Social Security Disability Rules After Age 60

Ssdi At : Your Job Skills

Social Security looks at the type of skills required to do your past work. Social Security considers whether any skills you learned at your previous jobs could be used to do something else. If you do, Social Security considers them transferable skills. Generally, people who performed semi-skilled or skilled jobs will have developed skills they could use doing something else. This can make it harder to apply the grid rules. However, at age 60, there must be little to no additional training or adjustment. Some jobs require such specialized skills, Social Security will decide that the worker doesnt have transferable skills.

What Do Federal Laws And Regulations Say About Age And Disability

The Social Security Administration discusses age as a vocational factor in disability claims in its regulations and internal policy documents.

Code of Federal Regulations Section 404.1563 states, in part:

We will not consider your ability to adjust to other work on the basis of your age alone. In determining the extent to which age affects a persons ability to adjust to other work, we consider advancing age to be an increasingly limiting factor in the persons ability to make such an adjustment, as we explain in paragraphs through of this section.

Commentary published with the SSAs Medical-Vocational Guidelines, also called the Grid Rules, provides additional insight:

Where age is critical to a decision, recognition is taken of increasing physiological deterioration in the senses, joints, eye-hand coordination, reflexes, thinking processes, etc., which diminish a severely impaired persons aptitude for new learning and adaptation to new jobs.

Put a different way: The Social Security Administration thinks that the younger you are, the more likely it is that you can acquire new job skills, adapt to new work, and compete with other job applicants even though you have a severe medical impairment. And the older you are, the more likely it is that you will have difficulty adjusting to new work, picking up new skills, and competing with other people when you have a severe medical impairment or combination of impairments.

Using The Grids For Age 60

Below are the grid rules for people aged 60 and over. To see how the SSA would decide your case based on the grids, first find the table that discusses your RFC level. Next, find the row that describes your education level and previous work experience. The third column shows the decision the SSA will make based on those two factors.

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So How Much Less Might You Receive

As stated, the percent that the NAWI goes up or down in the year you turn 60 directly correlates to how your retirement benefit is calculated.

And, as a sobering example of the wage anomaly that is 2020, in April of this year, the Wharton School published a report, which, based on early 2020s wage numbers, showed that people born in 1960 could see a lifetime benefit reduction of around 13%.

Now, while hard to identify, if theres any wisp of optimism, its that the estimate of the wage index decline for the year has recently improved a bit.2 The current estimate 2 means that the corresponding calculation for reduced Social Security earnings for people turning 60 this year has improved to an 8.8% overall decline in payments.2

For you, Ruthie, if your income averaged $50,000 a year throughout your career, as of this moment, that decline amounts to a roughly $49,000 reduction in benefits over the likely duration of your post-work life.1

Ssd Review After Age 50

The ability of a person to bounce back from an injury or illness becomes less likely as a person ages. When evaluating whether your medical condition allows you to work, Social Security assesses your residual functional capacity. A worker older than 50 may be approved for a continuation of benefits after a CDR.

Residual functional capacity represents the work you are capable of doing given limitations imposed by the pain and other symptoms you continue to experience. Social Security first determines whether your RFC allows you to do any type of work that you did in the past. If not, it uses your RFC assessment along with other factors, including your age, education and work experience to determine whether you can, perhaps with vocational training, adjust to any other type of work that may exist.

By making your age a factor in the RFC assessment process, Social Security recognizes that the aging process can make it difficult for an older worker to transition into a new line of work, particularly after an extended time away from the workplace. The fact that employers may be less inclined to spend the time and money needed to train a new worker on a person who may be eligible for early retirement benefits at age 62.

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How The Grids Work

Here is when your age matters. If the Social Security Administration decides your condition doesn’t meet a disability listing and you can’t do your past job, the SSA will refer to the “grid rules” to decide if you are disabled. The grids are a series of tables that take into account several factors before pointing to a finding of disabled or not disabled.

The grid is divided into tables based on exertional levels that is, what level of work an applicant’s RFC assessment states that an applicant can do. The different RFC levels are for work at the following levels:

Grids For Claimants Who Are 60

The grids are especially helpful for people aged 60-65 in winning their claim, because Social Security realizes that people over 60 may have difficulty in transferring to new types of workplaces and learning new skills. But if the grids direct a finding of “not disabled” in your case, you can still be approved. Below we’ll discuss how you can win your claim even if the grids say you’re not disabled.

