DISABILITY OVER 50

You've head it's easier to get disability benefits from Social Security after you're 50.  Why is that so?

You must understand the principle on which the Social Security program is founded.  It was designed to provide financial assistance to individuals who are unable to work and earn their own living.  So, the key to it is:  Who can work?

An individual with a medical condition at age 30 will likely be more able to work than a person with the same condition at age 50.

This is because we lose some of our functional abilities as we age.  Age effects how how well we can walk, bend, lift, etc.  At some point, an older person just isn't expected to do all the physical activities of a younger individual.

Also, a younger individual may adapt to new jobs easier than an older person.

Social Security has tried to incorporate this principle formally into something they call "Medical-Vocational Guidelines."  These "grid rules" combine the following factors to form guidelines about who is able to work:

1.  Age - An individual under 50 cannot be considered under a grid rule.  They are classified as a "younger individual" and are assumed to able to adjust to new or easier types of work.  Also, job opportunities become more rare as we age.  Age 50 classifies an individual as "Closely Approaching Advanced Age."  At 55, an individual becomes a person of "Advanced Age."

2.  Education - a claimant with more or highly specialized education has more options for work than a person with limited education.  For example, an engineer has more work options than someone who didn't complete high school.

3.  Past work experience - called Past Relevant Work.  Social Security looks at the kind of full-time jobs the claimant has held during the 15-year period prior to applying for disability.

4.  Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) - is the maximum work-like activity an individual can perform.

Here is an example of how these 4 factors may play into a disability decision:

Due to a severe medical impairment, let's say degenerative disease of the spine, a claimant can be expected to perform only sedentary work.  If the claimant is 55 with a high school education with past relevant work in construction, the guidelines will find that there are no jobs in the US economy that the individual can perform. At age 55, this claimant will not be expected to adjust to easier work.

 However, if this same individual is 35 years old the guidelines do not apply and there will be some type of work that can still be performed--therefore, a finding of "not disabled" is likely.  In other words, this younger individual can adjust to easier work.

The ideal disability claimant would be:  Age 50 or more, have a limited education, no sedentary work background and a residual functional capacity limited to sedentary or light work because of his/her medical problems.  This individual would have a good chance at being award SSDI benefits. 

Probably the most difficult case would be a person well under age 50, who has had sedentary work experience (a sitting job) and who also has a good education.  This individual would be expected to perform past work or adjust to a new type of work.  He could only be approved if it can be proven that he can't perform even unskilled sedentary (sit down) jobs.

For a free claim evaluation based on your personalized circumstances, call us at (256) 799-0297.

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