Skip to main content

HOW AGE EFFECTS A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY CLAIM

 

The claimant's age plays an important part in Social Security Disability (SSDI) decisions. Social Security uses age categories, as follows:

Younger Individual - This refers to an individual who is below the age of 50. Since these individuals cannot meet a Medical-Vocational Guideline (grid rule), they have the hardest time getting SSDI benefits. If Social Security can demonstrate that these claimants are able to perform any type of work, even unskilled, sedentary jobs, they will be denied.

Closely Approaching Advanced Age - This category is for individuals who are age 50 through 54. Individuals in this category might meet a grid rule, especially if they are limited to sedentary unskilled work due to their medical impairment.

Advanced Age - Refers to claimants who are age 55 and over. The basic advantage these individuals have is that Social Security usually does not expect them to adapt to totally new types of work. The grid rules will often direct a finding of "disabled" if an individual of advanced age cannot perform his or her past relevant work and has no skills that transfer to easier work.

Social Security sometimes approves SSDI claims in all age categories. In addition to age, they consider education, skills learned at past jobs and of course medical impairments. However, when all the other factors are equal, the older claimant has an important advantage.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CAN YOU WIN YOUR DISABILITY APPEAL WITHOUT A LAWYER?

The Social Security Administration does not require you to have a lawyer to file an appeal or to appear at a hearing.  However, most people heading for a disability hearing will hire a lawyer or advocate to help them.   Studies have shown that you are about twice as likely to win with a lawyer.  A recent study found that claimants with no lawyer win about 30 percent of the time while claimants with a lawyer or advocate win 60 percent of the time.   " He just cooked his own goose." These statistics cover only one aspect of a disability appear--your odds of winning. The other important aspects are time and convenience. If you prepare and adjudicate your own disability appeal, expect to spend 12 to 24 months working on the case.  You will be collecting, reading and submitting hundreds or thousands of pages of medical records.  These records are complex and often difficult to understand.  And you must know how each medical record helps (or hurts) your dis...
Post a Comment
Read more

GET YOUR APPLICATION RIGHT - GET PAID SSDI B ENEFITS

  Get your Social Security application right - get paid.   There are hundreds of ways to mess up a Social Security disability application.  One of the most common ways that I see?  Blank lines.  Questions left blank.  One way or another, these questions will get answered before a decision is made on your claim.  They may get answered 6 months later when the Social Security office calls you--but you have just wasted 6 months.   Worse yet, Social Security may assume that since you didn't answer the questions, all the answers are "no," so nobody bothers to call you. This will lead to a negative action on your claim.   The complete disability application will consist, not just of the basic application, but several forms.  Many of those forms will be mailed to you AFTER you file the claim.  The following is always required for a complete application: The basic disability application (5 pages)  Disability Report (14 p...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOW TO PASS A SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY EXAM

  So, Social Security is sending you to one of their doctors for an exam.  The first thing you may ask is, How do I pass this exam?   First, I should say that Social Security exams are not "pass or fail."  The doctor or examiner cannot tell Social Security whether or not you are disabled or whether you should get a benefit.  The doctor is going to check certain facts. For example, the doctor may check the range of motion in your joints and list the measurements. They may check your grip strength. (S)he may determine if you have difficulty walking, squatting, kneeling standing from a seated position.  The examiner may answer specific questions asked by Social Security: Is the use of a cane or assistive device medically necessary? Why is it necessary? Can the claimant use his/her hands to grasp and hold objects? Is the claimant able to understand and follow simple directions?  Here is advice I give my clients for a Social Security examination:  ...
Post a Comment
Read more