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FYI, medical, Money and Finances, seniors

A Very Important Fact About Social Security Disability

By Vonda VanTil, Social Security Public Affairs Specialist

An important fact about Social Security disability is the definition:  the inability to work because of a severe condition that is expected to last for a year or end in death.

Social Security disability benefits replace part of your income when you become disabled and are unable to work. Other disability programs may have partial or short-term disability, but federal law requires a stricter definition for Social Security benefits. The definition of disability used to qualify you for Social Security Disability Insurance is generally the same one that is used for Supplemental Security Income benefits.

Most people focus on the medical severity of their condition when filing for disability benefits. They provide medical records that show how severe the condition is. Since Social Security defines severity in terms of being unable to work, we also need complete work information.

You can read a description about the process of evaluating whether you can work or not and the severity of your condition in our publication, Disability Benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/EN-05-10029.pdf.  Understanding how we make the disability decision helps you see the importance of information you provide about your condition and the types of work you have done. For information about how we evaluate your work, check out this site: www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/step4and5.htm.

Remember, when you provide the details about your condition and your work, you’re creating a picture of your individual situation. These details show the extent of your disabling condition. These are examples of some of the types of specific information we need about your prior work:

  • Main responsibilities of your job(s);
  • Main tasks you performed;
  • Dates you worked (month and year);
  • Number of hours a day you worked per week;
  • Rate of pay you received;
  • Tools, machinery and equipment you used;
  • Knowledge, skills and abilities your work required;
  • Extent of supervision you had;
  • Amount of independent judgment you used;
  • Objects you had to lift and carry and how much they weighed;
  • How much you had to sit, stand, walk, climb, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, balance;
  • How you used your hands, arms, and legs;
  • Speaking, hearing and vision requirements of your job(s); and
  • Environmental conditions of your workplace(s).

Disability is an unpredictable element in our lives. Help us help you by educating yourself about disability benefits, and by providing all the specific information we ask for when you file for benefits.

Vonda VanTil is the Public Affairs Specialist for West Michigan.  You can write her c/o Social Security Administration, 3045 Knapp NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525 or via email at vonda.vantil@ssa.gov 

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