Forgive this lawyer like answer….It depends. The Office of Quality Review (OQR) conducts Quality Reviews by pulling random disability determinations to ensure the record supports the determination and the evidence and the determination conform to SSA operating...
The ultimate outcome of an initial application for either SSDI or SSI benefits has varied over time. Award Rate Declining Steadily Unfortunately, the trend is not in our favor as the award rate has seen a steady decline from 2010-2018 having gone from 37.6% of all...
Both Social Security and VA pay disability benefits. Although they are both federal programs, they are very different in terms of their process and criteria for receiving benefits.
Below are a list of questions to help determine if you qualify for SSD Benefits. SSD Questionnaire Are you Unable to Work Full-Time? The first question a disability decisionmaker needs to answer is whether or not a claimant is working. This, of course, makes sense....
In order to be found ‘disabled’ under the Social Security Disability
program, you need to be unable to perform any work. Congress has
recognized, however, that as an individual ages, it becomes more difficult
for them to learn new skills and, and as a result, learn different types of
work. SSA has accounted for this fact in it’s rules and regulations by
implementing a set of rules commonly referred to as the grid rules.
Will I Be Found ‘Disabled’ Based On My Age? “Age”, in the world of Social Security Disability, is defined as one’s chronological age, but one attains a particular age the day before his or her birthday. Age becomes a factor in the determination of disability at step 5...
If an individual is age 50 or older and capable of performing work at no
greater than the light level, a decisionmaker would need to consult to the
following table to determine whether or not that individual should be found
disabled.
If an individual is age 50 or older and capable of performing work at no
greater than the medium level, a decisionmaker would need to consult the
following table to determine whether or not that individual should be found
disabled. They all require limited education and unskilled or no prior work
experience. Although the grids start at age 50, the first favorable grid at
the medium level starts at age 55.
Although not really a set of rules, the final category to consider are
those individuals capable of performing work at the heavy or very heavy
level.
If an individual is age 50 or older and capable of performing work at no
greater than the sedentary level, a decisionmaker would need to consult the
following table to determine whether or not that individual should be found
disabled.
Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) is a tool used to assess what a claimant
is physically and/or mentally capable of doing or not doing during an
8-hour workday. The Social Security Administration’s rules and regulations
actually organize the grid rules by RFC levels.
SVP is a numbering system that is used to determine the amount of time
required for a typical employee to; learn the techniques, acquire the
information, and develop the facility needed for average performance in a
particular job. In this blog, we will discuss how SVP is used to determine
which grid rule applies.
The grid rules start coming into play the day you turn 50 years of age.
These rules make it easier for a 50-year-old to be found disabled than it
is for a 49-year-old. The grid rules permit many people age 50 or above who
are capable of sedentary work to be found disabled whereas that same
person, age 49, would not be found disabled.
Will the SSA Grid Rules Help Me Get My Social Security Disability Benefits? The grids generally do not help claimant’s with SSDI under age 50 but there are some exceptions. The grid rules really do not come into play until you turn 50; however, there are...
Although the grid rules start coming into play the day you turn 50 years of
age, once you hit the age of 55, it becomes even easier to be found
disabled.
Will the SSA Grid Rules Help Me Get My Social Security Disability Benefits? Once you hit the age of 60, it becomes easier to be found disabled pursuant to the rules and regulations of Social Security Disability law. The reason it is easier is due to a thing...
After you receive Social Security disability benefits, the Social Security
Administration (“SSA”) will set your case for a Continuing Disability
Review (“Review”). These reviews are scheduled for all beneficiaries on a
regular basis to ensure that they still qualify for ongoing disability
benefits.
Unlike other types of disability, there is no partial disability under
either SSD or SSI. You are either 100% disabled or not disabled at all. The
SSA uses a three-prong test in its definition of disability. In order to be
found disabled, it must be determined that as a result of your conditions;
Every decision-maker goes through a 5-step evaluation process when deciding
whether or not an individual is “disabled” as defined by the SSA.
Find out the steps to take in order to find out if you are eligible for
Social Security disability benefits.
In order to qualify for SSD benefits, you must satisfy both a non-medical and a medical test.
In order to satisfy the non-medical test, you need to have worked in a covered job long enough to accumulate enough work credits.
The second test, the medical test, requires you to have a condition(s) that satisfies the Social Security Administration’s (“SSA”) definition of disability and has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 consecutive months.
Generally speaking, this program will provide you with a monthly benefit in the event that you become unable to work.
The response is always, “It depends.” The table linked here shows the average chance of winning a disability claim at each level of the process.
There are two types of disability appeals: Appeals Council Repeal and Federal Appeal
Appeals Council Repeal
Claimants are awarded approximately 1% of the time at this level.
An additional 9% of claimants have their case remanded (sent back) to the original ALJ who made the hearing level denial. These remands may be for further development on a particular issue or to correct a procedural error made in the hearing level decision. Generally speaking, judges do not like to have another judge tell them that they made a mistake. Hearing level ALJs will often just re-deny appeals council remands. As a result, having your claim remanded is not always the best result. The goal at this level is often to get denied, which allows a claimant to appeal in federal court.
Federal Appeal
At this level, you are suing the Social Security Administration in Federal Court. The odds of winning at this level are approximately 2%, which is hardly better than at the Appeals Council. Federal judges; however, remand (send back) approximately half of these claims for a further evaluation of issues that were improperly considered at the prior hearing.
Browse our SSDI resource library to find clear answers and determine if you qualify for up to $3,148/month in SSD benefits.