How does my age affect my disability claim?

[anonymous]

I know it's probably unusual to apply for social security disability at a young age. Does this make it harder to be approved?

[Disability Advocate]

So what is the Social Security Administration’s process for making their disability decision? They have developed very specific criteria for making their decision and it starts with the sequential evaluation process. The sequential evaluation process is a series of five questions that the SSA will use to evaluate if you have a disability:

1. Are you working?
Claimants who are working and earning more than $1,000 a month in 2011 will generally be determined not to have a disability and will be denied Social Security Disability benefits.
If you are not engaged in substantial gainful activity the Social Security Administration proceeds to the next step.

2. Is your disability or condition "severe"?
The SSA will evaluate whether they believe your condition interferes with your work. If they do not believe it is severe they will deny your disability claim. If they do believe it is severe they will proceed to step 3.

3. Is your condition found in the SSA Listing of Impairments?
The Listing of Medical Impairments is a list of all of the major body systems and the disabilities, diseases or conditions that the SSA believes may make a claimant automatically disabled. If your condition is on the list the SSA will determine if it is as severe as the listed condition. If it is, they will find you are disabled. If not, they will proceed to step 4.

4. Can you do the work you did previously?
If your condition is not on the Listing of Impairment but the SSA decides it may impair or interfere with your ability to perform your current job they will award you benefits they will proceed to step 5, if not, they will deny you Social Security Disability benefits.

5. Can you do any other type of work?
If the SSA determines you cannot perform your current job or any job you have done in the past and you are unable to retrain for new work given you medical conditions, age, work history, education, and work skills, they will approve your disability claim. If the SSA believes you could perform past work or retrain for new employment they will deny disability benefits.

You specifically asked about your age and how this will affect their disability decision. A claimant's age most frequently comes into the disability decision making process when the SSA evaluates whether a claimant can perform any other type of work (step 5). The assumption is generally made that it is easier for younger claimants to retrain for new work. For instance, if you are a 60 year old construction worker who has done nothing but heavy physical labor for 30 years, the assumption is that it is more difficult for that person to find a new job they may be qualified to operform than a 25 year old.

Does this mean it is impossible for a young claimant to be approved for disability benefits? No, it will simply depend on your condition and whether the SSA believes you can work.

If you would like a disability attorney to review your claim you can fill out the FREE evaluation form and a disability advocate will call you to review your claim or you can call our office at 1-800-641-3759 to talk to someone now.

[lesliet]

The fact that you're younger than what might be considered "the norm" shouldn't necessarily change whether or not you qualify. It will most likely have more of an effect on the amount that you qualify for. I hope that helps.