CAN SOCIAL SECURITY DENY ME IF I CAN WORK A VERY LOW PAYING JOB?

The answer is Yes. Social Security generally requires that you be unable to perform any full-time job at any wage level in order to get disability benefits.

This is difficult for individuals accustomed to high paying jobs.

Here's an example: Joe is a registered pharmacist who earns about $125,000 dollar per year ($2,400 per week). He is required to stand up to 10 hours each day. Joe has developed severe arthritis in his knees which makes it impossible for him to stand that long. He filed for Social Security disability (SSDI) at age 47.

Social Security found that Joe cannot continue working as a pharmacist because of the standing/walking requirement. However, a vocational expert determined that Joe can perform certain types of other work, which do not require as much standing. For example, the vocational witness gave these examples of jobs that Joe can still perform:

1. Packer

2. Sorter

3. Surveillance Systems Monitor (Security)

Here's the problem. These jobs pay an average of about $8 per hour. If Joe accepted one of these jobs, his pay would go from about $2,400 per week to $320 per week. Quite a cut from what he's been earning.

However, Social Security doesn't consider how much a job pays. The regulations require a denial of benefits if the claimant could perform another job. It doesn't consider whether Joe could live on the wages those jobs pay or how much his wages would be reduced. So, he would get a denial at Step 5 of the system because he is "able to perform other work."

This, of course, is devastating to professionals, management level workers or highly paid skilled workers.

We might note that the rules get somewhat relaxed at age 50, and even more relaxed at 55. If Joe were age 55 and proved that he cannot perform his "past relevant work," i.e., the job of pharmacist, he could be approved for SSDI benefits.

The fact is that younger workers (below age 50) are held to a different standard than older workers. Social Security believes that younger individuals should be able to adapt to new work, while older persons may not be so adaptive. This gives claimants age 50 and over some advantage.

This is one reason that one claimant may be approved and another denied, even though they have the same or similar impairments. If one claimant is age 35 and the other is age 55, the older one can be found disabled while the other may not.

There are many technical issues involved in an SSDI claim. It's best to be represented by an advocate or attorney who knows the rules, the standards, and what it takes to win.

If you're going to tour the swamp, you want an experienced guide. And Social Security is certainly a swamp. Don't get lost.