 SSDRC What is the Application Process for Social Security Disability and SSI? How do you Win Benefits under Social Security Disability or SSI? If I am determined disabled, how far back will Social Security pay benefits? How do you prove your disability case if you have a mental condition? What Can I Do to Improve My Chances of Winning Disability Benefits Common Mistakes after Receiving a Denial of Social Security Disability or SSI Benefits How to File for Disability - Tips for Filing If You Get Approved For SSDI Will You Also Get Medicare? How much does a Social Security disability attorney get paid? Social Security Disability SSI Criteria and the Evaluation Process How long does it take to be approved for SSI or Social Security disability? What do you Need to Prove to Qualify for Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability SSI and Fibromyalgia Social Security Disability SSI and Degenerative Disc Disease Can I Qualify For Disability and Receive Benefits based on Depression? Answers to questions about SSD and SSI disability What Disabilities Qualify for SSI and Social Security Disability Benefits? Social Security Disability Status Social Security Disability Tips — how a claim gets worked on Social Security Disability, SSI Disability - Terms, Definitions, Concepts |
Social Security Disability, SSI and Being Over the Age of Fifty, 50How to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits Does age play a role in the outcome of social security disability and SSI disability claims? Not by necessity, but age often does. Here are just a few ways. 1. If you are a minor-age child, your condition or conditions may potentially fall under the direction of a different set of impairment listings than the listings that are set forth for adults (listings are approval criteria for a finite set of physical and mental conditions -- meet or equal the listing criteria for a certain illness and you may be approved for benefits). 2. If you are an adult and your condition or conditions do not satisfy the criteria of an adult impairment listing (in the social security list of impairments, or blue book), then an approval will need to be achieved via the awarding of a medical vocational allowance. Such allowances give adults an advantage based on age. Basically, as the medical vocational disability requirements currently dictate, the ages fifty and fifty-five are noteworthy. In many cases, there is a distinct advantage to being 50 years of age or older. And for individuals who are 55 or older, the rules for SSD and SSI become even more favorable. (See also: Medical vocational approval for social security disability or SSI). Why is this the case? Simply because, as unfair as the disability system is, it does incorporate some level of fairness by acknowledging that individuals who are over fifty, or fifty-five, will have more difficulty switching to different types of work. This comes into play when a disability claim is being evaluated and it is clear to the decision-maker (a disability examiner or judge) that the claimant cannot return to their former work. Many would think that this would be the "end of it" and that the claimant would be approved for benefits on this basis. However, the disability system does not work like this. In the SSD and SSI disability claim system, if you cannot return to your past work on the basis of a disabling condition, the possibility still exists that you may be denied on the basis of being able to perform some type of other work. And that's where individuals who are 50 and older, and 55 and older, are given consideration. Because the simple truth is, many individuals in these age groups will have more limited opportunities to find other types of work due to A) their health or mental conditions, B) the fact that their job skills may not be as valuable in the marketplace as they once were, and C) due to the real-world reality that many employers will not hire older workers since they perceive that older workers will be more difficult to train, may require higher rates of compensation, and may be more likely to file health insurance claims (risking higher premium costs for employer-provided heath care). 
Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page Individual Questions and Answers SSD and SSI are Federal Programs The title II Social Security Disability and title 16 SSI Disability programs operate under federal guidelines and, therefore, the program requirements--medical and non-medical--apply to all states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Recent approval and denial statistics for various states can be viewed here: Social Security Disability, SSI Approval and Denial Statistics by state Special Section: Disability Lawyers and unnecessary claim denials |