text: All of the US states run welfare programs.  Each state has their own rules.  If you are able to work and qualify for welfare, you collect welfare while you are looking or training for employment.  The welfare payments are limited to two years in my state.\n\nSome people cannot work  and have never worked, so they do not qualify for Social Security.  Say a person is blind and confined to a wheel chair.  That person will never be able to work, so he is entitled to welfare for as long as he lives, or until state laws change.