The SSA categorizes people who are 60-65 as “closely approaching retirement age.” The SSA has specific rules grid rules for applicants in this age group. Before reading the next section on using the grids for age 60-65, please read our overview article on using the grids to learn what, besides age and RFC, the grids take into account to make a determination in your case.

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The Worn Out Worker Rule

In addition to the above grid rules, the “work out worker” rule can be used to approve disability benefits for people whose primary work was physical labor and who have only a marginal education. This rule allows for a quick approval of benefits if the following criteria are met:

• The claimant didn’t go past the 6th grade in school.
• The claimant has worked at least 35 years doing only “arduous unskilled physical labor” .
• The claimant can’t do his or her old job because of his or her impairments.

Tips For Navigating Social Security

• A financial advisor can help you account for the various sources of retirement income, including Social Security benefits. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free toolmatches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
• If youre applying for Social Security disability benefits, youll need to fill out form SSA-827. This provides your consent for the SSA and Disability Determination Services to view your medical records.
• Dealing with a disability, either temporary or permanent, is hard enough without considering the financial impact. Having an emergency fund in place for unpredictable things like this can be a huge relief.

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How Many People Receive Di Benefits

In December 2014, nearly 9 million disabled workers received social insurance benefits under the DI program . Since the passage of the 1958 amendments to the Social Security Act, the DI program has also provided benefits to the spouses and minor children of millions of disabled workers.3 In December 2014, 1.8 million children and 148,955 spouses of disabled workers received these auxiliary benefits from the DI Trust Fund.

The average benefit amount for disabled workers was about $1,165 a month in December 2014, equivalent to $13,985 a year. The combined benefits for disabled workers, their spouses, and their children were about $11.1 billion in December 2014, equivalent to about $133.4 billion over the course of a year. Including the retroactive payments and other adjustments, the aggregate income that flowed into the national economy from the DI Trust Fund was $141.6 billion in 2014.

What Is The Medical

The SSA has established Medical-Vocational Guidelines that consider age, education and work experience to determine whether or not a claimant is disabled. The table applies a specific SSA rule to each category. As an example, an applicant age 55 who is limited to sedentary work due to a severe medical condition may be considered disabled, while a claimant age 35 with the identical medical condition and similar education level may not qualify for benefits.

The different outcomes can be partially attributed to the residual functional capacity of each claimant. RFC, which refers to the amount a physical work a disabled person can perform, is broken down into 4 classifications:

• Sedentary The claimant is not able to lift more than 10 pounds
• Light The claimant can lift no more than 10 pounds frequently and no more than 20 pounds occasionally
• Medium The claimant can lift no more than 25 pounds frequently and 50 pounds occasionally and
• Heavy The claimant can lift more than 50 pounds frequently

A determination of residual functional capacity also includes an analysis of daily activities that can be performed despite the impairment, such as lifting, carrying, climbing, bending, the use of hands, and the capacity to handle emotional distress and environmental limitations.

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Answer A Few Questions To Check Your Eligibility

If a disability applicant doesn’t meet a medical impairment listing, Social Security uses a grid of rules that sets out when an applicant is disabled, based on age, RFC level , education level, and work history and skills. However, even if the grids say you should be found “not disabled,” there are ways to counter this presumption , or if you are almost in the next age group). Note that if your impairments not exertional in nature, but wholly mental or psychological, the grids will not apply.

You could be eligible for up to $3,345 per month In SSDI Benefits

• Some jobs have skills that can be used across many fields of work. These skills are frequently acquired in administrative, clerical, or professional positions.

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Social Security Disability Review After Age 50 55 And 60

Social Security Disability Insurance pays monthly benefits to any eligible worker or former worker who becomes too disabled to work because of an injury or an illness. If you have worked enough years to earn the required work credits, you are eligible to apply for SSD benefits, whatever your age.

In this blog post, we at The Clauson Law Firm want to explain what the Social Security Administration calls a Continuing Disability Review, or CDR. This is the process used by the SSA to check up on every recipient of SSD benefits to see if the impairment causing their disability has improved enough to no longer qualify them for disability benefits. Well also explain how the CDR schedule and other elements change at ages 50, 55, and 60. First, well look at how the CDR system works. If you have any questions about how the CDR system applies to your case, contact Clauson Law to get all the answers you need.

