yourself the best opportunity to win benefits, it’s best to apply as soon as you stop working.
If you aren’t sure when your DLI is, and you worry it was too long ago, you can call your local Social Security office and ask them to tell you your DLI.
You can find your local office on this Social Security web page: Field Office Locator | SSA.
SGA: Substantial Gainful Activity
Substantial Gainful Activity or SGA is the monthly income limit (before taxes) that Social Security uses to determine whether your health problems limit you enough to prevent you from working on a full-time, competitive basis, which is the key qualification for Social Security Disability.
If you’re making over SGA, they’ll say you don’t have a disability and don’t need benefits.
For 2026, SGA is $1,690 per month. It typically goes up every year along with the cost of living. To see the SGA for multiple years visit Social Security’s Substantial Gainful Activity website.
AOD: Alleged Onset Date
Your Alleged Onset Date or AOD is the day that you say your disability started.
This date can be very confusing because you may think your disability started earlier than what your disability attorney recommends you put as your AOD.
The difference is likely due to the way Social Security defines disability. You can’t be found to have had a disability when you were still working over the SGA limit.
If your illness started before you had to stop working, it’s understandable that you would think your disability began at that time. But Social Security only counts the period when you could no longer work on a full-time, sustained basis, meaning that your work income went below the SGA limit.
DDS: Disability Determination Services
Disability Determination Services or DDS is a state government office that works on the medical determination of Social Security Disability cases.
This office assigns examiners to your claim. These examiners will request medical records from the providers you listed in your application or appeal.
Your disability lawyer can also provide them information on new medical providers, so it’s important for you to keep our office up to date on all the latest medical centers you’ve visited for treatment.
These examiners will also request that you fill out paperwork about your daily limitations and the tasks your prior employment required you to do. They use this information to determine whether or not you have a medical disability.
CE: Consultative Exam
A Consultative Exam or CE is a medical exam that someone at Social Security has requested that you attend because they believe the medical records they have for you are not enough to determine whether you have an eligible disability.
If you have mentioned a limitation that you are not receiving treatment for, you may get a request to go to a CE. These exams can be requested by an examiner at DDS or by a disability judge if your claim is at the hearing level.
Here are some of the common exams the SSA schedules people for:
- Imaging – usually X-rays
- Physical – often used to test your mobility or limitations
- Mental – covering both behavioral health problems as well as memory issues
- Audiology – to test your hearing
- Vision – usually a very specific vision test that they want done
The Social Security Administration has many more jumbles of letters they may throw at you as you seek approval for disability benefits.
If you come across a set of initials you don’t know, you can always ask us at Barnes Disability Advocates.
These are some of the most important parts of our job: making the process easier and more understandable for you, and keeping you informed about what’s going on with your case.
And of course, we’re always going FTW (for the win).
For help with your Social Security Disability benefits claim, contact Barnes Disability Advocates today.
