Special situations:
Most people who receive disability benefits are workers who qualify on their own records and meet the work and disability requirements described above. However, there are some special situations:

• People who are blind or have low vision:
  The SSA considers you to be legally blind under Social Security rules if your vision cannot be corrected to better than 20/200 in your better eye, or if your visual field is 20 degrees or less, even with a corrective lens. Many people who meet the legal definition of blindness still have some sight, and may be able to read large print and get around without a cane or a guide dog. If you do not meet the legal definition of blindness, you may still qualify for disability benefits if your vision problems alone or combined with other health problems prevent you from working. There are a number of special rules for people who are blind that recognize the severe impact of blindness on a person's ability to work. For example, the monthly earnings limit for people who are blind is generally higher than the limit that applies to non-blind disabled workers. This amount changes each year. In 2004, it is $1,350.

• Benefits for widows or widowers who are disabled:
  If something happens to you, benefits may be payable to your widow or widower with a disability if the following conditions are met:

  • He or she is between ages 50 and 60.

  • The widow or widower meets the definition of disability for adults.

  • The disability started before your death or within seven years after your death.
    NOTE: If your widow or widower caring for your children receives Social Security benefits, he or she is eligible if disability starts before those payments end or within seven years after they end.
    The SSA uses the same definition of disability for these widows and widowers as they do for workers.

• Benefits for children who are disabled:
  A child under age 18 may be disabled, but the SSA doesn't need to consider the child's disability when deciding if he or she qualifies for benefits as your dependent. The child's benefits normally stop at age 18 unless he or she is a full-time student in an elementary or high school (benefits can continue until age 19) or is disabled.
  
  For a child with a disability to receive benefits on your record after age 18, the following rules apply:

  • The disabling impairment must have started before age 22, and;

  • He or she must meet the definition of disability for adults.
    NOTE: An individual may become eligible for a disabled child's benefit from Social Security later in life.
    
    For example, a worker starts collecting Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. He has a 38-year old son who has had cerebral palsy since birth. The son will start collecting a disabled "child's" benefit on his father's Social Security record.