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The Number Of People Qualifying For Social Security Disability Benefits Has Increased

For over 60 years, Social Security disability has helped increasing numbers of workers and their families replace lost income. Several factors have contributed to this increase, which the Social Security Trustees and our actuaries have projected for decades. For example, baby boomers have reached their most disability-prone years and more women have joined the workforce in the past few decades, working consistently enough to qualify for benefits if they become disabled.

Despite the increase, the 9 million or so people getting Social Security disability benefits represent just a small subset of Americans living with disabilities.

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Social Security Disability Rules After Age 50

Workers of any age who become disabled may be able to qualify for monthly cash payments from the federal government. However, people older than 50 may find it easier to be declared disabled and eligible for Supplemental Security Income benefits. SSI is similar to but separate from regular Social Security benefits, which are based on age, work history and paying taxes into the Social Security fund. SSI is for people who, because of a change in health, cant do the work they formerly did. For more help navigating Social Security and SSI, consider working with a financial advisor.

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How Age Affects A Disability Application

The Social Security Administration recognizes that there are more factors than a persons physical condition that affect their ability to work. Education and skills play a crucial role, as does age. Older workers do not have the time to go back to school to train for a new position and typically find it more difficult to master new skills. They also face age-related discrimination in the workforce.

For the purpose of evaluating SSDI applications, adults age 50 to 54 are considered to be approaching advanced age. Applicants age 55 and older are considered advanced age, while those who are 60 to 65 are considered approaching retirement age.

Di Benefits Are Modest Yet They Help Families Stay Afloat Financially

When DI was established in 1956, Congress adopted the same formula to set benefit levels that it had established 20 years earlier for the Social Security retirement program, with the difference that disability benefits could be based on fewer years of work, as necessitated by the onset of disability. Having established retirement benefits as a right rather than as public charity, and in amounts which will insure not merely subsistence but some of the comforts of life , Congress extended this same purpose to disabled-worker benefits in 1956. As such, DI benefits were designed to be modest relative to average U.S. wages. Since 1956, the benefits for disabled workers have averaged 30 percent of the national AWI, and at the end of 2014, the average annualized benefit is 30 percent of the projected national AWI for 2014 . More than one-third of disabled-worker beneficiaries receive a benefit of less than $900 a month, 23 percent receive more than $1,500 a month, and the remaining 42 percent receive between $900 and $1,500 a month .

DI benefits, although modest, are nonetheless the main source of income for most disabled-worker beneficiaries. About 80 percent of beneficiaries get at least half of their income from Social Security, including the 37 percent of beneficiaries who rely on DI benefits as their sole source of income .

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Social Security Disability Rules After Age 50 You Need To Know

While applying for SSD after the age of 50, you must keep the following in mind. These are special rules that will apply to your case.

• If you intend to claim disability benefits, the Social Security Administration will evaluate your medical condition. If the Social Security Administration judges that your condition is severe enough to preclude you from performing meaningful employment, your chances of being accepted for disability payments will almost certainly increase.
• Prior to applying, you should determine whether your condition is recorded in the Social Security Administration’s Blue Book. It may be useful to have a lawyer analyze your application before submitting it to the Social Security Administration. They can assist you in determining whether applying for disability benefits makes sense for you or whether you should pursue other avenues.
• Numerous rules regarding disability benefits alter beyond the age of 50, and it can be considerably easier for individuals to obtain the SSD benefits they require at that age. If your medical condition precludes you from receiving benefits, you may still be eligible for financial aid through other means.

Determining If You Are Still Disabled

The fair and uniform application of the SSD rules and regulations required that there be a single definition of a disability because the system would not work if two case examiners judged the same benefit applicants impairment differently.

The Social Security Administration defines a disability as a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that lasts or is expected to last 12 month and prevents the person from performing substantial gainful activities. By substantial gainful activities , the SSA means activities by which you could earn a certain amount of income. In 2022, the amount is $1,350 per month.

Just as an SSDs original application for benefits is assessed by that definition, so too is the CDR. Is the SSD benefit recipients impairment still severe enough to prevent them from earning the SGA?

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