Social Security reviews cases using the five-step sequential evaluation process to decide is a person is disabled. Here are the 5 questions that make up the sequential evaluation process. Keep in mind that this is a short overview and there are *exceptions* at *each* step.
1
Are you working?
If you are working full time, your case may stop here.
Social Security first checks if you are engaging in a "substantial gainful activity." One test is full time work. Another is the amount a person earns. In 2009, if you earn $980 or more per month (before taxes/deductions), the work is probably a substantial gainful activity.
Even you have a disabling condition, if you are working full time or earning the SGA amount (or greater) in a competitive (non-sheltered) setting, your case may be denied.
2
Are your impairments severe?
For an impairment to be severe, it has to cause more than a minimal effect on a person's ability to perform daily activities.
Example: many people have asthma. However, asthma is not always disabling. Asthma may be well controlled with medications. When it is not well controlled, it may be a severe impairment.
Severity is usually a fairly low level test. If a condition affects what a person can do, it is usually severe.
There are other requirements, such as a) there has to be a medical diagnosis (symptoms by themselves are not enough) and b) the impairment has to be expected to remain severe for 12 months or longer.
3
Does the impairment meet or equal a Social Security Listing?
This is the “short-cut” step.
If you have a condition which is contained in the Social Security Listing of Impairments AND the medical findings match what is required for your listing, you may be found disabled without Social Security considering the last two steps. This is “meeting a listing.”
You can also be found disabled at this step if your condition “equals a listing.” Equaling a listing means that while your condition may not be mentioned in the Listing of Impairments, it is just a severe AND has the same findings as a listed impairment.
4
Are you able to do any of your prior work?
If you are able to perform any of the past work you have done at a substantial gainful activity level, over the last 15 years before your disability began, Social Security can deny you.
The test here is "ability" to perform past work, not if an individual can actually get a job doing past work.
A lot of people get denied here because Social Security thinks they can still do a past job even if they have applied but cannot get hired.
5
Can you do other work?
Even if an individual is unable to perform any past jobs, they can still be denied if there are other jobs they can perform which exist in substantial numbers in the national economy.
This is a very complicated area where many cases are won or lost. The rules at this step change depending on the individual's age group (18-49, 50-54, and 55-60).
If you are under 50, the rule of thumb is that you have to prove that there is no work in the national economy that you can still perform.
If you are over 50 years old, the rules get a bit easier, but you still have to eliminate most kinds of jobs to win your case.
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