IS AGE A FACTOR IN SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY?

IS AGE A FACTOR IN GETTING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY?

Yes!  Age is a big factor and plays a major role in Social Security disability.

Social Security has 3 sets of rules based on age, as follows:

If you are under age 50, you are a "younger individual" according to the regulations, and the bar is really high.  You must prove that you cannot do any job which exists in significant numbers in the United States.  That can be very difficult.

If you are between the ages of 50 and 54 you are "approaching advanced age," and the bar is lowered a little.  You may be able to meet a "grid rule" that combines age, education, impairment and past work to direct a finding of disability.

If you are age 55 or over, you are of "advanced age," and it is easier yet to meet a grid rule finding you to be disabled.  

So, the severity of a disability must be severe for a person under 50, but as you age your medical impairments combined with age and past work experience can result in a finding of "disabled."

So, a person at age 45 may be denied while a person at age 55 with the same medical conditions may be approved- with age being the only difference.

I hear individuals say things like, "My cousin got approved really quick and he has the same condition that I have."  Yes, but if your cousin is 58 years old and you are 46 years old, age may dictate a very different outcome.

"If you are 46 years old you may not get the same outcome that a 58 year-old person will get, even though you have the same medical conditions.  The difference is AGE."