5 DECISIONS SOCIAL SECURITY WILL MAKE ON YOUR DISABILITY CLAIM

Am I approved and will I get benefits? That's the big decision. But it comes at the end of a very long, complicated process.

Before it reaches that big decision, the Social Security Administration (SSA) must make 5 other decisions on every claim it considers. Here are those 5 decisions.

Decision 1: Are you now working at substantial gainful activity? In 2022, if you work and earn at least $1,350 in wages per month (gross) you cannot receive an SSDI benefit--no matter how sick or disabled you may be. So, you lose at Step 1 for being gainfully employed. Gainfully employed persons cannot be disabled under the rules and regulations.

Decision 2: Do you have a severe and medically determined impairment that has lasted for at least straight 12 months, is expected to last at least that long, or is expected to end in your death? If not you cannot be approved and you lose at Step 2.

Decision 3: What is your Residual Functional Capacity? In other words, what is the most you can still do in terms of work related activity? If you are under age 50, and you can still do a simple sedentary, unskilled job, you cannot be approved for disability. The exception would be: Do you meet one of Social Security's published Listings? (If you meet or equal a Listing, you will be approved; however, the Listings are horrendously difficult to meet). By the way, most claims that get approved do not meet a Listing.

Decision 4: Can you still perform any one of your past relevant jobs? They look back 15 years. If you had one job during that past 15 year period that you can still perform, in their judgment, you are not disabled and will not be approved. This is why describing all your past work in detail--its demands and duties--in your application is so very important. Many claimant's neglect this and it jeopardizes their claim. So, be careful with the WORK HISTORY REPORT.

Decision 5: In Social Security's opinion, does there exist any full-time job in the US national economy that you can still perform? If there is, you will not be approved. It will boil down to this: Take the easiest job in America. It will probably be a sit-down or sedentary job. It will probably be unskilled and take little or no training. It will probably pay minimum wage. If you can perform that job (or one like it) you are not disabled under SSA's regulations and you will NOT be approved. This rule is especially prurient for claimants under age 50 ("younger individuals"). A younger person who can perform "any" full-time job is denied.

Of course, the claimant feels that he cannot perform any job. However, the two persons who will decide this are the Administrative Law Judge and the vocational expert. The ALJ will

Step 5 makes it very, very difficult to be approved for Social Security disability, and that's what Step 5 is intended to do. So, how do you win?

You work tirelessly and confidently with a professional who really knows the Social Security regulations, and that person helps you map out a medical and vocational plan to meet all five parts of a favorable decision. It isn't foolproof but going about it without this kind of help is foolhardy. Every claimant believes that they are disabled. But proving it to Social Security's satisfaction is the challenge. It is not easy.

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Sponsored by the Forsythe Firm, Social Security advocates and counselors, Huntsville, AL. (256) 50o3-8151.