Winning Social Security disability benefits after age 50
If you are 50 years old or older, Social Security makes it easier to prove your disability case. Individuals between 18 and 49 meet a tougher standard discussed in this article.
Starting at age 50, and then again at age 55 and 60, Social Security lowers the requirements for proving disability. The rationale is that the older you are, the harder it is to work in a job that you have never done before.
After age 50, Social Security can approve you for disability benefits even though you are able to do some type of work.
The older you are, the more physically demanding the work can be and still allow you qualify for disability benefits.
However, this is not a free pass and do not leave this article before you read the “gotchas” at the bottom.
Social Security disability just got a bit easier – SDM forms not evidence in appeals
Social Security frequently has single decision makers (SDMs) complete forms describing what an individual can and cannot do in the workplace. These are very important case since the ultimate issue in a Social Security disability is whether an individual can still perform some type of work.
§404.906 describes the SDM process:
(2) In the single decisionmaker model, the decisionmaker will make the disability determination and may also determine whether the other conditions for entitlement to benefits based on disability are met. The decisionmaker will make the disability determination after any appropriate consultation with a medical or psychological consultant. The medical or psychological consultant will not be required to sign the disability determination forms we use to have the State agency certify the determination of disability to us (see §404.1615). However, before an initial determination is made that a claimant is not disabled in any case where there is evidence which indicates the existence of a mental impairment, the decisionmaker will make every reasonable effort to ensure that a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist has completed the medical portion of the case review and any applicable residual functional capacity assessment pursuant to our existing procedures (see §404.1617). In some instances the decisionmaker may be the disability claim manager described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section. When the decisionmaker is a State agency employee, a team of individuals that includes a Federal employee will determine whether the other conditions for entitlement to benefits are met.
The problem with a SDM deciding an individual’s limitations is that SDMs are not doctors, nor nurses, nor any type of medical professional. The SDM is often the Social Security case manager working in the Disability Determination Services (DDS) office.
The SDM often works with a medical expert to evaluate the extent of a claimant’s impairments and the resulting limitations. However, it is the SDM, not the medical professional, who often completes the limitations forms and decides whether an individual is disabled.
Do you need an FCE in a Social Security case?
I was recently asked if you need a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) in a Social Security disability case. No, but it really helps if you can get one.
As I previously wrote, it is vital to get a statement from your doctor about your abilities and limitations in the workplace. This is sometimes called a medical source statement, medical opinion, or a statement of your residual functional capacity.
Normally, this medical opinion is just your doctor’s “best guess” of what you can and cannot do. I don’t want to put this down. A doctor who knows your condition, and who knows you, can make a very good guess about how the conditions affects you and how it would affect you in the workplace.
However, a functional capacity evaluation objectively tests what you can and cannot do. A typical FCE will take 4 to 6 hours to test what you can do. You will be tired and quite possibly sore after it is done. However, this is often the very best evidence of your abilities and limitations.
Social Security already sent me to a doctor who had me bend and stretch. Is that the same thing?
Social Security hearing tip: Watch out for these questions!
The Social Security Disability Blog got me thinking about some of the questions I have heard Judges ask at hearings.
It is fairly common to be asked the following questions during a Social Security hearing:
How long can you sit?
How long can you stand?
How far can you walk?
How much can you carry?
Be careful, your answers might get you into hot water.
People want to answer by telling the Judge the most they can do:
Well, I can walk for about half a mile.
The problem is that the Judge is trying to determine your “residual functional capacity” (RFC): what you can still …
