What is a Social Security Disability or SSI work CDR ?

How to prove you are disabled
and win disability benefits

All SSD and SSI disability beneficiaries have periodic medical reviews that are conducted by the Social Security Administration (the review is actually conducted by the state-agency that handles disabiilty determinations for SSA in a given state).

Periodic medical reviews usually occur every three to seven years and are known as CDRs. Continuing disability reviews, or CDRs, are used to make contact with disabled individuals in order to update their personal and medical information and to determine if they still meet the social security administration's definition of disability.

As is the case with an initial claim for social security disability benefits, medical information is gathered by the state disability agency for the purpose of rendering a medical determination. This medical determination may result in a cessation (termination of disability entitlement) or a continuance (medical entitlement to Social Security disability will continue).

Sometimes, an individual whose claim is reviewed has worked; therefore, work activity must be addressed at the time of the continuing medical review. Work activity may indicate that an individual has had medical improvement; therefore Social Security must make a determination on all work activity performed by disability beneficiaries.

However, not all work CDR’s as they are known, are triggered by routine medical reviews (which are scheduled to occur at periodic intervals). Some work continuing reviews, by contrast, are triggered by the following: work activity that has been reported by the disability benefits recipient, IRS records, state employment records, or other Social Security records.

Return to: SSDRC, or the Questions, Answers, Tips, and Advice page

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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