The Social Security Administration has special rules for claimants age 55 and over. If you can no longer do the sort of work you have done in the past, then Social Security must take your age into account when considering whether or not you can do other work. These rules are embodied in the Medical-Vocational Guidelines (grid rules) which are used by the SSA to determine disability at step 5 of the sequential evaluation process.
If you are 55 or older and are limited to unskilled light exertional work, Social Security will presume that you are unable to transition to other work due to your age. An experienced attorney can use these presumptions to help win your disability case. The determination about whether you can perform any past relevant work is made at Step 4 of the sequential process.
It is very important to remember that you do not get the benefit of these rules until step 5 of the disability evaluation process. So it is critical to rule out your past relevant work at step 4. Past relevant work is any past work which (a) occurred within the 5 years prior to claiming disability, (b) was performed at substantial gainful activity levels and (c) was performed long enough to lean to do the work effectively. Some part time work and work that lasted for a very short time may not be considered “past relevant work.”
To eliminate your ability to perform past relevant work (PRW) it’s important to provide details of your past relevant jobs. Social Security needs enough information about past jobs to classify them in terms of skill level and exertion level.
Jobs may range from unskilled, to semi-skilled or skilled—based on how long it takes to learn to perform the job. A job which requires a college education, for example, will be skilled work. But a job that you can learn to do with only a short demonstration will be unskilled.
Exertion levels define how much physical exertion (strength) is required to perform a job. Social Security considers the following functions to be exertional in nature: sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling.
Lawyers who deal with Social Security disability cases every day know how to use skill and exertion restrictions to restrict the ability to work, and thus how to win disability cases. The bottom line of Social Security disability is: HOW MUCH WORK CAN YOU STILL DO, IN SPIT OF THE LIMITATIONS CAUSED BY YOUR IMPAIRMENT(S)?
The burden of proof is on the claimant, so you must present evidence to prove that your ability to work is severely restricted. Not only do you need medical evidence, you must translate the medical evidence into vocational relevance. How does your pain, swelling, neuropathy or migraines (for examples) limit your ability to sit, stand, walk, lift, carry or push/pull? That’s the job for a professional who knows Social Security’s rules and evaluation process.
Charles W. Forsythe is co-founder of The Forsythe Firm in Huntsville, AL. He spends all his working time helping claimants get approved for Social Security benefits. (256) 799-0297.
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