 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 |
The Steps of The Social Security Disability Determination ProcessHow to prove you are disabled and win disability benefits Social Security uses the same medical determination process for both SSI and SSD. The evaluation process is known as the five-step sequential evaluation process. The five steps used in the sequential evaluation process are: Step 1 - Social Security must determine if an individual is working and if they are still working are the working at the SGA limit or over. SGA or substantial gainful activity is a monetary amount of earnings the Social Security sets each year as a self-supporting wage amount. If an individual is working at the SGA limit or above, their disability claim will be denied prior to being sent for a disability medical decision. It does not matter what their disabling condition or conditions are -- as long as they are earning over the SGA limit with no help from their employer their disability claim will be denied (special help means that special considerations are given to help the individual keep the job). Step 2 - If an individual is not working at the SGA work level, then their allegation of disability must be evaluated. They must have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that is documented by medically acceptable clinical and/or diagnostic techniques. Signs, symptoms, and lab findings (if applicable) must always document a physical or mental impairment; consequently an individual must make it past this hurdle although there are a few who do not. If they do not, their disability claim will be denied. Step 3 - Social Security must determine if an individual’s medically determinable mental impairment or physical impairment meets or equals the listing criteria of a Social Security medical impairment listing (listings are contained in the blue book, which is often called the social security disability list of impairments). If an individual does meet or equal the severity requirements of an impairment listing, the disability claim will be approved for disability at this level. If not, they must go to levels four and five that deal with their ability to perform work activity when you consider their residual functional capacity (what they are able to do in spite of the limitations of their disabling condition or conditions). Step 4- Can an individual perform any of their past relevant work? It is relevant if it is any job they performed in the past fifteen years for three months or more, prior to filing for disability, in which the person had time to learn the job, and had SGA level earnings while doing the job. If their residual functional capacity precludes any of their past work activity, they still have to be evaluated to determine if they could do any other kind of work when their limitations are taken into consideration. Step 5- Can an individual perform any other kind of work when their residual functional capacity, education, age, and work history are considered? If the individual’s residual functional capacity is restrictive and their job skills do not transfer to any other kind of work, they may qualify for an approval for disability benefits through a medical vocational allowance. This type of allowance is based upon an individual’s residual functional capacity, transferability of their skills, their age, and their education. The sequential evaluation process ensures that all disability claimants have an equal chance of being medically approved for disability benefits because the evaluation is done with no regard to which disability program an individual is filing for. 
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 |