My friend lived out of the country for years and cared for a friend for her room and board. She paid nothing into social security and does not qualify for social security . She has come home recently and is disabled. Would she qualify for ssdi or would she be eligible for welfare. She will be 65 in November. Thank you for any help.

Hi,

If your friend doesn't have at least 40 quarters of Social Security coverage then she couldn't qualify for either retirement or disability benefits on her own account. You don't mention her marital history so I don't know whether or not she might qualify for some type of spousal or divorced spousal benefits.

Your friend could qualify for Medicare at age 65 assuming that she's a U.S. citizen, but the coverage would not be free. She'd have to pay a monthly premium for any parts of Medicare that she chooses to enroll in.

Another possibility would be Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which is a needs based benefit administered by the Social Security Administration. For more information on the SSI program, refer to Social Security's website: https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/index.htm.

Best, Jerry