Determining whether someone is eligible for social security disability benefits is not an exact science. Someone who appears qualified for social security disability benefits to one person may appear perfectly capable of performing several job duties to another. So how does the Social Security Administration determine when one can receive social security disability benefits? The good news is the determination is a thorough process. Although it’s pretty accurate, it’s not perfect. After looking through this list, if you think that you have been denied benefits, please drop us a line. We can help you get the benefits you ought to have.
Five Steps to Determine Eligibility for Social Security Disability Benefits
Step One: This is an easy one. Social security will determine whether you are gainfully employed. In SSA-speak, that means you are taking part in a “substantial gainful activity.” The rest of us call that a job. And since the SSA loves acronyms, they like to refer to substantial gainful activity as an SGA. As of 2007, the SSA deems that earning $900 month means one is adequately gainfully employed. If SSA decides you are undertaking an SGA, then you are not disabled and you are not qualified for social security disability benefits, at least according to the SSA.
Step Two: You have a “severe” condition. If you pass step one, then the SSA will decide whether or not your impairments are severe enough to qualify. That means whether or not your impairment interferes with your ability to work regularly. If your condition is not deemed as “severe” enough, and if they think you are capable of working, then they will not find you entitled to receive social security disability benefits.
Step Three: The SSA will decide if your condition is a listed disability. This is where the SSA takes out their “blue book” of listed conditions to see if yours is there, thereby making you eligible for social security disability benefits. It’s possible to still be deemed disabled even if your impairment is not found on the list. If your impairment equals the severity of others in the blue book, then you may still receive social security disability benefits
Step Four: The SSA determines if you are capable of performing your previous work. The SSA may determine your condition as severe, but they may also decide that it does not prevent you from performing your job. For example, if your previous job required the regular lifting of 50 lb. objects, and your condition requires that you lift no more than 20 lbs. at a time, then you are incapable of performing your past job and therefore eligible for social security disability benefits.
Step Five: The SSA determines whether or not you can perform any other work. This is where your training and location come in. The SSA may decide that you are capable of performing other work based on your age, education, work experience and the availability of similar jobs in your local economy. If the SSA finds that there are no comparable jobs for you, then they will list you as disabled and eligible for social security disability benefits.
Although this may seem like a very excruciating and exacting process, if you think that you are disabled in any way, please don’t let the SSA’s five-step method of determining disability keep you from claiming social security disability benefits. And do not give up if you think you have been denied benefits that you should receive. Your health and social security disability benefits are important. And Drummond Law, LLC can help you get the social security disability benefits you deserve. Please let us know if you have any questions about your personal social security disability benefits claim.
